Here’s how the Ravens (8-5) graded out at every position after losing to the Eagles (10-2), 24-19, on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore:
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson didn’t have a strong game and appeared to have trouble reading zone defenses. He was slow making decisions and getting rid of the ball. There were several times when Jackson missed open receivers, especially on the right side of the field. If he had gone to tight end Mark Andrews earlier in the first half and then slot receiver Zay Flowers in the third quarter, both were open for potential touchdowns. Regardless, Jackson threw some nice passes and several times his receivers just dropped the ball. Jackson completed 23 of 36 passes for 237 yards and rushed eight times for 79 yards, but 39 yards came late in the game after the outcome had already been decided. He also needs to know when to throw the ball away instead of losing yards. Taking sacks was OK when kicker Justin Tucker was reliable from 50 to 60 yards, but that’s no longer the case. Grade: B-
Running backs
Derrick Henry rushed 19 times for 82 yards, but he didn’t control the tempo like he had in previous games. Maybe if the Ravens had converted on some of those field goal attempts they might have worn Philadelphia down, but Henry never got in a flow. The Ravens tried to counter with backup Justice Hill, but he didn’t boost the team’s energy level. Hill had only three carries for 6 yards and four catches for 15 yards. Henry had three catches for 29 yards. Grade: C
Offensive line
As expected, this group is good when the offense is in sync. That allows them to stay with the play-action passing game and run-pass option plays, but the Ravens are less effective when they have to play from behind. Both offensive tackles, Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten, struggled in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. The Ravens had problems with defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who finished with four tackles, including three for losses. The Ravens have a good offensive line when they can run the ball but are below average playing from behind. Grade: C+
Receivers
Andrews was excellent, catching six passes for 67 yards, including one for a 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Eagles had trouble sticking with Andrews on crossing patterns and he bailed Jackson out several times with sensational leaping catches. Fellow tight end Isaiah Likely also had an 11-yard touchdown catch in the final quarter and Flowers caught three passes for 74 yards. But there were times when Jackson overthrew or threw behind his players and several times the Ravens simply dropped passes, including Nelson Agholor and even Andrews. Grade: C
Defensive line
The Ravens kept running back Saquon Barkley under wraps for nearly three quarters but wore down in the fourth as Barkley had a 25-yard touchdown run with 7:56 left in the game to put the Eagles ahead, 24-12. Nose tackle Travis Jones led this group in tackles with four and tackle Broderick Washington had three tackles and one sack to go with a pressure and a forced fumble. Nnamdi Madubuike also had one tackle. Overall, it was a strong effort by the Ravens and it would have been interesting to see how they would have played if they had managed to take a lead in the third quarter on Tucker’s field goal attempts. Barkley finished with 107 yards on 23 carries. Grade: B
Linebackers
Middle linebacker Roquan Smith might have played his best game of the season and appeared to show no rust from missing the Chargers game last week because of a hamstring injury. Smith finished with 12 tackles, including a half-sack. He did a great job of reading gaps and knowing which running lanes Barkley was going to use for most of the game. Weakside linebacker Malik Harrison had two tackles and fellow inside linebacker Trent Simpson finished with two tackles and played better than the week before. The Ravens missed injured outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy off the edge. Without Van Noy, the Ravens needed strong efforts from outside linebackers Odafe Oweh and Tavius Robinson. They turned in solid efforts as Robinson finished with four tackles. Grade: B
Secondary
The tackling was better until the final quarter. For most of the game, the Ravens didn’t look lost in coverage, especially to the outside of the field or outside the numbers. They did, though, give up way too many yards in the middle to receiver A.J. Brown, who had five catches for 66 yards. The Ravens were also hurt by tight end Dallas Goedert, who had three catches for 35 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Overall, this group has improved. Safety Ar’Darius Washington had eight tackles, including two for losses, and cornerback Brandon Stephens had four. Fellow safety Kyle Hamilton had three tackles despite playing through injury. Grade: B
Special teams
Justin Tucker converted on field goal attempts from 34 and 50 yards but missed two other attempts. Both of those misses, one from 47 and the other from 53, came on the Ravens’ first two possessions of the third quarter with the team trailing 14-12. Tucker also missed an extra point attempt in the first quarter. Returner Tylan Wallace fumbled two punts, though he recovered both. By the fourth quarter, he looked timid and afraid to handle any more punts. It was a night of failure on special teams. Grade: F
Coaching
Coordinator Zach Orr managed the defense well and kept the Eagles off balance with different looks at the line of scrimmage by bringing several players, including cornerbacks and safeties, off the edge. The Ravens, though, still give up too many passes over the middle. Offensively, the Ravens showed very little imagination. Tucker failed, but the Ravens didn’t come up with any nifty plays to manufacture points. As for the special teams, it was just a horrible show. Two of the top three units played poorly. Grade: C-
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