I must admit that I told at least a couple of friends I believed the Buffalo Bills would beat the Ravens in a high-scoring shootout 34-28, but I am absolutely THRILLED my instincts were way off in this instance. Early season games are often incredibly difficult to predict as the pool of data from which one must draw conclusions is particularly shallow. After all, if the first three weeks of the season were any indication, Baltimore's defense would have fallen apart in the second half at the hands of Josh Allen who has been playing at an MVP level thus far.
There were even moments Sunday night where Allen flashed his elite talent such as his 52 yard pass he completed on the run whilst being shoved out of bounds. The Bills scored only moments later to pull within 11 points, and Ravens fans and possibly even some players undoubtedly felt pangs of deja vu after Baltimore blew sizeable second half leads in the previous two weeks. Thankfully a couple of major factors turned the game's momentum right back in favor of the Ravens, and hopefully these are signs that the organization has made critical adjustments that will carry into subsequent weeks.
The first factor was Baltimore's ability to generate pressure in the second half even when they were dropping 6 into coverage. One of the television commentators described it well when he said, in so many words, that the Ravens are only rushing 5 players per down, but you don't know exactly which 5 players they will be. Disguising the blitz and relentlessly pressuring Josh Allen to throw on the run even late in the game kept Buffalo from ever getting into a sustained passing rhythm. Throw in a back-breaking strip-sack from this season's defensive MVP thus far, Kyle Van Noy, and the Ravens front 7 helped tremendously to take pressure off of a secondary that had previously been exposed every week up to this point.
The second factor was the Ravens' ability to keep their foot on the gas in the second half and complete enough scoring drives to to leave their opponent hopeless enough to bench its starting quarterback with over 7 minutes left in the game. Todd Monken has clearly improved the way the team utilizes Derrick Henry's immense talent with major tweaks to blocking assignments and better play calling. Henry is unquestionably a future hall-of-famer and the most productive running back of the last 10 years, but he has never had the lateral quickness and burst of a smaller back. Instead, Henry requires plays that allow him to take a handoff with a full head of steam or catch a pass out into space where he then has the opportunity to accelerate to top speed. Once King Henry's strides get long, especially if he's reached the second level, he becomes painfully difficult to stop or bring down. The Ravens have, in other words, finally got the hang of using their new weapon.
As dominant as Baltimore's rushing attack was, there were numerous pivotal drives that would have stalled out were it not for timey completed passes on 3rd down to keep the chains moving. It is highly unlikely that any particular Ravens receiver will amass a pro bowl-level receiving yards total this season, and that will undoubtedly be frustrating for players such as Rashod Bateman and even Mark Andrews who both need to make a statement to justify a serious contract following this season in Baltimore or wherever else they might end up. For the sake of the team's success, however, relying on the running game and spreading passes out to many targets is unquestionably a better recipe for success as it makes the Ravens harder to defend. Long gone are the days where an opposing defense needed only to double-team Mark Andrews and contain Lamar Jackson to slow down Baltimore's offense. Now teams can't simply key in on Lamar because they have to buckle up their chinstraps and load up the box in desperation to try to stop Derrick Henry and Justice Hill. Oh, and if a teams tries to double any single Ravens receiver, Lamar has plenty of others who are more than capable of getting open, making defenders miss, and even going up to secure contested catches. Zay Flowers is undeniably Baltimore's best wide receiver, but Rashod Bateman and even Nelson Agholor are big targets with whom Lamar continues to build chemistry. Add in Isaiah Likely to the mix who happens to be incredibly explosive for a tight end, and include Derrick Henry and Justice Hill as pass-catching running backs, and you've got one of the most complete stables of receiving weapons in the league even without a top-tier target that anyone would describe as a true #1 wide receiver.
As much as I would like to continue to heap praise on the Ravens after their dominant performance over a team many believed to be the best in the AFC if not the league coming into tonight, it must be pointed out that the Bills were missing a significant number of defensive starters for the past two weeks. Injuries are certainly part of the game, but a dominant offensive performance should be considered at least somewhat less predictive of success in future weeks when it came against an opponent that limped into a primetime game on the road. Baltimore may still struggle going forward against defenses with elite pass rushing defensive linemen and outside linebackers the way they did against Chris Jones in Week 1 and Maxx Crosby in Week 2. Pittsburgh, for example, has pass rushers coming from every direction, and Lamar has only managed to beat them once in his entire career.
Despite the Bills' defensive injuries, the Ravens defense still stepped up big-time at critical moments to stop one of the NFL's hottest offenses from mounting a comeback in the second half, and that must be seen as significant progress. Lamar and company travel to Cincinnati next week to face an underwhelming Bengals team that still should not be taken lightly as they possess divisional familiarity and a pair of dangerous wide receivers in Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase. A win in Cincy and perhaps a little help from a desperate Cowboys team that has the weapons to potentially upset the Steelers, and the Ravens could find themselves tied for the lead in their division after an unusually disappointing start to the season.
I acknowledge that John Harbaugh is the leading candidate to be tarred and feathered in Charm City thus far this year for his ill-advised challenges and utter lack of clock management skills, but I would be remiss if I neglected to point out that during his tenure as head coach, the Ravens have often bounced back after losses and even strings of losses. In 2012, for example, the Ravens dropped 3 straight games after starting the season red-hot with a 9-2 record through the first 11 weeks. Harbaugh made the wise but also daunting decision to fire his offensive coordinator after a 4th quarter collapse against the Redskins, and that move led to their clinching a playoff berth the next week against the then reigning Super Bowl Champion Giants. Perhaps a pair of frustrating early losses was exactly what was needed to prompt necessary adjustments and turn this team back into a dominant force similar to last year's regular season juggernaut.
Following next week's game against the Bengals, the Ravens will host the surprisingly hot Commanders squad. Baltimore typically feasts on rookie quarterbacks, but Jayden Daniels isn't playing like a rookie at all. Daniels looks more and more an elite veteran with each passing week, and this was evidenced today by Daniels leading his team to a suffocating 42-14 win against the Cardinals. Obviously the Cardinals are not considered an elite team, but many of the throws Daniels has made this season would be spectacular completions over any secondary in the league. The Commanders defense also appears to improve each week. It is tough not to root for the likes of Daniels and Terry McLaurin given how long that franchise has searched for a real quarterback, but when the Commanders come to Baltimore in two weeks, it's all business. Like next week's Bengals game, the following game against Washington will tell us much about exactly how good this Ravens team is. After all, a 35-10 win might feel triumphant, but in the NFL a win is a win no matter the score, and a big victory carries absolutely no weight as to the the outcome of the next game. Enough celebration--it's time for the birds to get back to work!
