The Ravens' new offensive line has been baptized, and Head Coach John Harbaugh remains a firm believer.
Baltimore opened the season in one of the NFL's toughest environments, on the road against the back-to-back Super Bowl champs, facing a strong Kansas City Chiefs front led by All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Through the highs and lows of an emotional game, the offensive line featuring new starters Andrew Vorhees (left guard), Daniel Faalele (right guard) and Patrick Mekari (right tackle) provided Baltimore's weapons with enough time to make explosive plays. The Ravens outgained the Chiefs by almost 100 yards (452-353), including a 185-72 edge on the ground.
While Lamar Jackson used his uncanny mobility to evade pressure and rush for 122 yards, he was sacked just once on 41 passing attempts. Baltimore's pass blocking graded out among the league's top 10 in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus, and had the second-best win rate (85%) in the league, per ESPN.
Kansas City escaped with a 27-20 victory, but the outcome wasn't decided until the final play. For those eager to judge the 2024 offensive line, Harbaugh stands ready to defend the unit.
"I'm not too worried about the offensive line, because I know how hard they work, and I know how talented they are," Harbaugh said. "I watch all the other offensive lines in the National Football League, and I think if you applied some of the same standards to the other offensive lines out there, you'd be like, 'Oh, boy, that's a tough position to play against these guys.'
"Our offensive line is going to be really good this year. I believe that, and we're working hard towards that. So, I'm not going to sit here and doubt those guys; I'm going to coach those guys, and those guys are going to get out there and play. I think by the end of the season, you're going to feel really good about our offensive line."
Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Vorhees, and Faalele played every offensive snap while Mekari (60 snaps) and second-round pick Roger Rosengarten (20 snaps) shared time. Rosengarten was beaten for a strip sack on his first snap by Jones, but he rebounded later in the game and Mekari's presence gives Rosengarten time to develop as the season develops without immediately thrusting him into the starting lineup.
"Roger Rosengarten is a talented player," Harbaugh said. "It would be smart to develop him as we go. Pat Mekari, I think, is about as solid of a player as you're ever going to see – knows what he's doing, trustworthy, been there before. Roger is an up-and-coming player, and we want to make sure that we keep giving him opportunities to grow."
Linderbaum and Stanley didn't play a snap in the preseason games, so Week 1 was the first live action for the new offensive line in its entirety.
Stanley also had a strong game blocking (83.3 PFF grade) despite being whistled for three illegal formation penalties that he disagreed with. Stanley was given a 100% win rate by ESPN in pass blocking. He was one of just nine NFL offensive tackles with a perfect mark in Week 1 and Stanley saw by far the most pass-blocking reps (32).
Linderbaum is a Pro Bowler who had an excellent game against the Chiefs, and his presence will be a key to helping the line improve its chemistry quickly.
"Those kind of environments, that's what you dream of playing in," Linderbaum said. "You've just got to learn from the loss, a lot of good things but a lot of bad things, a lot of things to clean up just from an operations standpoint that we can do better. You've got to learn from wins and the losses."
The Ravens offensive line may have more room for improvement in run blocking, where it ranked 22nd in win rate by ESPN and 21st by PFF. Derrick Henry rushed for just 46 yards on 13 carries in his debut.
After so much preparation for the Week 1 matchup against Kansas City, the Ravens must turn the page and get ready for Sunday's home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Maxx Crosby had the Raiders' only sack in their 22-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but he had 27 combined sacks in 2022-23 and is one of the league's most relentless players. The Raiders also spent big money this offseason to add one of the NFL's top defensive tackles in Christian Wilkins.
However, after watching how the new offensive line started, Harbaugh remains confident the unit will continue trending up.
"It's not going to get any tougher than that (Kansas City), so I appreciate that," Harbaugh said. "Now, we've got another challenge coming in here this week, because we've got another great defensive line that we'll be lining up against. So, let's get locked in on that challenge, keep it simple, and we'll be in good shape."
