Ravens Offense Reaches Another Level
On the Ravens' first offensive drive of "Monday Night Football" in Tampa Bay, Lamar Jackson was sacked on back-to-back plays as the offense appeared uncharacteristically overwhelmed.
Then they recalibrated and scored on six straight possessions, delivering 34 unanswered points.
After Jordan Stout punted on the Ravens' first series, he didn't punt again until there was under two minutes left in a 41-31 win over the Buccaneers. After that kind of showing, the NFL world now views the Ravens' offense as "unstoppable."
CBS Sports’ John Breech: "The Ravens offense was unstoppable Monday night, and a lot of that had to do with Jackson. The Ravens QB had five TD passes on a night where he threw for 281 yards while also tacking on 52 rushing yards. Derrick Henry then threw the knockout punch in this game with 169 rushing yards, including 146 in the second half. The Ravens got contributions from almost everyone on offense, including Mark Andrews (two touchdowns) and Rashod Bateman (4 catches for 121 yards). If the Ravens offense continues to play like this, it's hard to see them losing many more games this season."
NFL.com’s Nick Shook: "After punting on their first drive, the Ravens went: touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, fumble (on a backwards pass by Jackson), touchdown. Baltimore scored 34 unanswered points after falling behind, 10-0, and Jackson was at the center of it, dotting the field with accurate passes at a variety of depths before launching a majestic missile to Rashod Bateman for a 49-yard touchdown pass that sent a message: These Ravens can't be stopped."
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: "The Baltimore Ravens made a strong case Monday night that they're the best team in the NFL, and quarterback Lamar Jackson looked like the best player in the league. While the Kansas City Chiefs remain the NFL's only undefeated team, the Ravens have won five straight games, including a 41-31 win over the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During its win streak, Baltimore has defeated three current division leaders -- Tampa Bay, the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders -- by a combined score of 106-64."
The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec: "The Ravens have now won five straight games to improve to 5-2. In doing so, they've left little doubt that they currently possess the AFC's top offense. They're averaging 35 points and 479 yards per game over their winning streak after putting up 508 yards on Todd Bowles' team Monday night. Their 244 rushing yards Monday makes them just the fourth team since 1980 to have at least 1,400 rushing yards through seven games."
The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker: "The Ravens have the best offense in the NFL led by perhaps the best player int he NFL. Coach John Harbaugh said last week that Lamar Jackson is playing the best football of his career, and he's not wrong. Jackson was in total command. Even when Baltimore fell behind 10-0, he was unbothered and shredded Tampa Bay's secondary. Then Baltimore leaned on the legs of NFL leading rusher Derrick Henry to help salt away the victory."
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker: "The Ravens have never had an offense like this. You give them a crack, as Baker Mayfield did with a pair of second-quarter interceptions, and it becomes almost impossible to keep up. …They were ruthless against a quality opponent that jumped ahead 10-0."
The Baltimore Sun’s C.J. Doon: "This offense is truly something to behold. After a sluggish start, the Ravens looked like they could be in trouble playing on the road against a high-powered offense that could go shot-for-shot with them. Then Lamar Jackson simply took over, leading the Ravens to 34 straight points to put the game out of reach."
The Baltimore Banner's Kyle Goon: "It's hard not to get high on the Ravens after watching another dominant Monday Night Football performance, a rise that has hit yet another new plateau after five straight wins. We know this run game is unstoppable, we know Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber quarterback, and we know this defense (in spite of its foibles) is chock full of playmakers. Getting a huge victory over a legit Tampa Bay team is a good marker of just how much better the top tier of the NFL is than the competition."
Baltimore Beatdown’s Stephen Bopst: "The Ravens offense looks like they're playing a different game right now. After a sluggish start to the game, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense kicked it back into gear by scoring 34 unanswered points. Don't be fooled by the final score, the Ravens won this game handily, enroute to 41 points and over 500 yards of offense. If it weren't for penalties and self-inflicted mistakes, they might have scored 50."
Russell Street Report’s Nick Polinsky: "I think it's safe to say this offense is without a doubt the most dangerous Ravens offense we've ever seen. Lamar Jackson has had two MVP seasons, yet we've never really seen the offense like this. The new addition of the king in the backfield has moved mountains; Derrick Henry is nearly unstoppable, and Lamar Jackson is doing whatever he wants at will."
Baltimore's Screen Game Has Come to Life
Another incorporation of the Ravens' offense under Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has been the design and execution of screens.
Defenses have looked to find any way to slow Jackson, sending blitzers and edge rushers going after him with reckless abandon, only for Jackson to float the ball to pass catcher with an entourage of blockers up front. On Monday, the Ravens once more countered a defense hoping to slow Jackson with their screen game, and Pressbox’s Bo Smolka, and others, took note.
"For multiple years across multiple coordinators, the Ravens might as well have taken the screen pass chapter of the playbook and tossed it into the lake next to the team's practice fields. Linemen were out of position, or the timing was off, and a first-and-10 screen pass too often led to second-and-14, which is not really the idea," Smolka wrote. "In Todd Monken's second year as coordinator, though, the screen game is not only working, it's probably the most improved aspect of the Ravens' offense."
Setting up the screen game takes everyone, and Smolka credited every player for their contributions for making it another weapon in the Ravens' offensive surplus.
"The Ravens' offensive line deserves credit for getting this screen game in order, and so do the tight ends and wide receivers whose perimeter blocking has been consistently strong this year," Smolka wrote. "Monken deserves credit too, because he's finally gotten the screen game to be a viable part of this Ravens offense."
Defense Still Not Playing to Its Standard
The Ravens are atop the AFC North and on a five-game win streak, but defensively they have not hit their mark.
They appeared to hit their stride with five consecutive stops (excluding a kneel down) in the middle of the game, but a first quarter in which the Bucs marched up and down the field and a fourth quarter in which Baltimore surrendered three straight touchdowns has pundits concerned on putting together a complete performance.
Zrebiec: "Defensively, the Ravens started and finished poorly and were run on for the first time this year, but they did get five straight stops spanning the second and third quarters. A chunk of Mayfield's numbers (370 passing yards, three touchdowns) was achieved in garbage time, but there were still too many botched assignments, too many missed tackles and too many dropped interceptions. And the Ravens now could be without Humphrey, their top corner, after he sustained a knee injury in the second quarter."
Walker: "This was not a game to ease worries around a defense that again surrendered far too many easy yards. Even with Evans out for the second half after he hurt his hamstring, Mayfield threw for 370 yards and led three fourth-quarter touchdown drives. The Ravens seemed on the verge of a dominant second half after they built a three-score lead, but coverage lapses and poor tackling allowed Tampa Bay to keep nibbling away. … If their defense is going to crack so often, they'll need turnovers and timely stops on third down and in the red zone. Humphrey supplied enough Monday for the Ravens to survive."
Smolka: "For an organization steeped in defense, this has been a shocking look, with the Ravens' secondary looking confused or out of sorts and giving up chunks of yardage and chunks of points. …The Ravens have proved susceptible over the middle, they have lost running backs such as White coming out of the backfield — his 18-yard catch-and-run on third-and-3 led to Tampa Bay's first touchdown — and they have dropped a handful of would-be interceptions, including one that went through safety Ar'Darius Washington's hands in this game. To his credit, Marlon Humphrey did record two interceptions that completely changed the complexion of the game, but he left with a knee injury, and any extended absence for Humphrey would further compromise this group. Throughout the summer, the secondary seemed to be the strength of the team, but that has not translated to the regular season."
The Baltimore Banner's Giana Han: "For this whole season, the Ravens run defense has been stout, and the secondary has been the problem. The secondary remains an issue, especially if Marlon Humphrey misses time, but now there are some more questions about the run defense. To be fair, they were never going to go a whole season without giving up 100 rushing yards to someone. But now the question is how hard did the other teams truly try to run the ball? Many were trying to keep up with the Ravens electric offense and chose to lean on their passing games — which worked because, again, the Ravens secondary. The Buccaneers racked up 380 yards on them, only offset by the offensive performance and some key turnovers."
