Ravens Report Card: 9/10/2018
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Buffalo Bills Sunday in the season opener at home 47 to 3. The Ravens were firing on all cylinders which will make this report card pretty easy.
Quarterbacks: Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson both got action in this game. Flacco was pulled midway through the fourth quarter because the Ravens had such a big lead. Flacco was nearly perfect in this game, completing 25 out of 34 passes for 236 with three touchdowns. Flacco’s rating was 121.7, his numbers may have been even better if he stayed in the game.
Jackson was in on some packages at wide receiver and quarterback before taking over. Jackson still looked a little hot footed but still lead a touchdown drive. Jackson was only one for four passing. Grade A+
Running backs: The Ravens run game struggled early and Alex Collins fumbled the ball twice, losing one of the fumbles. Collins had a touchdown but only averaged 1.9 yards per carry. Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon both had touchdowns and averaged much more than Collins. The Ravens had 117 rushing yards, most of which came late in the game. Dixon lead the Ravens with 44 yards on the ground. The Ravens run came needed to be better early, despite touchdowns from all three running backs. Collins needs to be better. Grade B
Receivers: The Ravens spread the ball around and all three of the newly signed receivers, Willie Snead, Michael Crabtree and John Brown all had touchdowns. Willie Snead lead the Ravens with four receptions for 49 yards. Brown had 44 yards in the air. Crabtree had a couple drops in the wet weather but finished the day strong. Tight end Nick Boyle started the game impressively with three receptions for 40 yards and was Flacco’s go-to right out of the gate. Rookie Tight end Mark Andrews had three receptions and averaged 10.3 yards in the air. Maxx Williams also had three receptions. Long story short, the Ravens spread the ball around. Three wide receivers and there tight ends all had three receptions or more. Grade A
Offensive line: The Ravens offensive line played well, only two sacks. Some running lanes could have been better. Grade A
Overall Offense: If this offense continues to play like this, the Ravens will be hard to beat. Grade A
Defensive Line: The Ravens defensive line only gave up 83 rushing yards and helped force six sacks. Grade A
Linebackers: This whole unit was dominate Kenny Young had a very good Ravens debut with four tackles and a sack. Young also hit Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen cleanly so hard I was surprised he got up. Terrell Suggs is still a monster. This unit will scare a lot of quarterbacks. Grade A
Secondary: Tavon Young had two sacks from the corner position and was outstanding in coverage. This unit was so good that the Bills finished with a 17.1 quarterback rating. Bills starter Nathan Peterman finished with a 0.0 quarterback rating. Tony Jefferson and Brandon Carr had interceptions. Grade A+++
Overall Defense: The Bills did not have a first down until the third quarter! This was a historic performance by the defense. Grade A
Special Teams: Janarion Grant muffed a punt but also had some nice returns to redeem it. Justin Tucker was perfect in bad weather and Sam Koch punted some monsters. Grade A
Coaching Staff: John Harbaugh and his staff were ready to go as I have said in my previous report cards. Grade A+
Final Thoughts: SCOREBOARD! GRADE A++++ (seriously I could say a lot about everyone on the team how they played well)
