Ravens report card versus the Cowboys: The offense
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Dallas Cowboys 37 to 30 in the second preseason game. The Ravens never trailed in this game, having pretty much dominated in all aspects of the game. The starters for the Ravens played extremely well but, it was not until the Ravens put in their third string that they started to score. Let’s get to the report card.
Quarterbacks: Joe Flacco got off to a slow start because the Ravens offense did not see the field early in the game but he really turned it up after a few plays. Flacco went 9 for 17 with a touchdown pass to Torrey Smith. Tyrod Taylor also played well but did not make many big plays. He went six for eight with a 95.3 quarterback rating…not bad at all. Although, I am surprised Taylor didn’t make any big plays with his legs. Keith Wenning got some action but it was garbage time at that point. Wenning played with the third strings and it showed. He was sacked twice and only completed two out of his four passes. No interceptions from the entire quarterback crew. Grade A
Running Backs: Lorenzo Taliaferro had the most carries and had a very good game, minus a fumble. Taliaferro had 16 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. Bernard Pierce absolutely dominated averaging 7.9 yards per carry on seven carries. Pierce ran strong and hard making the Cowboys’ arm tackles look like nothing. Justin Forsett also ran well but with more speed and moves than the other running backs. Ray Rice left after only two carries due to injury but looked good. Grade A+
Receivers: The Ravens receivers all shared time so no unit is harder to grade than the receivers. Jacoby Jones had the most receptions and receiving yards with three and 49, respectively. Torrey Smith had the big 19-yard touchdown reception and Marlon Brown had two receptions for 39 yards. Dennis Pitta had a big 16-yard catch. Grade B
Offensive line: The first and second team offensive line played great and only allowed one sack. They dominated the line of scrimmage and really opened up some huge holes for the running backs. The offensive line played great until the third string got in there. Some improvements still need to be made but they got the job done. Grade B+
