Ravens report card: 11/5/2017
The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Tennessee Titans 23 to 20 on the road in Tennessee. The Ravens out played the Titans for the most part but four costly plays really hurt the Ravens chances of winning.
Quarterback: Quarterback Joe Flacco played well, it is another game in which his stats do not tell the story. Flacco hit Breshad Perriman in the should and both hands on a deep pass that turned into an interception. Flacco did have one bad pass that caused another interception and two touchdown passes. Flacco had a 74.3 quarterback rating and threw for 261 yards. Flacco was also under pressure most of the game and did decent with it. Grade B
Running backs: Tennessee shut down the Ravens running game. The Titans defensive line outplayed the Ravens offensive line and Buck Allen and Alex Collins had no where to run. The Ravens only had 73 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry. Collins did the best with the room he had. Allen was more of a force in the passing game with seven catches, one of which was a touchdown. Grade C+
Receivers: Lets go with the good news first, Jeremy Maclin had his best game as a Raven and really looked to be on the same page as Flacco. Maclin had eight receptions for 98 yards. Mike Wallace had four short receptions and a late touchdown, he needs more deep balls. Breshad Perriman while having three receptions for 28 yards caused an interception and had another bad drop. Perriman continues to be a disappointment. The tight ends Ben Watson and Maxx Williams both played great. Watson had seven receptions and Williams had three receptions. Keeping Watson and Williams healthy is a key for the Ravens. Grade C
Offensive Line: Flacco was sacked twice and the running holes were no where to be found. The line was outplayed in this game and even when Flacco completed passes they were usually short because he was under pressure. The line needs to be better. Grade D
Defensive Line: Even though the Ravens had three sacks Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota still had plenty of time to throw. The Ravens lacked pressure on the quarterback all game. The defensive line did however play the run well allowing only 71 rushing yards. Grade B
Linebackers: The linebackers played great. Matthew Judon, C.J. Mosley, and Patrick Onwuasor had 21 combined tackles and all three led the Ravens. The linebackers are not the problem with this team. Grade B
Secondary: Eric Weddle had a very timely interception which was the big play by the secondary. Tony Jefferson played better and Jimmy Smith continued to show why he is the best corner in the league. They only allowed 218 passing yards. They had one big breakdown that led to a Rishard Matthews touchdown. Grade B+
Special Teams: Sam Koch had a first down pass out of the punting formation which went for a first down. Koch also had one bad punt, which really does not happen from him. Justin Tucker was two for two on field goals. The return game was quiet. Grade A
Coaching staff: The Ravens made a really bad desision to go for it on fourth down in the Titans red zone. The three points ended up being the difference in the game. The Ravens played well but had a long week to prepare and should have won this game. Grade D
Overall: Coaching, a bad call, and Perriman drops cost the Ravens this game. Flacco and the defense played well. Better offensive line play and the Ravens probably win this game easily. Grade C+
