Ravens report card versus the Lions: The offense
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Detroit Lions 18 to 16 in a game in which the Ravens needed to stay in the playoff picture. Now the Ravens control their own destiny. The Ravens did not score a touchdown but did move the ball well in a hostile environment and against a really good defense.
Quarterback: Joe Flacco is one tough guy, even after having his knee hit he was able to complete big throws when he Ravens needed him to. Flacco completed 20 out of 38 of his passes for 222 yards. Flacco also ran for 13 yards and did not turn the ball over. Grade B+
Running backs: Ray Rice is slowly improving health wise and it is showing on the field. Rice averaged 4.7 yards per carry, it would have been nice to see him have more than one reception. Bernard Pierce had 21 yards rushing on seven carries. Grade B
Receivers: Jacoby Jones was the Ravens best target in this game with six receptions for 80 yards. Torrey Smith and Marlon Brown also had four catches each. Dennis Pitta only had two receptions but both of them were huge. Tandon Doss needs to be more involved, the Ravens have a lot of talented receivers but Doss has hardly been used. Doss showed early in the season that he can be a go-to guy. Grade A
Offensive Line: The offensive line played ok, they were not great but not horrible. Again, too many false starts including one on the Ravens winning drive. The Lions have a great defensive line and the Ravens were able to keep them to only one sack, a lot of credit goes to Flacco on that though. Grade B
Overall: The Ravens need touchdowns, they are way too talented on offense to not finish drives. The Ravens did move the ball well on a tough defense that put them in position to win. The lack of using a fullback is also concerning since they have two of them on the roster and had two of them active. Grade B