Ravens Report Card Week 12: The Defense
The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 20-10 on Sunday Night Football. For the full recap, check out Jarrett recap (Ravens Earn Their Flowers on Sunday Night). Here I am grading the key positions for the Ravens Defense.
Defensive Line: A+
Once again, this Ravens defensive line continued to be stellar with an amazing performance Sunday night vs the Los Angeles Chargers. Led this week by Jadeveon Clowney, and Michael Pierce. Sunday night vs the Chargers made Ravens fans rejoice after seeing the lack of production from this position group. But back to the game itself, Justin Herbert looked like a deer in head lights most of the night because he was being pressured play after play. Even strip sacking Herbert late in the game by Jadeveon Clowney. That was just a small fraction of what Justin Herbert was feeling. Also, this defensive line took advantage of a mediocre offensive line in the Los Angeles Chargers. Lastly, this defensive line group can get pressure on the quarter with Mike McDonald only having to rush 4 down linemen. This defensive line recorded 3 sacks, 8 quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
Linebackers: A
I know this sounds repetitive but another week, another Patrick Queen and RoQuan Smith master class performance. Both Smith and Queen combining for 15 tackles, and 2 pass deflections Sunday night vs the Chargers stout offense was just amazing due to the difficulty of stopping the Chargers tight ends and Wide Receivers. Queen even forcing a fumble Sunday night. Kyle Van Noy showed up as well on Sunday with his energy because he was mic’d up vs the Chargers. Even showing that he can be dropped out in coverage by deflecting a pass in the game that would’ve been a sure first down for the Chargers when they had gained a bit of momentum back from Baltimore. A huge point of emphasis that should be noted for the rest of the season when teams play Baltimore, they are going to have to come ready to fight and be in a physical environment. Justin Herbert, it feels like, was setting his receivers up in the middle of the field when Smith and Queen were standing right there.
Secondary: B
The only reason for the B grade for this secondary is because of the inability to not being able to stop the Chargers best guy in Keenan Allen. The Ravens allowed Allen to record 14 catches for 106 yards. But they did force Allen to fumble in the middle of the field. But that was the only negative thing that Allen did wrong for this Chargers offense. Kyle Hamilton continues to put his name out there as a great young talent in the NFL. Hamilton was an energizer bunny for this defense being all over the field making himself available sideline to sideline, making tackles, and even making plays in coverage. Other than Keenan Allen, The Ravens defensive backs were able to leave the other Charger receivers out of the game by only allowing 7.5 yards per catch Sunday Night. Like the Linebackers, this secondary showcased Sunday night they too can bring the pain in the back end. A prime example of this was in the first quarter when Geno Stone came down and laced it on Justin Herbert.
