With the Ravens winning a fifth straight game to move above .500 and into first place in the AFC North in a 23-10 final against the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Uneasy thoughts of squandering a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter were growing before Marlon Humphrey ripped the ball away from Jets running back Breece Hall at the 2-yard line with under seven minutes remaining. That was a massive play from someone less than two weeks removed from finger surgery.
2. John Harbaugh said Kyle Hamilton’s right ankle is “not a serious injury,” which aligns with replays indicating the All-Pro safety simply turned it as he was moving toward the ball to make a tackle. However, that description remains open for some interpretation, and Baltimore plays on a short week now.
3. Between 1 1/2 sacks from Dre’Mont Jones and Mike Green rebounding from last week’s ankle injury to register a sack and a season-high five pressures, the pass rush is improving — even if Tyrod Taylor was still too comfortable at times. Jones’ inside-outside versatility is making a big difference.
4. You don’t hear many postgame questions about punters, but Jordan Stout was sensational Sunday as he matched Sam Koch’s franchise-record 74-yard punt and posted the sixth-best gross punting average (61.5) in an NFL game since 1960. He came up big on a day the offense was really scuffling.
5. I often find a game rewatch eases my real-time concerns, but that wasn’t the case watching Lamar Jackson look reluctant to run and not all that great when he did. You also wonder how much missed practices are impacting his timing and rhythm as a passer the last few weeks.
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6. As laborious as everything feels for the offense at the moment, Zay Flowers continues to be explosive and very difficult for opposing defenses to cover. Jackson and Todd Monken can’t get the ball to him enough. Flowers has nearly 500 more receiving yards than any other teammate.
7. Teams often cite the importance of not beating themselves, and the Jets helped Baltimore’s cause. Safety Isaiah Oliver’s 34-yard pass interference penalty on third-and-long to open the second half and Aaron Glenn’s decision to go for fourth-and-2 from his own 42 on the subsequent drive completely changed the game’s complexion.
8. New York edge rusher Jermaine Johnson isn’t going to enjoy reviewing the film of Pat Ricard wrecking him on Derrick Henry’s second touchdown run on fourth-and-goal from the 2. For a team that’s struggled in those goal-to-go short-yardage situations, that brought a smile — and an exhale
9. The offensive line’s performance remains the biggest obstacle to unlocking this passing attack, but Devontez Walker now has four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns on four targets and 27 routes run this season. You’d like to see him more involved in an offense needing more juice.
10. As terrific as Stout was punting the ball, the kickoff coverage needs to improve with the Jets gaining good field position multiple times and Tyler Loop missing the landing zone once again. In the kick return game, I’d like to see Keaton Mitchell continue to get opportunities.
11. Emery Jones Jr. didn’t play, but the rookie third-round pick supplanting veteran guard Ben Cleveland as an active backup reinforced Harbaugh’s recent comment that Jones was “pretty close to being ready to play.” For what it’s worth, Jones took most of his pregame warmup reps lining up at left guard.
12. Victories over Tua Tagovailoa, J.J. McCarthy, the Dillon Gabriel-Shedeur Sanders combination, and Taylor aren’t wowing anyone, but this defense has clearly improved from that awful opening month. In a league that produces head-scratching results every week, winning the games you’re supposed to win still goes a long way.
