With the Ravens snapping a two-game slide and turning in their most complete performance of the season in a 24-0 win in Cincinnati on Sunday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. The Kyle Van Noy interception and Alohi Gilman touchdown return headlined Baltimore’s first shutout since 2018, but how about the scheme design to have Van Noy and Travis Jones drop into coverage? This defense has to scheme pressure, and that was a good example of doing so.
2. Tavius Robinson alone isn’t moving the needle, but John Harbaugh spoke to the versatility he and Dre’Mont Jones have to slide to the interior as “heavy-handed pass rushers” and how that opens up more possibilities schematically. Again, you have to be creative with a limited pass-rushing group.
3. Lamar Jackson didn’t have many opportunities, but he continued looking healthier with two scrambles of 12-plus yards and movement in the pocket. While I’m skeptical we’ll see Jackson with double-digit carries in a game the rest of the way, flashing some threat of doing so still helps the offense tremendously.
4. Zay Flowers caught a touchdown and made another unbelievable grab on the same drive, but he had a bad drop leading to an interception and another on a very catchable end-zone throw. He’s the only pass-catching constant, but there have been a few too many drops and fumbles of late.
5. Ar’Darius Washington earned positive reviews from Harbaugh in the 15 defensive snaps he played in his season debut. You wonder if his versatility could lead to Zach Orr getting even more creative with the usage of Kyle Hamilton, especially with the loss of Teddye Buchanan at inside linebacker.
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6. Seeing DeAndre Hopkins catch a slant and gain 32 yards on a run-pass option prompted the question of why RPOs haven’t been a bigger part of Baltimore’s offense. Harbaugh said the Ravens have been running them, but the eyeball test and statistics suggest those could be used more prominently.
7. Cincinnati remaining so methodical on offense sounded OK in theory and did keep Jackson and the Ravens offense off the field, but you have to actually do something at some point to justify the long drives. I suppose going 3-for-15 on third down wasn’t part of Zac Taylor’s game plan.
8. How strange was Sunday’s game that resulted in the Bengals being blanked despite owning nearly a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession? Per Pro Football Talk, this was the first time in NFL history that a team lost by 24-plus points while enjoying such a large advantage in possession.
9. Myles Murphy beating Isaiah Likely to sack Jackson on the opening drive was the latest example of a questionable matchup in pass protection. Yes, tight ends and running backs have to contribute as blockers, but asking Likely to block an edge rusher is dubious from a game-plan perspective.
10. Speaking of tight ends, Charlie Kolar finished the day with three tackles on special teams and blocked very well. I’m not sure where he’ll be on Baltimore’s list of free agents to re-sign, but he does the little things quite well despite not receiving much fanfare for it.
11. It was funny watching Van Noy “lateral” the ball to Gilman days after Hall of Famer Ed Reed visited the team, but that handoff was quite tame compared to some of Reed’s laterals over the years. We remember the ones that worked, but there were some very ill-advised ones too.
12. With Pittsburgh’s win over Miami, the Ravens learned any possible path to the postseason will now require a win over the Steelers in Week 18. There will be no backing into the playoffs, and that’s the way it should be for a team fortunate to still be in solid position.
