With the Ravens getting back on track in a 31-17 win over the Washington Football Team on Sunday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Baltimore extended its team-record road winning streak to eight with barely a peep from national media. The lack of attention wasn’t surprising after the Kansas City loss, but flying under the radar might be good for John Harbaugh’s team. As Ron Burgundy might say, “Lay low for a while.”
2. Angst over Lamar Jackson running too often comes from a good place, but plays like his 50-yard touchdown run still make me wonder why you’d want to do too much to limit that. The offense looked disjointed for much of the first half until he changed matters in a blink.
3. Jackson’s interception was poorly timed as it led to Washington points to close the first half, but fan reaction reflected how high the bar is. Whether he threw too quickly or Miles Boykin was slow getting his head turned around, Jackson was going to throw a pick again eventually.
4. For the second straight week, the defense was too vulnerable against screens and passes to running backs as Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic combined for 11 catches for 122 yards. Linebackers and edge defenders must clean this up as offenses try to take advantage of an aggressive unit.
5. Matthew Judon broke out statistically with two sacks, five quarterback hits, and a batted pass in his best performance of 2020. With the Ravens again struggling to do much when rushing four, they need more of this from Judon. And he’ll be looking for more as free agency awaits.
6. On the day he tied Ray Lewis for the second-most games played by a Raven, perfect passer Sam Koch improved to 7-for-7 in his career with his 15-yard completion to Miles Boykin. The others to catch throws from him? Cary Williams, Nick Boyle, Mark Andrews, and Chris Moore (three).
7. Patrick Queen made the bone-crushing pop at the goal line and finished with three tackles for a loss, but the game still looks too fast for him in pass coverage right now. Harbaugh acknowledged his pattern reads in zone coverage needing improvement, but his talent continues to flash.
8. Devin Duvernay doubled what had been his average offensive snap count through Week 3 with 16, but he touched the ball just once for four yards. With the running game not firing on all cylinders, seeing Duvernay and Marquise Brown on the field at the same time is a must.
9. With Jimmy Smith limited due to a knee issue, Anthony Averett played a career-high 62 defensive snaps as an outside corner while Marlon Humphrey played the slot. Averett won’t be confused with Humphrey or Marcus Peters, but he’ll be fine keeping plays in front of him as he did Sunday.
10. I was surprised veteran offensive tackle Will Holden wasn’t elevated from the practice squad with Ronnie Stanleyout. What would Baltimore have done at tackle had something happened to Orlando Brown Jr. or D.J. Fluker? Move Tyre Phillips outside? Insert Patrick Mekari there? Turn to Nick Boyle? Pray?
11. Trailing by 18 with under 12 minutes to play, Washington’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 13was fine given its minimal win probability by that point. However, that goes out the window when your quarterback takes a 5-yard checkdown instead of throwing to the end zone.
12. Diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in August, Washington coach Ron Rivera struggling through Sunday’s game was tough to watch at times. Rivera is highly respected around the NFL and has many people praying for him in this battle.
