The Green Bay Packers took advantage of several Ravens’ miscues and ran away with a 30-7 victory in the final preseason game on Saturday.
Baltimore’s lone offensive highlight was a 48-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Tylan Wallace on a pass from Josh Johnson early in the second quarter.
The Ravens finished the preseason at 1-2 for the second consecutive year.
Now, coach John Harbaugh and the rest of the players can fully shift their attention to the NFL opener against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on September 5th.
“The bottom line is, we play the Chiefs in 12 days. So, that’s our focus,” Harbaugh said. “We have to get ready for the game against the Chiefs, and that’s what we’re doing. We’ll look at the tape and see if it tells us anything we didn’t know about our guys, as far as who makes it [and] who’s on the practice squad.
“There [are] going to be important evaluations; I think they’re more individual evaluations than any kind of team evaluations at this point, and that’s what we’ll do. We have to get ready to play a game.”
The Packers outgained the Ravens in yardage, 326 to 177, and had 20 first downs compared to 9 for Baltimore.
Packers kicker Anders Carlson converted field goals 54 and 36 yards in the first quarter and made a 55-yarder in the third quarter.
Wallace gave the Ravens a 7-6 lead when he caught a pass in stride and ran down the sideline before reaching for the pylon with 11:21 left in the half. Green Bay retook the lead, 13-7, when Bo Melton beat Ravens cornerback Pepe Williams in the end zone for an 18-yard score. Williams, who also missed a couple of tackles, could be on the bubble to make the final roster.
Packers wide receiver Bo Melton (80) leaps to catch a pass to score a touchdown over Ravens cornerback Damarion Williams (24). By Jeff Hanisch, USA Today Sports
The Packers scored again when Arron Mosby ran through the Ravens’ offensive line unblocked and strip-sacked rookie quarterback Devin Leary. It appeared that left tackle Josh Jones missed the assignment. Safety Anthony Johnson picked up the ball and ran 24 yards for a touchdown that gave Green Bay a 20-7 lead with just over five minutes left in the half.
Ravens undrafted rookie tight end Riley Sharp likely sealed his fate as a cut when he fumbled a ball on the first possession of the second half. The Packers took advantage and boosted the lead to 27-7 on a 7-yard pass from Sean Clifford to Malik Heath, who beat Ka’dar Hollman in the middle of the end zone.
The Ravens did not record a sack.
Starting offensive line: The Ravens’ starting offensive line consisted of Jones at left tackle, Andrew Vorhees at left guard, center Nick Samac, right guard Daniel Faalele, and right tackle Roger Rosengarten. Except for Jones and Samac, those players could start the regular season against the Chiefs. Ronnie Stanley will take Jones’ spot at left tackle. If healthy, Tyler Linderbaum will start at center. Ben Cleveland is still in the mix to start at center if Linderbaum is sidelined. However, Harbaugh is confident Linderbaum will be ready to play against Kansas City.
“We’re playing a couple of guys here and there,” Harbaugh said. “It’s an individual type of an evaluation, so you have to look at it and see what those guys did per play.”
Simpson shines: Ravens inside linebacker Trenton Simpson capped his impressive preseason with a third-quarter interception. “I feel like my confidence is continually growing,” Simpson said. “[I’m] blessed to have the opportunity to be able to play these preseason reps [and] practice against another team, [as well as] see different schemes. I’m excited. I’ve got a couple more days to keep grinding, keep getting better and just stacking days on top of days, and I’ll be ready.”
David Ojabo shines again: Outside linebacker David Ojabo played in his second preseason game. Ojaobo finished with another quarterback hit and provided solid pressure.
Jonson’s finale: Johnson got his third start of the preseason and went 5-for-7 for 71 yards with a touchdown for a 143.5 rating. Johnson has secured the job as the main backup to Lamar Jackson. “I’ve played in a lot of different places, [and] I’ve learned a lot of different football,” Johnson said. “I’ve played in some meaningful games as well. I’ve been thrown into a lot of uncharacteristic situations, so nothing kind of surprises me when situations may come up, and I feel like I’m a pretty good football player [and] quarterback when it comes to just getting the job done and moving the ball down the field.”
Evans has a solid performance. Undrafted outside linebacker Joe Evans has been a workhorse throughout training camp. The Iowa alum had another good game and finished with two tackles and two quarterback hits against the Packers. It might be tough for Evans to make the 53-man roster, but he could find his way on the practice squad or with another NFL team.
Tough day for Leary: Leary threw a pair of interceptions when stared down the wide receivers and fumbled twice, including a snap on a fourth-and-1. Turnovers were the biggest issue for Leary at Kentucky, where he threw 28 interceptions in 43 games. It does not appear that Leary will be part of the final roster and he is in jeopardy of not making the practice squad.
“At the end of the day, just doing what I’m coached to do, making sure I fall back on my training – fall back on my rules,” Leary said. “Putting the ball in jeopardy is not winning football, so that’s something I need to improve [upon]. [I’ll] watch the tape [and] learn from it, and [there is] little room for error playing at a level like this.”
Major Injuries: Samac injured his leg and had to be carted off the field Running back Owen Wright also had to be carted off the field with a broken foot. Cornerback Trayvon Mullen suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Taking advantage of new kickoff rules: Before being carted off with the injury, Wright averaged 30.3 yards on three kickoff returns. Deonte Harty had a 27-yard return.
