BALTIMORE — The Ravens played their most complete game of the season with a 35-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Here’s the Report Card:
Offense
Quarterback: Lamar Jackon is once again an NFL MVP candidate with another solid performance. He was 13-for-18 for 156 yards with two touchdowns. Jackson also ran for 54 yards on six carries and made sure the Ravens did not have a late-game collapse. Grade: A
Running backs: Derrick Henry scored on an 87-yard touchdown run on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage and never slowed down. Henry finished with 199 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. He also caught a 5-yard score. Justice Hill caught all six of his targets for 78 yards with a touchdown. Grade: A
Wide receivers: The wideouts didn’t have a busy night but they were efficient. Nelson Agholor had two catches for 10 yards, and tight end Isaiah Likely caught a 26-yard pass. The Ravens did not have to throw the ball that often because the running game was performing so well. Grade: B+
Offensive line: Ravens starting left guard Andrew Vorhees was ruled out with an ankle injury. Pat Mekari moved from right tackle to left guard. Rookie Roger Rosengarten got his first career start at right tackle. The rest of the offensive line was the same as the past three games — Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, Tyler Linderbaum at center, and Daniel Faalele at right guard. This unit had its best game, paving the way for Henry to run and protecting Jackson. Grade: A
Defense
Defensive line: Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce did not play because of a shoulder injury. Pierce is one of the Ravens’ best run-stoppers and the team performed well without him, allowing 66 yards rushing on 18 carries. Ravens tackle Travis Jones has emerged as a key playmaker and Nnamdi Madubuike was able to get pressure on quarterback Josh Allen. Grade: A
Linebackers: Kyle Van Noy tied a franchise record with two sacks in three straight games. Odafe Oweh also had a sack and two quarterback hits. Roquan Smith finished with six tackles. Grade: A
Secondary: Safety Kyle Hamilton had his second straight dominant game and led the team with seven tackles. Rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins could have had two interceptions. Veteran cornerbacks Brandon Stephens and Marlon Humphrey were solid in coverage. Allen was 16-for-29 for 180 yards and was pulled for backup Mitch Trubisky midway through the fourth quarter. Grade: A-
Special teams: It was a quiet night for special teams as the Ravens scored touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. Jordan Stout had four punts that averaged 44.3 yards. Deonte Harty averaged 11.3 yards on three punt returns. Coverage was solid. Grade: A
Coaching
After two straight losses, coach John Harbaugh has the team back on track with a pair of wins. Harbaugh did call a timeout right after an injury timeout, which resulted in a penalty and a Buffalo first down on a fourth-and-2. However, that mistake did not cost the Ravens any points. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken called a solid game. New defensive coordinator Zach Orr is quickly growing into the role. Grade: A
