For a third consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens played in a game that kept its fans on the edge of their seats. The Lions, who were an 8 point underdog at home played with grit from start to finish. They pressured Lamar Jackson 18 times on 40 drop-backs and held the run game mostly in check. But the former MVP had his best game of the season as I will highlight below when I showcase the 3 highest and 3 lowest graded players according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
It would be criminal of me to not talk about Justin Tucker before I get into the grades of the week. Tucker connected on an impossible 66-yard field goal to win the game. It is an NFL record and it’s only fitting that Tucker holds that distinction. Ravens’ fans have been blessed to have a kicker as consistent as Tucker over the last decade. Tucker is now 16-16 in his career on field goals in the last minute of regulation, more importantly, he has converted 49 straight 4th quarter attempts, the NFL’s longest active streak.
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Sunday proved yet again that special teams is truly a 1/3 of the game and no team in the NFL has showcased better special teams play over the last decade than the Ravens. From guys like Jacoby Jones, Sam Koch, Anthony Levine and of course, Justin Tucker. John Harbaugh has always underscored the importance of special teams and will continue to do so as long as he is head coach of the Ravens. With that being said, let’s get into the 3 highest, and 3 lowest graded players of the week according to PFF.
Highest graded player of the week: Lamar Jackson.
Jackson had his best game of the season so far, registering a PFF grade of 88.3 which was the highest overall of the week and the highest graded player on offense. The box score will show that he only had a completion percentage of 51.3 but if anyone watched the game, they will realize why box scores can be deceiving and why PFF sometimes will tell a different story. Lamar had 286 yards passing but it could’ve been much more if Hollywood Brown did not drop 2 easy touchdowns. Lamar had an adjusted completion percentage of 69.3. Adjusted completion percentage is a metric that accounts for dropped passes, passes thrown away, spiked balls, passes batted at the line of scrimmage and passes in which a Quarterback was hit. Lamar threw the ball with touch all game long and when he was kept clean, he recorded a PFF passing grade of 93.7. Also, his average depth of target (aDot) was 20 yards; which shows how aggressive Greg Roman’s game plan was. Lamar made essentially the game winning throw on a 4th and 19 on their own 16-yard line to Sammy Watkins to set up the eventual game winning field goal. This is Lamar’s second game this season with over 230 passing yards. Last year he only had two games above that mark. Sunday showed that it is clear the Ravens are more aggressive at attacking the ball down the field. If Lamar can show this type of consistency going forward, NFL defenses will have a nightmare of a time trying to defend them.
Second highest graded player of the week: Chuck Clark.
Clark registered a PFF grade of 87.8, which was his highest of the year so far. Clark made noise early with a sack of Jared Goff and was consistent all day long. He had 8 total tackles, but more importantly, had 0 missed tackles. Clark was all over the place, his alignment snap counts are as follows: 12 times on the defensive line, 20 in the box, 25 at free safety, and 3 snaps at slot corner. Drafted in the 6th round in the 2017 NFL draft, Clark did not play right away due to Tony Jefferson playing the position, but as soon as he got the chance, he never looked back. Since becoming the starter in 2019, Clark has had PFF grades of 69, 69, and 77 last year. This year his grade through 3 games this year is 77. Clark wears the green dot on defense, so it is evident coaches trust him to get everyone lined up. It is good to see Clark grade highly this week, as the Ravens need more consistency from their secondary. (Through 3 games so far, the Ravens have allowed the 3rd most passing yards in the NFL.)
Third highest graded player of the week: Ben Powers.
Powers checks in as the third highest graded player of the week with a grade of 87.1. Powers had his best game as a pro to date. Powers did not allow a single pressure, hurry or hit. He had an 86 pass blocking grade and an 82 run blocking grade, which is the type of consistency the Raven’s coaches have been longing for since Marshal Yanda retired. Powers is the starter but he rotates snaps with rookie Ben Cleveland as the team tries to evaluate who the rightful guy should be going forward. If Powers keeps having performances like this, there will be little doubt amongst the Coaching staff.
Lowest graded players of the week: Malik Harrison and Patrick Queen.
Similar to Week One when Stanley and Villanueva were the two lowest graded players against the Raiders, I’ve decided to group both Queen and Harrison in this week as the two lowest graded players. Harrison received a grade of 28.3 and Queen graded out at 38.8. Harrison now has made this list for 3 straight weeks and the Ravens have responded with calling up Josh Bynes from the practice squad. Both Harrison and Queen were targeted 3 times and allowed all 3 targets to be caught. Queen again missed multiple tackles in this game and now leads the NFL in missed tackles with 6 over the first 3 games. Harrison actually had a good game in terms of tackling; missing 0 on the day but is ceding snaps to Chris Board. One of the focuses this week according to the Ravens is improved tackling going into the Broncos game. The team has dialed back tackling because of the all the injuries, but they are hopeful for a better effort going into the game on Sunday. Up next for the duo is yet another good Tight End, Noah Fant. The two young linebackers will be needed in a game that could have future playoff implications.
Second lowest graded player of the week: Alejandro Villanueva.
After grading as the highest graded player of the week last week, Villanueva receives the lowest grade on offense with a grade of 41.2. Week One was a disaster for Villaneuva, as he allowed 10 pressures. The veteran came back with an excellent performance in Week 2 in which he allowed 0 pressures. This week, he allowed 8 total pressures with 7 hurries and 1 sack allowed. A true up and down season thus far, Villanueva is capable of either giving you elite play, or poor play. He will look to get back on track this week against a very stout Bronco’s defense.
Third lowest graded player of the week: Tyus Bowser
Bowser finished the Lions game with a grade of 47.8. Bowser led the team in missed tackles this week and only had 2 pressures on 47 snaps. So far this season, Bowser has only 4 pressures and zero sacks. Not the type of play the Ravens were hoping for when they rewarded him with a contract extension this past off-season. But Bowser is not only a pass rusher, he is quite adequate in coverage. Last season he led the team in interceptions with 3. A former basketball player in college, Bowser has displayed plenty of athleticism over his time with the Ravens. You’d just like to see more from him in terms of pass rushing. He will have a tough task this week going up against Garett Bolles, one of the best pass-blocking Left Tackles in the league.
The Ravens will travel to Denver next week to play a surprising undefeated Broncos team. The Broncos have been playing excellent defense thus far, only allowing 26 points through 3 games; but it’s worth noting, the teams they have won against are a combined 0-9. Arguably, no team in the league presents a more difficult matchup than the Ravens. Lamar is coming off of his best performance of the season and will look to win a crucial road game in Denver. Needless to say, winning two road games in a row would help tremendously as the Ravens next four games after Sunday are all at M&T Bank Stadium, where they have one of the best home field advantages in the entire league.
Mirzet was born in Bosnia and raised in upstate NY. Mirzet became a huge fan of the ravens when he first moved to the country and has never looked back. Mirzet is also a former base data analyst at Pro Football Focus. Using advanced metrics and stats has always been a passion of his when discussing anything football-related. Salihovic also lived in Baltimore shortly after he went to college at SUNY Cortland, he currently resides in Utica, NY.