The Baltimore Ravens welcomed to Green Bay Packers into M&T Bank Stadium for an interconference affair in which QB Lamar Jackson did not playing after suffering a low ankle sprain in last week’s game vs the Browns. The final line from Vegas had the Packers favored by 9; which made sense, considering the entire Ravens starting secondary was out and Tyler Huntley was making his second career start.
The Ravens, however, did not play like an underdog. Huntley had a phenomenal game and led the Ravens on what looked to be either a game tying, or game winning touchdown. The Ravens opted for the latter, attempting a 2-point conversion to win the game for the second time in three weeks, and again the attempt failed. Much has been made about Harbaugh’s decision to go for two once again, but I will say this: I’m glad the Ravens have a Coach and team who is not scared to win the game. Yes, the attempt failed, but the decision made sense. I would much rather try to get 2 yards to end a game rather than going into overtime and giving Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams a chance to shred practice squad cornerbacks. As a fanbase, we have to accept these decisions and they are only highlighted when the conversion fails. How easily we all forget all of the successful fourth down conversions that helped us win games this season and in previous years. With that being said, I will highlight the 3 highest and 3 lowest graded players of the game according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Highest Graded Player of the Week: Mark Andrews
Mark Andrews comes in as the highest graded player of the week with a PFF grade of 92; amazingly, his second highest grade of the year. Andrews is making his case as the NFL’s best Tight End. He eclipsed his first 1,000-yard season of his career and already has a career high in receptions with 85. Andrews was a force all day in this game, he finished with 12 targets which resulted in 10 grabs for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. The fourth-year tight end had his way with former Terp, Darnell Savage and Baltimore native, Adrian Amos. Andrews provided a 153.5 QB rating when he was being targeted and simply proved to be too much to handle for the Packers. His ten receptions all went for either a first down or a touchdown. He is simply on fire as of late, with back-to-back games of at least 10 receptions and at least one touchdown. Another impressive outing will be needed Sunday against the Bengals for a huge AFC North matchup.
Second Highest Graded Player of the Week: Tyler Huntley
Huntley makes his first appearance on this list by finishing with a PFF grade of 81.5; his highest of his career. “Snoop” had an amazing performance on Sunday. The former undrafted free agent finished the game by going 28-40 for 215 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 0 INTs. With Lamar Jackson being questionable all week with the low ankle sprain, Huntley took all of the QB1 reps in practice. With a makeshift offensive line, and the daunting task of having to compete against Aaron Rodgers, Huntley played about as well as you can ask. Huntley also added 73 rushing yards as he made play after play escaping pressure and making something out of nothing, a sight Ravens fans are used to with Lamar Jackson as their QB. The front office struck gold with Huntley. A QB who can run the same offense as their QB1, which is a very complex offense. Huntley might be needed again next week against the Bengals if Jackson remains sidelined, however, the Ravens feel optimistic Jackson will return. But if Jackson cannot go, they should feel encouraged knowing they have a backup who is more than capable of getting the job done.
Third Highest Graded Player of the Week: Brandon Stephens
Stephens rounds off the list by finishing with a PFF grade of 76; his highest grade of the season. Stephens was the Ravens highest graded player on defense. Aaron Rodgers was essentially doing whatever he wanted against the undermanned Ravens defense. But Stephens played his best game of the season. He had 4 total tackles with one missed tackle, and he was targeted only once in coverage and he didn’t allow the target to be caught. Stephens has had a rough rookie year to date, but it’s important to remember he is a converted running back who played corner in college, and now he is being asked to play safety. With all the injuries to the secondary, Stephens is playing well and will only continue to improve. He will face the Bengals next; his lowest graded game of the season was against this same Bengals team. He’ll look to right the ship and have a better showing this time around.
Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Kevon Seymour
Seymour comes in as the lowest graded player this week with a PFF grade of 28.9. You knew Aaron Rodgers was going to exploit the Ravens inexperienced secondary. Unfortunately, Seymour was at the receiving end of Rodgers’ wrath. He was targeted 6 times and allowed 4 receptions for 71 yards. He also had 2 missed tackles. Seymour appeared in 2 other games this season, but had 25 total snaps in both games combined. He played 54 snaps in this game and did not look particularly good, but it was expected as Rodgers makes a living off of targeting the other team’s weakest link. It doesn’t get any easier for Seymour as he will have to deal with the Bengals elite WR core next week.
Second Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Anthony Levine
Levine finishes as the second lowest graded player this week coming in with a PFF grade of 29.7. The Ravens were forced to played Levine on defense, which they have done for a grand total of one snap all season before this game. Which should tell you all you need to know how injured this team is. Levine was targeted 3 times by Rodgers and he allowed all 3 targets to be caught for 24 yards. In his first real defensive action all year, Levine wasn’t a complete disaster, he did have 2 tackles and zero missed tackles. Levine, who is a valuable special teamer was thrust into a depleted defense and Rodgers knew to find him in coverage. The Ravens may need him again next week against the Bengals.
Third Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Patrick Queen
Queen rounds off this list once again, finishing with a PFF grade of 47.1. Queen finished the game with 10 tackles so people will automatically assume he had a “good” game. But it was quite the opposite. Queen missed 3 tackles and was completely eviscerated in coverage. He was targeted 7 times and allowed all 7 targets to be caught for a total of 84 yards. Rodgers had a 116 QB rating when targeting Queen. The former LSU Tiger had been playing well, with a total of 2 missed tackles over the previous 8 games. Queen will get to play his college buddy, Joe Burrow next week. Earlier this season when the Bengals beat the Ravens, Queen had one of his best games of the year. Hopefully a similar game is on deck for Queen but with a different final score.
The Ravens have now lost 3 straight games in heart-breaking fashion. And are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff positioning. They are tied with the Bengals at 8-6 so needless to say, their next game should be treated as a playoff game. If the Ravens lose, it’ll be hard to imagine this team making the postseason, especially with the Rams on tap the following week. Harbaugh always get his team ready to play and this week will be no different. They’ll need to play their best game of the season and hopefully it won’t have to come down to a 2-point conversion.
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.