Analytical Review of Ravens at Patriots

A week removed from the worst collapse in team history, the Baltimore Ravens entered Gilette Stadium on Sunday in what felt like a must-win game against the Patriots. The Ravens ultimately won the game 37-26 on the back of 4 Lamar Jackson Touchdown passes and a 100- yard effort on the ground by the former MVP. The game was mostly close throughout the afternoon. Mac Jones threw for an impressive 321 yards but tossed 3 awful interceptions. 2 of which came in the fourth quarter to essentially eliminate the Patriots’ hopes. This game also featured the debut of J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins was on a limited snap count but you can tell he had a lot of juice on his runs. The former Buckeye should get more snaps as the seasons continues, he looks healthy and determined to have a huge season. The defense closed the game at the end with 2 interceptions by Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. Both played graded well as I will outline below. I will also hit on the players who did not play well. All grades are courtesy of Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Highest Graded Player of the Week: Kyle Hamilton

Kyle Hamilton takes the reigns as the highest graded player of the week. The rookie earned a PFF grade of 92.6, his highest grade of his young career. Hamilton was supremely impressive in this contest. Hamilton did not stuff the stat sheet with tackles and such for good reason. He was only targeted once on 14 coverage snaps. He allowed only one catch which went for ten yards. He arguably made the play of the game by forcing a fumble on Nelson Agholor. Hamilton chased the speedy Wide Receiver from behind and knocked it loose and was subsequently recovered by Marcus Peters. Hamilton only played a total of 16 snaps but was used all over the field. He lined up once on the defensive line, once in the box, nine times at Free Safety, and five times in slot. Hamilton has the size to line up as a linebacker and the smarts and quickness to play safety. Hamilton already ranks as the 7th best safety in the league via PFF. He’ll be needed next week to slow down Josh Allen and co.

Second Highest Graded Player of the Week: Josh Bynes

After being graded poorly over the first two games of the year, Josh Bynes finishes this contest with an elite PFF grade of 91.3. Bynes only managed to accrue two tackles in his first two games. He finished this contest with seven tackles and two assists. The veteran also had three stops and allowed only two catches for 9 yards. He also added an impressive interception, the fifth of his career. The Ravens have been shaky at linebacker this season but Bynes is usually a steady presence in the middle. It was nice to see Bynes shake off two consecutive poor games with an impressive effort. He’ll be needed next week as the Bills deploy their running backs out of the backfield as good as any team in the league.

Third Highest Graded Player of the Week: Marcus Peters

Marcus Peters rounds off this list by finishing the game with a PFF grade of 90.5. After a shaky debut against the Dolphins last week, Peters bounces back with an amazing performance against the Pats. Peters played 42 coverage snaps and only allowed one catch on 4 targets, he also sealed the game with an interception. Having Peters healthy and playing well is something the Ravens desperately need considering the players behind him and Marlon Humphrey are mostly inexperienced and liabilities. Not to say those players cannot improve, but the front office is investing a lot of money into Peters and Humphrey. They need those guys playing well. And they’ll be needed more than ever as the Bills and their high-flying offense come into town.

Other Notable High Grades:

Marlon Humphrey: 86.8

Calais Campbell: 80.3

Mark Andrews: 87.3 (Highest graded offensive player and highest graded Tight End in the league so far).

Lamar Jackson: 85.6 (Second highest graded offensive player and highest graded Quarterback in the league so far).

Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Jalyn Armour-Davis

For the second straight week Armour-Davis is the week’s lowest graded player. The rookie finished with a game grade of 29.9 which incredibly is actually lower than his last week’s grade of 30.4. It is especially worrisome for Armour-Davis because he got the start; and only managed 9 total snaps for the game. In this 5 coverage snaps he was targeted twice and allowed both targets to be hauled in for 71 yards. He also missed a tackle in this contest. He was promptly benched for the rest of game. The two catches he allowed were to DeVante Parker; who coming into the game had a grand total of one catch for 9 yards. It tells you everything you need to know about why he was benched. Armour-Davis was a project coming into the NFL from Alabama. I believe he will improve as the season continues but you hate to see how much of a liability he has been thus far.

Second Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Brandon Stephens

Stephens finishes as the second lowest graded player of the week with a mark of 35.4; his second worst game of his career. Stephens, like Armour-Davis, was getting cooked all game long by DeVante Parker.

The two corners made Parker look like an All-Pro. Stephens stepped in for the aforementioned rookie and did not fare much better. On 12 coverage snaps he allowed 3 catches on 5 targets for 61 yards. All 61 yards were courtesy of Parker. Stephens has been a liability in coverage since last season. To be fair, last season he was thrust into the role due to injuries and played admirably given the circumstances. But he did not grade well at all in coverage last season and so far, it has carried into this season. You wonder how long the leash is for someone like Stephens who seems to be always getting beat on plays. The loss of Kyle Fuller is really hurting the Ravens and the team may look to add another veteran corner to maybe supplement the opposite side of Marcus Peters. Armour-Davis and Stephens will have their hands full next week vs the high-octane passing offense of the Bills.

Third Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Damarion Williams

The Rookie fourth round pick rounds off this list by finishing as the third lowest graded player this week. He finished the game with a game grade of 35.4. “Pepe” Williams was a preseason darling. He played very well, snagging an interception and almost having another one. But it is clearly a much different animal when you are asked to cover starting wide receivers in the NFL. Through 2 games, Pepe has a PFF grade of 43.1. The Ravens have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL through 3 games and the inexperienced young defensive backs are the main culprits. Though it does not help the Ravens also cannot generate a pass rush. So, giving up on these 3 guys would be foolish. They will all look to rebound and will be needed in an AFC heavyweight bout next week vs the Bills.

Other Notable Low Grades:

Demarcus Robinson: 44.9

Morgan Moses: 56.9

J.K. Dobbins: 56.9

After another impressive outing by the offense, Lamar Jackson now leads the NFL in passing TDs and QB rating. He also is fourth in the league in rushing yards. Lamar Jackson is the Ravens offense. You wonder what type of contract he will command if he can keep this pace up. Will he price himself out of Baltimore? Maybe. But the Ravens have two more years of control if push ever came to shove. But that will be a discussion for the off-season. The Bills come into town after losing a wild game to the Dolphins and will look to rebound. Lamar and the offense should be fine, but the defense has me worried. All of the worst grades this week came from the secondary. You hate to see those guys not play well vs an average offense like the pats. You wonder how often Allen will be going after those young DBs. But that’s why they play the games, right? Ravens open up as home underdogs this week, and for my money, I never bet against Lamar in a game of this magnitude at home.