The Ravens came into Pittsburgh as 4-point road favorites for a pivotal AFC North affair with their biggest rivals. The Ravens completely controlled the first half in terms of time of possession, holding the ball for a staggering 23:30. But it didn’t mean anything at the end. Pittsburgh completely dominated the second half, particularly the 4th quarter in which they scored 17 points to come back and defeat the Ravens 20-19.

The big takeaway from this game will be the failed 2-point conversion in which Coach Harbaugh attributed to the Ravens not having enough healthy corners to potentially play in overtime. After seeing what was arguably their worst game last week against the Browns, the Ravens followed that up with another equally poor performance. No, Lamar did not have 4 INTs, but he did have a backbreaking interception in the endzone which took points off the board for the Ravens. In a game that has been notoriously known for being close, mistakes like that are magnified. The offense looks broken and the defense cannot force turnovers and have now lost Marlon Humphrey for the season with a torn pec. Below I will highlight the 3 highest and 3 lowest graded players via Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Highest Graded Player of the Week: Odafe Oweh

Odafe Oweh comes in as the highest graded player of the week with a PFF grade of 76.6; his second highest of the year. The former Nittany Lion did not have a stellar game in terms of pass rush but was stout against the run, finishing with 4 tackles and one assist, he also had 3 “stops”. PFF describes a ‘stop’ further as an offensive gain on first down that is kept to less than 40 percent of the line to gain, less than 50 percent of the line to gain on second down and any third- or fourth-down play kept without a first down or touchdown. Oweh has put together a nice rookie campaign thus far but was blanked off of the pass rush sheet this week, 0 pressures, 0 hurries, 0 QB hits. A 76.6 grade is the lowest “highest grade” PFF has given to the Ravens so far this year. The defense was a bit protected this week due to the offense possessing the ball for nearly the entire first half. They simply had no answers in the second half, and could not generate anything close to resembling a pass rush. The Ravens had 6 total pressures which will simply just not get the job done.

Second Highest Graded Player of the Week: Patrick Ricard

Ricard comes in as the second highest graded player this week with a PFF grade of 71.9 (Highest graded offensive player). When the fullback is the highest graded player offensive player you know there are problems with the offense. This is not an indictment against Ricard, who is the best Fullback in the league according to PFF. But when the team can’t have the QB, RB, WR, or any lineman grade above a 72, you know there are issues. Ricard was a stout run blocker in this game, finishing with a run blocking grade of 84.3 which is his fourth game above an 84 grade. The Ravens found some success running the ball with Devonta Freeman, and Ricard was to thank for that as he opened up plenty of holes in route to 107 rushing yards for the Ravens as a team. Ricard and the broken Ravens offense will look to find similar success against the Browns next week.

Third Highest Graded Player of the Week: Sammy Watkins

Watkins rounds off this list by finishing the game with a 70.6 PFF grade. Watkins wasn’t spectacular in this outing, but he did catch in what seemed to be the game tying or game winning touchdown at the end of the game. Watkins finished the game with 4 catches for 39 yards and the score, which was his first TD as a Raven. 3 out of 4 of Watkins’ catches resulted in a first down and he had a QB rating of 124.3 when targeted. He is not having a great season by any means but he is averaging an impressive 14.6 yards per reception this season which is his highest since 2017. The Ravens will need Watkins and the rest of the wideouts to step their game up as they will face the Browns and their stout secondary next week.

Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Justin Madubuike

Justin Madubuike comes in as the lowest graded player this week with a PFF grade of 30.1, his second lowest grade of the year. Madubuike was a complete non-factor in this game. Not a single pressure, QB hit or hurry. No tackles, no assists, and one missed tackle. Madubuike has had an up and down season thus far, he has had some impressive games but also games in which he has been completely erased from the stat sheet. His PFF grade has now dipped to 58.3, with only 9 pressures, 3 hits and four hurries on the season to go along with 2 sacks; you have to think the coaches are disappointed in the young defensive lineman. The Ravens lack an interior pass rush and with Calais Campbell potentially retiring next off-season, you have to think the Ravens will try to address the interior pass rushing situation. Madubuike will face the formidable Browns interior line next week, who also blanked him from the pass rush department last time they played.

Second Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Anthony Averett

Averett checks in as the second lowest graded player this week with a PFF grade of 39, his lowest grade since week 5. It was just a bad game all around for Averett, he allowed 5 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown and missed 3 tackles. It should’ve been worse for Averett as Diontae Johnson dropped an easy 35-yard touchdown while Averett was trailing him. Averett has been playing better as of late but he got really exposed in the second half by Johnson. Averett will need to be better as the Ravens are completely decimated by injuries in the secondary. He faces the Browns next which should be a good matchup considering Averett’s best game of the season came against them 2 weeks ago.

Third Lowest Graded Player of the Week: Marlon Humphrey

Marlon Humphrey rounds off the list with a PFF grade of 40.8, his worst of the year. Humphrey tore his pec and will miss the remainder of the season. A huge blow to the Ravens and the defense which has been playing better over the last month or so. In this game, however, Humphrey wasn’t in his best form. He was targeted 5 times, allowed 4 receptions and a touchdown. It was Humphrey’s 5th allowed touchdown this season which is a career high, his 15 yards per reception allowed is also a career high. Despite his down year, he is still the best player on this defense and The Ravens will have a hard time replacing the all-pro cornerback. Humphrey could not have gone out at a worse time, as the Ravens will face Devante Adams, Cooper Kupp, Ja’Marr Chase and Diontae Johnson once again in the coming weeks. Humphrey finishes this season with a PFF grade of 66, the lowest of his career.

Side note: Lamar Jackson finished this game with a PFF grade of 44.2, his second lowest of the year and 6th straight game under a 70 grade.

The Ravens now sit at 8-4, still atop the AFC North due to the Bengals losing to the Chargers. But you wonder how long they will keep the top spot; they face the Browns next followed by the Packers, then the Bengals, the Rams and they finish the season with the Steelers. You can make a case they will lose all 5 of their remaining games with how poorly they have played as of late. The injuries are mounting and I can’t see the Ravens overcoming injuries to so many key positions. But the Ravens are a prideful team and will always compete and treat every game like a playoff game. They’ll look to sweep the Browns next week for a second straight season. They desperately need to win this game as their schedule gets only harder after next week.

Mirzet Salihovic
Mirzet Salihovic

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.

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