When quarterback Lamar Jackson walked casually down a ramp and onto the practice field late Friday morning, it felt like a sense of normalcy had returned to the Baltimore Ravens at the end of an angst-ridden week.
The Ravens returned from Cleveland early Sunday evening following a disappointing 29-24 loss to the Browns. Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was inundated with questions about the benching of veteran safety Marcus Williams and the latest poor performance from his defense. Tuesday, the Ravens made a trade to help their already productive offense, bringing in wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
The practice week ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the surging Denver Broncos accelerated Wednesday, but it took place without Jackson, who was listed on the injury report with knee and back issues, and without four members of their five-man interior defensive line rotation. Jackson wasn’t on the field again for Thursday’s practice, after which defensive coordinator Zach Orr and special teams coordinator Chris Horton faced several questions about their underachieving units.
By Friday, Jackson’s return to practice and the visual evidence that he wasn’t held back physically returned the focus to what the 5-3 Ravens have to do Sunday to beat a Broncos (5-3) team that has won five of its past six games and has a rookie quarterback playing at a high level and a defense that has been one of the best in the league.
“I believe our guys are locked in,” Jackson said Friday. “I wasn’t at practice the first two days, but just from watching (the practice) film, guys were locked in, making things happen. Practice looked great. It looked like I was out there. But we’re going to see Sunday, see how guys respond after that loss last Sunday.”
At this time last week, the Ravens had a five-game winning streak and were being touted in some circles as the best team in the NFL. But the loss in Cleveland resuscitated concerns about the team’s inconsistencies and the vulnerability of the defense. The health of the team and its star quarterback became a talking point as well.
Baltimore is in a crucial part of its schedule. The Broncos are a physical and well-coached team that presents several challenges. Four days later, the Ravens face the Cincinnati Bengals on “Thursday Night Football.” Then, on Nov. 17, the Ravens have to go to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in what could be a battle for first place in the AFC North.
With what they have ahead, a poor performance Sunday, particularly by the defense, would turn up the heat on everyone in the organization.
“We’re going to be fine,” said middle linebacker Roquan Smith. “There’s a lot of outside noise, and there is a lot of adversity, but you can’t get rattled. We keep receipts. At the end of the day, just got to make cats pay for it, when the time comes. We’re going to be perfectly fine. We’ll look back at this interview pretty soon, and you’ll be like, ‘You were right.’”
During game weeks, we’ll examine some of the storylines, matchups and questions the Ravens face heading into the contest. This week’s first-and-10:
1. This game marks the first meeting between a team averaging 30-plus points and a team allowing an average of no more than 15, in Week 9 or later, since the Ravens played the San Francisco 49ers in December 2019. For all the talk about the Ravens’ struggling defense this week, Sunday’s most intriguing matchup is Baltimore’s offense (ranked first in DVOA and yards per game) versus Denver’s defense (ranked fifth in DVOA and third in yards allowed per game).
The Ravens lead the league in yards per play (7.1). The Broncos are allowing a league-low 4.4 yards per play. The Ravens have been among the best teams in the league in play action. The Broncos have been the best team in the league at defending play action. Jackson has been really good against the blitz. Denver’s defense is blitzing a lot and with great success. Baltimore leads the league in explosive runs. The Broncos have been among the best defenses in the league at limiting explosive runs. It will be strength versus strength.
2. Jackson’s mobility will certainly be tested by Vance Joseph’s aggressive Denver defense. According to Pro Football Reference, the Broncos blitz on 36.5 percent of opponent dropbacks. That’s the second-highest blitz percentage in the NFL, behind the Minnesota Vikings. They also have the fifth-highest pressure percentage at 28.6 and are second in the league with 30 sacks. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has a sack in six straight games. Defensive end Zach Allen leads all NFL interior defensive linemen with 26 quarterback hurries.
Jackson and the Ravens have been good against the blitz for much of the season, but they haven’t faced a defense as aggressive as the Broncos and with as many guys who can get to the quarterback. Denver has five players with three or more sacks. Baltimore’s offensive line, which struggled last week, has its hands full.
3. Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is in the midst of a stretch where he has over 100 yards receiving in three of his last four games. During that span, he has 24 catches for 369 yards. Pat Surtain II, arguably the top cover corner in the NFL, could spend considerable time matched up against Flowers. Surtain has allowed 12 receptions all year, per Pro Football Focus. The Broncos have shown a willingness to have Surtain shadow the opponent’s top receiver, so we could see the Surtain-Flowers matchup often.
4. It would be surprising if Johnson is heavily involved in Sunday’s game plan. He has only three practices under his belt with his new team, and Jackson was on the field for only one of them. The Ravens will probably try to get Johnson involved to some extent, and Harbaugh has talked about potentially using him as a punt returner. However, it probably will be a few weeks before he’s fully integrated into the offense.
5. Nearly the entire Ravens defense stayed on the field following Wednesday’s practice to … catch footballs. Frustrated by an inability to turn errant throws into interceptions, Ravens defensive backs went back to the basics this week. It’s not the first time this year they worked on their pass catching in practice. The exercise featured an increased sense of urgency after three or four dropped picks contributed to the loss in Cleveland. There were also long post-practice lines at the Jugs machine all week. The Ravens lead the league with eight dropped interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus. The question is, will Bo Nix give them any opportunities? He’s thrown just one interception over his last six games.
6. Nix has done a nice job since Week 2 making plays with his arm and legs and avoiding mistakes. But a key to Denver’s turnaround after an 0-2 start has been how good the team’s offensive line has played. Nix has been sacked just 11 times all season. Only Buffalo’s Josh Allen among every-week starters has been sacked less. The Broncos’ offensive line, which includes former Ravens guard Ben Powers, leads the league in pass-block efficiency. That’s a scary thought for a Ravens defense that has struggled to impact the quarterback, even when it blitzes. Orr has to figure out a way to get consistent pressure on Nix.
7. One thing Denver’s offense hasn’t done well is create a high volume of explosive plays. The Broncos are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored a touchdown outside of the red zone. The Ravens’ defense has allowed a league-high nine scores outside of the red zone. So as the expression goes, something has to give.
8. If Jackson’s status was the Ravens’ biggest concern, concern 1B was the collective health of the interior defensive line. Wednesday, Nnamdi Madubuike was the only defensive lineman on the 53-man roster who was practicing. Nose tackle Michael Pierce went on injured reserve earlier this week. Defensive tackle Travis Jones barely practiced after he looked bothered by an ankle injury in limited snaps versus Cleveland. Defensive end Brent Urban (concussion) didn’t practice all week and won’t play Sunday. Defensive end Broderick Washington (knee) missed practice Thursday after he was limited Wednesday.
The Ravens probably will use a practice squad elevation on one of their defensive linemen (Josh Tupou, C.J. Ravenell or Chris Wormley), but there will be concerns regardless. The Broncos don’t have a dynamic running game, but it’s good enough to take advantage of a thin defensive line.
9. A week after he was benched and didn’t play a single snap in Cleveland, Williams is expected to be in the defensive game plan against the Broncos. Harbaugh was noncommittal about whether he’d start, but he praised how Williams practiced this week. As everybody saw last week with the struggles of Eddie Jackson, the Ravens don’t have a better option than Williams. They need him to play well if they’re going to have a defensive turnaround. The game should carry extra significance for Williams, who played for Broncos coach Sean Payton for five seasons in New Orleans.
10. Running back Keaton Mitchell, who tore up his knee last December, wasn’t expected to return until deep into the second half of the season. But he’s about a month ahead of schedule and has made significant progress since even returning to practice last week. Harbaugh was noncommittal about whether Mitchell will play Sunday — he’d need to be added to the 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Saturday — but it would be understandable if the Ravens waited another week.
One, it would be a lot to ask Mitchell, who is returning from a multiple-ligament knee injury, to play two games in five days in his first action back. And two, the Ravens may not have the roster flexibility to add him ahead of this game. They could need their practice elevation spots to add depth to their banged-up defensive line.
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Prediction
Ravens 23, Broncos 20
This isn’t an easy spot for the Ravens. It was a week of drama and angst, they have a lot of guys banged up — including their most important player — and they’re facing a team that is playing well and can counteract some of their strengths. A matchup with the divisional rival Bengals four days later only adds to the pressure on Baltimore to get a winning result Sunday. This, however, is typically when Harbaugh’s team has been at its best in recent years. This feels like a game where the defense will show improvement and make a big play late that helps seal the deal.
(Top photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
