Quarterback: A
Jackson only attempted 19 passes in this game but that was all the Ravens needed to hang 40 points on the Bills. He took what the defense gave him, played calmy and collected, and delivered accurate passes. Jackson finished with 14 completions for 209 yards through the air and two touchdown throws. Aside from taking a 15-yard sack in the first quarter, Jackson notably avoided any significant negative plays and played turnover-free football. He added another 70 yards on the ground with an additional touchdown, which came off an 11-yard run in the second quarter. Jackson One of the biggest plays of the game was Jackson scrambling for 19 yards on 3rd-&-10 early in the fourth quarter. Jackson escaped out of two potential sacks while backpedaling deep and turned it into a crucial conversion to keep the drive alive — and the Ravens scored on the next play.
Running Backs: B
A vintage Derrick Henry performance was washed away by a crucial fumble late in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, Henry had run rampant for 160+ yards and two touchdowns with a long 49-yard score. Henry was unstoppable for nearly the entire game, until Ed Oliver stripped the ball from him and the Bills recovered with three minutes remaining before going on to win. Henry is not soley responsible for the ending and his overall efforts can’t be nullified completely. However, the grade for him and this position group as a whole has to be docked because of it. Rasheen Ali rushed only one time for five yards, while Justice Hill fumbled a rushing attempt early and suffered a 15-yard loss in the process. Keaton Mitchell was a surprise healthy scratch from the contest.
Wide Receivers: A-
After missing last year’s playoff game in Buffalo, Zay Flowers made his presence known on Sunday night. The returning Pro Bowler paced the Ravens with seven receptions for 143 yards, the highest yardage mark of his career. He scored a 39-yard touchdown in the second quarter off a catch-and-run screen pass. Flowers accounted for the majority of receiving production on the night, but veteran Deandre Hopkins added his own notable highlight as well in his first game with the team. Hopkins reeled in a one-handed, 29-yard touchdown snag in the third quarter that expanded the Ravens’ head to 15 points. It was one of his only two catches in the game but an extremely impactful one. Rashod Bateman had a quiet performance with two early catches for 10 yards on four targets. Flowers’ contributions alone were enough to carry this group overall in their grade for the game.
Tight Ends: C+
The Ravens’ tight end room minus Isaiah Likely was surprisingly not a factor in the passing game. Mark Andrews caught a five-yard pass in the first quarter but was not targeted again. No other tight end was targeted on the night either. However, they more than held their own in the blocking department and helped open up running lanes for Henry and Jackson. Zaire Mitchell-Paden, who was activated from the practice squad prior to the game, took on a larger-than-expected role in Patrick Ricard’s absence. He filled into Ricard’s role nicely and blocked well.
Offensive Line: B+
Against a formidable defensive front, the Ravens’ offensive line held up well for much of the night. There were some instances where runs were blown up behind the line of scrimmage or Jackson was forced into a backpedal because of pressure. However, considering the Ravens ran the ball for 238 yards and average 8.2 yards per carry, along with 8.6 yards per play overall, the good outweighed the bad. Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum had memorable blocks in space where their athleticism was on display, including sealing the left side of the field on Flowers’ touchdown catch. The penalties were limited to only a small handful, which was a big improvement over where the Ravens were last year with false starts, delay of games, holdings, etc.
Defensive Line: B-
The Ravens did a good job of stopping the run, particularly up the middle. They stuffed Allen’s draw attempts a couple of times and limited big plays on designed quarterback runs or James Cook attempts. Overall, the Bills rushed for 108 yards but it took them 31 attempts to do so. In the passing game, though, the Ravens’ defensive lineman did not generate a ton of pressure. Not until the fourth quarter did any defender have a sack, when Nnamdi Madubuike finally got on the board. No other defensive lineman recorded a quarterback hit. Allen had consistent time to throw with the pocket rarely being pushed up front in a significant way. That would have helped the Ravens’ defense in the end when they were on their heels.
Edge Rushers: C-
Like with the defensive line group, the Ravens’ edge rushers generally did a solid job against the run and limiting explosive ground plays. But lack of pressure and hits on Allen came back to bite them in the end. No edge rusher had an especially impactful performance in this game. On the occasions where the Ravens flushed Allen out of the pocket, he was able to scramble away or make a pass attempt downfield. Kyle Van Noy had one quarterback hit but Odafe Oweh, Mike Green, and Tavius Robinson were no-shows in the pass rushing department. The Ravens needed more contributions and impact from this group in a matchup against one of the league’s best quarterbacks and offenses.
Inside Linebackers: C
Sticking with the same theme, it was an up-and-down performance from the team’s inside linebackers. Rookie Teddye Buchanan played an elevated role, sharing snaps with Trenton Simpson opposite Roquan Smith, and had a few good moments in pass coverage. Smith unsurprisingly led the team in tackles with 10 total and was a force against the run at times. However, Smith also missed some costly tackles later in the game where he was slow to the ball or beaten in space — like on Cook’s 51-yard catch-and-run. It was also a quiet showing from Simpson, who had one tackle-for-loss but otherwise didn’t seem to make a significant impact. After keeping a lid on the middle of the field for a lot of the contest, the Ravens began to get gashed when they needed stops the most.
Cornerbacks: C-
For most of the game, the Ravens’ cornerback group limited big plays and held the Bills’ wide receivers in check. Nate Wiggins had a huge pass breakup late on a two-point conversion try to Keon Coleman and Chidobe Awuzie was active as well. Marlon Humphrey also played solid coverage to force a couple incompletions. However, when the chips were down late in the game, the Ravens had no answers for Buffalo’s passing attack. Coleman and Josh Palmer came alive late, with the former finishing with eight receptions for 112 yards. Palmer and Kalil Shakir had 11 receptions and 100+ yards combined together. It was a very forgettable Ravens debut for Jaire Alexander, who was beat twice on the Bills’ final drive as they moved into field goal range to kick a game-winner. Earlier in the game, Alexander was flagged for a costly pass interference penalty. For a talented cornerback depth chart that’s been hyped up as arguably the league’s best group, this was a subpar way to begin the season.
Safeties: B+
Rookie Malaki Starks had a chance for his first career interception on the opening drive of the game, but an overthrown pass slipped out of his hands. It was an impactful missed opportunity, as the Bills extended the drive and scored a few plays later. From this point on, though, Starks settled in with no notable mistakes. He finished with six total tackles including standing up Josh Allen close to the goal line on a rushing attempt. Hamilton played a starring role on the night. After playing soft coverage against Dalton Kincaid on the Bills’ opening touchdown, the All-Pro had two pass breakups later on. He also blew up a couple of screen passes and run attempts at the line of scrimmage for no gain or short gains. Hamilton intercepted a two-point conversion pass from Allen in the fourth quarter, which kept the Ravens’ lead at two possessions.
Special Teams: B
Tyler Loop nailed a big 52-yard field goal on the Ravens’ opening drive and another 49-yarder later in the first half. In a high-stakes environment, these were impressive kicks. His missed extra point attempt late proved to be costly in a game where the Ravens lost by one point, though. Jordan Stout had a beautiful punt that should have been downed at the one yard line but instead was a touchback because Simpson touched the goal line after diving to stop the ball. The Ravens’ kickoff and punt return coverage was good at times, but they also allowed some extra yardage because of poor tackling angles and spacing.
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