Baltimore Ravens Grades For Week One: It Ain’t Pretty

Sep 7, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) dives past Cincinnati Bengals strong safety George Iloka (43) for a 13-yard touchdown during the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

If you only look at the final score, you would think that this was a close, hard fought game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.  But you would be wrong.  The fact that the Ravens almost won this game is almost mind blowing when you consider the stats: 62 pass attempts for Joe Flacco, 9 drops by his wide receivers, zero sacks by the defense.

But (for a few seconds anyway) the Ravens actually led at one point, and seemed to be on their way to tying the game late in the fourth quarter before consecutive sacks on 3rd and 4th down sealed their fate.  Andy Dalton won his first game at M&T Bank Stadium, and the Ravens would up losing a game they deserved to lose.

So what went wrong?  Questionable play calling, the aforementioned drops, lack of defensive pressure, and giving up a big play at the worst possible time were the main factors that led to the loss.  There is lots of blame to spread around here, with few bright spots to point out.  And we do just that as we hand out our Baltimore Ravens grades for week one.  Click on to see our analysis.

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