Marlon Humphrey:
So much for trying to slow-down Julio Jones. No, cornerback Marlon Humphrey stepped up to the plate and told us he’d do us one better. Yes, Humphrey did the impossible: he shut down Julio Jones.
Jones was held in-check for the entirety of the game, catching just two passes for 18-yards on eight targets. Baltimore came in with a fantastic game-plan to stop Jones, which included shading Jimmy Smith and safety help to Jones’ side of the field. While that certainly worked out, it was definitely all about Marlon Humphrey on Sunday, who also broke up two passes thrown his way.
Humphrey’s performance went past just covering Julio Jones. Humphrey traveled the field and locked-up Atlanta’s other talented receivers in Mohamed Sanu (3/37/0) and Calvin Ridley (3/22/0). In fact, Matt Ryan’s porous stat-line was entirely indicative of Humphrey’s hard-work. Ryan, who headed into week 13 was leading the NFL in passing yards, was held to just 131-yards on 16 completions (26 attempts).
From top-to-bottom, the Baltimore Ravens played a solid game in all three aspects: offense, defense, and special teams. Undoubtedly, Marlon Humphrey shined brighter than the rest of this team, and is putting the league on notice as an up-incoming superstar. The Ravens are now winners of three-straight and will head to Missouri next Sunday to take on the Goliath of the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs.