Baltimore Ravens hang on against Arizona Cardinals: Take-home points

The Baltimore Ravens were able to hang on to a win vs. the Arizona Cardinals despite a late-game comeback. Here’s some take-home points to chew on.

It wasn’t the cakewalk that Ravensdom enjoyed in last week’s laugher against the Dolphins, but the Ravens moved to 2-0 on the season with a 23-17 home win over the plucky Arizona Cardinals.

Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray largely lived up to the hype, Terrell Suggs received a warm welcome home and precocious rookie receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown continued his explosive entrance into the NFL. There was plenty to take out of this game.

• Lamar Jackson was not as pinpoint accurate this week as he was in the opener, but he was still pretty darn good, outside of a few missed easy passes. Jackson threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another 120. On a day when the running backs struggled to get much of anything, Jackson carried the offense.

• Brown was exciting every time he touched the ball, displaying quick feet and enticing with YAC potential. But the 3rd-and-11 play he made along the sideline in the fourth quarter belied his age and experience. He looks to be a home run pick, and Jackson, Brown and Mark Andrews could form a remarkable trio for years to come.

• The Ravens vaunted defensive backfield was, um, not great today. Murray continued to hit verticals throughout much of the game where the Raven defender never turned his head, and too many other receivers were just running free — how do you let Larry Fitzgerald run free? Maybe the Air Raid caused them mass confusion. Maybe they are still meshing, being the second week of the season. Whatever it is, they need to get that locked down. And soon.

• The Ravens need to get their interior offensive line issues handled, as well. Jackson faced much of his pressure up the middle and Mark Ingram fought for every inch of real estate throughout the day. Struggles up the middle can derail a season.

• Patrick Ricard is valuable. He is no gimmick. He blocks well, from both the fullback and tight end positions, and is extremely active in his defensive snaps. Ricard might not always get sacks, but he always seems to get up from the pile after a sack. He’s contributing.

• Matt Judon is looking to be following in the footsteps of Za’Darius Smith in regards to blowing up his value in a contract year. The Ravens should decide very soon if Judon is someone they want as a structural piece moving forward and, if so, try get him locked in to a new deal soon. Maybe they don’t, and they’ll be happy getting a comp pick back for him. But that sticker price will only rise if his strong play continues.

• Justin Tucker drilled a 51-yarder and nobody blinked. He is truly remarkable.

• At this point, and it’s still early, it doesn’t appear that Willie Snead, Seth Roberts or Chris Moore are what the Ravens are really looking for in that position. Maybe it’s just extreme comfort that Jackson has with Brown and Andrews, or maybe it’s just been the game plans for these two games. It will be interesting to see how this offense evolves.

•  Brandon Carr is a valuable chess piece. He got roasted a little today, but he also made some big plays, in coverage and on nickel blitzes. He’s a good, under-appreciated football player.

• Being 2-0 is a good thing. It’s better than 1-1 and way better than 0-2. There are things to work on after this game, but a lot to embrace, as well. It sure makes going back to work a lot easier when you’re 2-0.