Baltimore Ravens week 14 player spotlight: Marshal Yanda
With the Baltimore Ravens set to face a dominant front-seven in the Buffalo Bills, it’ll be up to Marshal Yanda and co. to pave a way for the offense.
Marshal Yanda is one of the best guards in NFL history, let alone the past decade. His continued dominance in the later parts of his career is extraordinary. He simply ages like a fine wine.
This is precisely why the Baltimore Ravens will be leaning heavily on his play this week vs. the Buffalo Bills.
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Right now, the Baltimore Ravens rushing attack is first in the league with an otherworldly 207.8 rushing YPG, thanks in large part to the offensive line. Yanda has been the steady force he’s been for years and has made life easy on Lamar Jackson and the run game.
The Bills currently rank 14th against the run, so the Ravens should be able to run the ball effectively. The challenge will be passing vs. this vaunted Buffalo unit, ranked the third-best unit in the league. Along with the strong play of Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White has been a vicious pass rush led by rookie star defensive lineman Ed Oliver. Oliver has racked up four sacks over his last three games and has five on the season. He’s absolutely vicious.
Oliver’s partners in crime are as equally dominant, with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips notching 7.5 of his own, and several others producing at high-levels as well. With such a ferocious pass rush, the Ravens needs its offensive line to have an outstanding performance.
That’s where Marshal Yanda Steps in. Yanda will need to neutralize Oliver and Phillips inside for Lamar Jackson to have time to make his big-plays. The run-game will only be as successful as Yanda is during this game, as Buffalo’s interior can easily wreck Baltimore’s gameplan. Thankfully, Yanda is more than capable of completing this task.
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Marshal Yanda vs. Ed Oliver is a match-up we can’t wait to watch. The two will go at it and play some good old fashioned hard-nosed football. If Yanda can win his assignments consistently, and we have no reason to believe he won’t, the Baltimore Ravens should walk away from this game victorious.