Baltimore Ravens Stock Report: Who’s hot, who’s not Week 2
By Jake Lippman
Ravens’ defensive front seven:
In week one the Ravens run defense was slow to begin. If not for the offense and the pass defense, this game could have gone differently. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 132 yards on just 23 carries. That’s a 5.74 yards per carry rate. Many plays it looked like the Ravens were getting blown out of their gaps allowing the Browns to have success running the ball. This week was a completely different story. David Johnson, without his backfield partner Duke Johnson, ran the ball 11 times for 34 yards, for 3.1 yards per carry. With an elusive quarterback and a running back who looked resurgent in week one, this was a concern on many fans’ minds but this week’s play was significantly better.
Between Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams, and Derek Wolfe the Ravens defensive front was very active and didn’t give in at all. On the outside Matthew Judon, Pernell McPhee, and Tyus Bowser (in his return to Houston) all were active. In each of the first two weeks, the Ravens defense has generated pressure but has struggled to finish, this week they got four sacks and were close to multiple others. With the pass rush trending up and the run defense looking strong this week, this defenses stock is scorching hot. A big performance for this defensive front Monday night could very likely be the difference-maker.