Baltimore Ravens: First Quarter Report Cards – Offense Edition

We’re going through and grading the Baltimore Ravens performances on both sides of the football. Here, we talk about the offense’s play.

Through the first four weeks, the Ravens have a solid 3-1 record and sit in a good place for playoff contention. Through the first few games, plenty of things went well but many went poorly. Here’s the offensive edition.

Quarterback:

• Lamar Jackson– 769 passing yards, 68.4 completion percentage, seven touchdowns, one interception, 235 rushing yards, one touchdown

The leagues reigning MVP had started the season off to a fast start.  In weeks one and two Jackson combined for nearly 500 yards and four touchdowns. Although it’s not the insane start that he had to last season, he has kept the team in every game and continued his ways of being smart with the ball with only one interception.

What I have seen shows a quarterback running the exact same offense from last season and using his legs just as much as his arm. The offense could actually be less diverse than it was last year at this time. In these games, Jackson has made highlights just like last year, including last week’s 50-yard touchdown run. He also has had less time to work within the pocket.

Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson looked lost at times and was forcing throws. Although you can’t judge all four games off of one game, this performance is one that stings and lingers. Fortunately, Jackson bounced back against the Washington Football team finding his number one target Mark Andrews in the endzone twice.

The only reason this grade isn’t an A is because of the standard set last season. Looking at the future, this production will continue to keep the team in games. But, there is always room for improvement. As we move forward we hope to see that Jackson can continue to diversify his game and hit on some long throws. We know he is a walking highlight reel with the ball in his hands. Hopefully next quarter his grade can be higher.

Grade: B