Take-home points from Baltimore Ravens win over Eagles
By Darin McCann
The Baltimore Ravens escape with win to go 5-1 at the bye
There is a lot to unpack from the Baltimore Ravens 30-28 win over the Eagles in a game that was a bit of a microcosm of the 2020 season — with a relative newcomer sprinkled in under the guise of effort-draining penalties. There was brilliant defense, mixed in with some blown assignments against an Andy Reid offense. There were moments of raw electricity from quarterback Lamar Jackson, mixed in with some errant throws, miscommunications and blocking that was often, well, not overly abundant in blocking.
And there were penalties. Lots and lots of penalties. Were some a little questionable? Sure. Some are always a little questionable. But there were a lot of penalties. Did we mention that already?
Let’s take a quick look back with some initial thoughts:
• The Ravens are 5-1, and 2-0 in the AFC North going into the bye week. They have generally played well on defense, really excelled on special teams and been maddeningly inconsistent on offense. That equals double-digit wins and being in the run for a division championship. But they’ll need more to really compete for a championship.
They have plenty of time to work it out, and they seem so close to hitting some huge plays that would compensate for the reduced efficiency in the run game. Don’t tell me they wouldn’t beat Pittsburgh or Tennessee today. They didn’t play them today. If the Chiefs played against the Ravens the way they did against the Raiders the Ravens would have probably won that game. They didn’t. And this team will ultimately be judged in the postseason, anyway.
• I really don’t like these designed rollouts. Russell Street Report’s Cole Jackson talks about how it cuts down half the field for Jackson to locate targets, and you can clearly see that happen. I also think Jackson looked indecisive on running or throwing on those plays, particularly in the first half. The touchdown pass to Boyle was on one of those roll outs, but I feel Jackson and Boyle both outperformed the expected outcome of those plays by playing some schoolyard ball.