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Ravens offense: 3 things they must do against the Colts

By Chris Schisler

Dec 29, 2019; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh cheers his players in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2019; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh cheers his players in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 1, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports /

Here are the three things the Ravens offense must do against the Colts:

1. The Ravens must continue to run, the ball:

The Baltimore Ravens must continue to run the ball well. The Ravens ran for 265 yards against the Steelers, so it’s safe to say that their run game is on the track it needs to be. Last week the Ravens got it right with their backfield. They had J.K. Dobbins pick up 113 yards while Gus Edwards and Lamar Jackson got the rest. That’s the formula the Ravens need. Dobbins needs to be the main back and they need to use his speed to get to the outside.

Getting Dobbins over the 100 yard mark sounds like a relatively good weekly goal for the Ravens moving forward. This is a team that desperately needed to pick a main running back and the injury of Mark Ingram (as I predicted) got the Ravens to get Dobbins more involved.

The Colts, who are 5-2 quietly have the second best defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed per game. The Colts are stingy against the run and their opponents average just 3.4 yards per carry against them. You may be wondering why the run game is the route to go. Well, the Steelers were supposed to have a great ground defense as well and  Baltimore racked up yards on them.

The Ravens offense found their flow, even in the loss. They had to get back to playing their kind of football. That’s what the Ravens did and it allowed them to out-gain the Steelers fairly convincingly.

In a game where Ronnie Stanley and Tyre Phillips both went down the push in the run game was as good as it has been all season. If Baltimore can run the ball with their plan B offensive line against Pittsburgh, they can do it against the Colts. Bad things happen when the Ravens abandon the run game. They just have to prove that the Colts can’t stop it.

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