Ebony Bird
FanSided

Take-home points from Ravens win over the Giants

By Darin McCann

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 27: Safety Xavier McKinney #29 of the New York Giants tackles running back Gus Edwards #35 of the Baltimore Ravens short of the goal line during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 27, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 27: Safety Xavier McKinney #29 of the New York Giants tackles running back Gus Edwards #35 of the Baltimore Ravens short of the goal line during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 27, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Baltimore Ravens
Dec 27, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) leaps to make a second quarter catch defended by New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney (29) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /

Top notes from the game:

• The Ravens won this game in the first half, and then didn’t lose it in the second. Both of those things are important. If the Ravens can get off to hot starts, good things usually happen, but we did see that theory go to heck against the Steelers and Titans this year because they screwed things up in those second halves. Didn’t happen today. That’s a good sign.

• I thought Lamar Jackson had a nice game today, going 17-26, for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 80 more yards on the ground. He was fingertips away on two end-zone passes to Mark Andrews from having a monster game, statistically.

• Those two incompletions changed touchdowns to field goals, and when you combine those with the mesh-point fumble on the doorsteps of the Giants’ end zone and the field goal by Justin tucker getting waved off, well, that’s possibly 18 points off the board. This one could have been much more emphatic.

• Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Jackson give the Ravens a terrifying trio running the ball. Mark Andrews is Jackson’s obvious preference at receiver, but you can see things evolving in the passing game with Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, and Dez Bryant taking on more-defined roles. Even Miles Boykin is carving out a niche for himself. It’s a good time to be clarifying this part of their game, by the way.

• The offensive line, by the way, is also obviously getting into its groove. I like where the offense is heading. The Giants have a good defense. The line held their own today.

• The defensive front seven was really good, as they should have been against this line. Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams disintegrated the middle of the Giants’ offense, and the edge players all made an impact. How about Chris Board, by the way? You have to root for a guy who has scratched and clawed his way into action and has performed when given the chance.

Home/Ravens News