Baltimore Ravens 2020 season: The good, bad and the ugly
The Baltimore Ravens season ended in heartbreak let’s start with the good though:
The Baltimore Ravens were 11-5 and got into the NFL postseason. The season was a bit of a mixed bag for Baltimore. Let’s start with the good because we’re talking about a team that will be drafting 27th in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Ravens won 11 games this year and they had to fight through a lot of adversity to get there. When the Ravens had an outbreak of the pandemic in their facility it could have crippled the team. The Ravens lost to the Steelers.
It sounds like a bad moment, and while there are no moral victories it was a rallying moment. Fill-ins from the practice squads and a handful of backups almost took down an undefeated team on the road, with little to no practice. The Ravens went on to win the rest of their regular-season contests. The playoffs basically started early, and they delivered with five straight wins.
So the regular season consisted of a 6-2 stretch in the beginning and a five-win ending. The rough patch in between the two streaks didn’t define the year. The Ravens showed resolve and perseverance. In a division where the three teams made the playoffs, Baltimore was surprisingly tested this season.
The game against the Browns was a defining moment for Jackson. He came out of the locker room after missing almost the whole fourth quarter. At the two-minute warning, Jackson hit Marquise Brown for the game-saving play. Baltimore won 47-42 in the best game in recent memory.
The wild card game against the Titans was huge for the Ravens. They came back from a 10-0 deficit and gave payback to Tennessee. Jackson’s touchdown run in that game will go down as one of the most special plays of the lure of the purple and black.
Marquise Brown, who stepped his game up near the end of the year, had seven grabs for 109 yards. Marcus Peters sealed the game with a pick and a celebration for the ages.
The Ravens’ run game was phenomenal. Lamar Jackson had over 1,000 yards rushing. He became the only quarterback in NFL history to have 1,000 yards on the ground in two different seasons. J.K. Dobbins had just over 800 yards on the ground as a rookie and Gus Edwards churned out over 700 yards.
While the passing game wasn’t the strength of the Ravens, Jackson had 26 touchdown strikes through the air. Jackson completed 64.1 percent of his passes and had a healthy passer rating of 99.3. Jackson was the same dual-threat that Baltimore has come to know and love. He picked up confidence in the back half of the season and had some shining performances.
The additions of Derek Wolfe and Calais Campbell paid off for the defensive line. Campbell had some injuries so his great performances came in patches. Wolfe really turned it on in late November and played some of the best football of his career.
Patrick Queen had an up and down year though the rookie showed off why he was a first-round pick. Queen had 106 total tackles, forced two fumbles, had three sacks, and an interception. Chris Board really came on strong. He didn’t just make an impact on special teams but defensively as well.
Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters continued to be a great combination. Jimmy Smith made a huge impact this year despite missing a stretch of games in the backend of the season. DeShon Elliott played well enough to make the Earl Thomas news of training camp a distant memory, one that didn’t matter much. Elliott had a breakout year. Chuck Clark continued strong play as the strong safety.