The Baltimore Ravens did the impossible. They finally beat the Kansas City Chiefs in a Sunday night thriller 36-35. Even with all the adversity that they’ve faced including the injuries, the Ravens dug deep to pull out a comeback victory.
The Ravens had many standouts in this game but none bigger than Lamar Jackson. As a superstar should, Jackson put his team on his back when they needed him most. He accounted for 346 yards, threw one touchdown, and ran for two more.
This is the type of performance that the Ravens needed from him in order to win this game. He also crushed the outside narrative about his ability to win big ga mes while behind.
Outside of Jackson’s play, there were several things that we learned from this game. Let’s look at some of the other takeaways.
1. Odafe Oweh is the real deal
The Ravens trading Orlando Brown Jr. to the Chiefs for a first-round draft pick was a highly criticized move. It garnered even more concern when they used that pick to select Odafe Oweh, an edge rusher who was viewed more as a project.
Oweh possesses freakish athleticism and dominant physical traits, but he lacked the pass-rushing moves in college. There was also concern about his production, recording no sacks last season.
However, the Ravens disagreed with those notions. They viewed Oweh as a ready-now player and thought that he would make a huge impact on their defense immediately.
They were right. Oweh not only has been a force in the backfield, but he is setting the edge on the run very well. Oh and he also got his first sack last week so there goes the take about his lack of production.
Odafe Oweh has already proven to be an impactful player for this defense. Without him, they are easily 0-2 right now.
He made his presence felt on Sunday night pressuring Mahomes several times which led to an interception in the fourth quarter. Then to seal the game, he ripped the ball from Clyde Edwards-Helaire and recovered the fumble himself.
Talk about an instant playmaker. It’s early, but Oweh is looking to be a promising young superstar on the edge. He has the potential to be the Ravens’ best pass rusher since Terrell Suggs.
That’s a tall ask, but if he can get anywhere close to Suggs production, then the Ravens will be happy. They have a keeper in Baltimore.