The good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2021 Baltimore Ravens
By Sam Windler
The Bad of the Baltimore Ravens
It’s no question that Lamar Jackson is the MVP of this team and without him, they wouldn’t even be sniffing the playoffs. With that being said, he’s been having some struggles recently.
Jackson averaged 303.8 passing yards a game with eight passing touchdowns and three interceptions the first five weeks of the season. In his last five games, he is averaging 218.6 passing yards and has seven touchdowns with nine interceptions.
The last time Jackson didn’t throw an interception was over a month ago against Cincinnati. Jackson is the first person to tell you he hasn’t been playing well.
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The recent offensive struggles don’t all fall on Jackson’s shoulders. There hasn’t been much help from the backfield.
Baltimore has played around with multiple different starting running backs throughout the year. Devonta Freeman has been the most productive, but still only has 324 yards on the year. Only the Houston Texans have a starting running back with a lower total, and they traded that starter (Mark Ingram) away back in October.
What confused me the most about the running back situation is the disappearance of Ty’Son Williams. In his first two games, he had 143 rushing yards, averaging 6.5 yards a carry. When John Harbaugh was asked about this he basically just said that Williams wasn’t complete enough to be a starting running back.
I just find it hard to believe that Freeman and Latavius Murray are both that much better than Williams. While receiving almost no playing time as of recently, Williams still averages more yards per carry and has more plays of 20 yards or more than both of them combined.
But obviously, Harbaugh has a better feel for the situation and should be trusted in his decision. I just hope to see Williams back in the lineup eventually providing an extra spark on offense.
There wasn’t much the Ravens could’ve done about what happened just weeks before this season started. I don’t think anyone would’ve expected them to be leading the AFC heading into Week 13 with the number of key injuries they’ve had.