To some extent, it felt like the deck was stacked against the Baltimore Ravens as they entered a Sunday Night showdown with the Atlanta Falcons. Lamar Jackson was out. Their offense looked lackluster last week without him in the second half. The Falcons were surging on both ends of the field. In the end, it didn't matter, as the Ravens pulled off a 30-23 win.
And while a lot of factors went into this win, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle deserves his flowers.
Declan Doyle flexes his muscles in the Baltimore Ravens' Week 5 win
The overtime drive was a masterclass in play-calling and time management. He gave the Falcons just under three minutes to work with, which led to a game-sealing Kyle Hamilton interception. Doyle perfectly balanced pounding the ground with Henry and mixing in some short-yardage passes, where he helped his WRs get open.
It was a fair question how the Ravens' offense would look with Tyler Huntley in place of Lamar, particularly after last week's goose egg in the second half. Thankfully, Doyle's creative play calls quickly eased these concerns. Impressively, Baltimore generated 391 yards and 30 points.
Take this 47-yard rush from Justice Hill, for example. It's a 3rd-and-1, Hill lines up as a fullback, everyone is expecting the ball to go to Henry, and boom, it doesn't. Doyle always keeps opposing defenses guessing; his wildcat call on the 2-point conversion is another great example of this.
His schemes also opened up space for Baltimore's receivers; Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman were routinely open on Sunday. Huntley deserves credit for making the right reads, but Doyle undoubtedly put him in a position to succeed. As has been the case for all of this year, Doyle heavily utilized motion and misdirection, which helped create big plays for the offense.
By all accounts, it was a stellar game from Doyle, and it shows just how high a ceiling this Ravens' offense has.
The sky is the limit for the Ravens' offense
Not many teams can put up 30 points without their star QB. Having Henry, Flowers, and a solid backup are all factors, but Doyle's scheme creativity jumped off the screen, as they all season.
Once Jackson returns, Baltimore's offense could reach tantalizing heights. The upside of this offense has already been clear, even if they aren't at their ceiling. They put up 41 points in Week 1, 34 points in Week 3, and 24 points in the first half of Week 4. A 24-17 loss in Week 2 was a minor hiccup, but Flowers was hurt, and implementing a new system isn't supposed to be seamless. Plus, Doyle is unlocking more from the Ravens' established talent, most notably Flowers.
The exciting part is that this is only the beginning. As the season goes on, the Ravens will only become more comfortable with Doyle's scheme. Likewise, when this unit truly gets rolling, they have best offense in the league upside.
In fairness, the Ravens have already held this claim in past years. Regardless, they didn't have the same scheme creativity, which cost them in high-leverage moments. By the end of the year, Baltimore could have the most effective offense statistically, while being highly unpredictable. That's a dangerous combination, especially in the playoffs.
The 30-year-old is easily one of the best young minds in the NFL, and that's a massive advantage for the Ravens.
It's been clear to me for a while that Doyle gives the Ravens' offense another level. Seeing him succeed under these circumstances, though, further reinforces this idea. Having a play-caller who is this creative and adaptable could be a game-changer for the Ravens come playoff time.
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