The Baltimore Ravens needed a group effort to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. They were technically undermanned in this game, but it did not look like that on the scoreboard or watching the game play out.
At the end of the day, there were many more winners than there were losers on Baltimore's side, and the Flock came back home boasting an impeccable 2-0 record to the ominous Bengals' 0-2 start to the season.
Who were the players that stood out for the Ravens and made this game a win?
5. Baltimore Ravens got a strong performance from Geno Stone
The Ravens were missing Marcus Williams, but if you watch the game, you could hardly tell. That is because Geno Stone was playing excellent football, including building the turning point of the game. According to PFF, he was the highest-graded Ravens player in week two, and it is hard to disagree after the way he played.
Stone had eight tackles, three of them deemed stops by PFF. He allowed just 18 yards in coverage, and of course, he had the game-changing interception. Williams was signed to make that exact impact on the games that Stone did. It was like they did not lose anyone.
The Ravens may have switched to a more two-deep look because of the loss of Williams, but that is also the smart way to play against Joe Burrow. In that case, the need for Wiliams was not as strong, and Stone thrived in the role.
Now, the issue is that this cannot last forever. There is a reason why Williams is highly paid, but in small doses, the team can find ways to work around it, and in this game, it was Geno Stone playing well to lead the charge. Every game that the Ravens can get by without feeling the loss of a key player is a huge win. Thanks to Geno Stone, they got that.
4. Patrick Mekari made an impact for the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens have to be used to losing Ronnie Stanley at this point. Luckily for them, the loss of Stanley was able to give them an extended look at Patrick Mekari playing left tackle. It was out of necessity, and they saw him more as an interior lineman earlier in his career.
However, in four games where he played the majority of the snaps at left tackle in 2021, he held it down for the most part. It allowed the team to go into 2022 and trust that he could be the backup left tackle if anything happened to Stanley.
Just like Stone, Mekari stepped up. PFF has Mekari as the third-highest-graded offensive player behind Nelson Agholor and Lamar Jackson. So, he was the highest-graded lineman of the week, playing in Todd Monken's new system. That is against Trey Hendrickson, who has a history of making life hard for the Ravens.
Mekari continues to impress in all of the chances he gets as the left tackle. Each week they move on without Stanley gives them confidence that they will be fine with or without a star player at a key position. What a luxury to have that.
3. Lamar Jackson stepped up for the Baltimore Ravens when it counted
As we noted in the Patrick Mekari discussion, Lamar Jackson was the second highest-graded player beyond Nelson Agholor. Lamar did everything in this game.
Jackson got the ball out quickly and tested the deep areas of the field. He also held onto the football when he needed to and extended the play to make things happen.
Jackson hit six completions over 10 yards in the air for 127 yards. He also was 18-22 passing the ball under 10 yards. The biggest play of the game may have been a 3rd down scramble for 12 yards to move the chains right before the two-minute warning. The Ravens were up three and were able to close out the game from there.
It is a reminder that when Lamar Jackson is healthy, the Ravens win football games. They are typically in first place when Jackson goes down, and Jackson always has success against the Bengals. It should not have been a surprise, but when you hear that Jackson will be without key starters on the offensive line it is easy to get nervous. However, Sunday is why Jackson gets paid so much.
2. Jadeveon Clowney was a force for the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens were thin in their secondary against a Bengals core of pass catchers that is uber-talented. However, the Bengals offensive line is their weakness, and the Ravens were able to take advantage. It was not easy, though, especially when Odafe Oweh checked out just 14 snaps into the game with an injury.
It left the team with David Ojabo, and Tavius Robinson, two rookies who had to step up for the loss. However, the real player who stepped up was Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney had two pressures, a sack, and two run-stuffs. He even dropped into coverage for five snaps. Clowney was working hard all game and got the best of Jonah Williams. However, he also moved to the other side and took on Orlando Brown with Oweh out. John Harbaugh had big praise for the rusher.
Harbaugh on Jadeveon Clowney: "Wow, he played great. He was disruptive, he was a wrecking ball in there."
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 18, 2023
The Ravens are hoping Oweh is not out long because Ojabo and Robinson were not consistent in bigger roles. The depth was already a question here, but the play of Clowney has made this a non-story through two games. The hope is he can continue at this pace all season.
1. The Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks showed up to beat the Cincinnati Bengals
With Marlon Humphrey out and Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins coming to town, there were serious concerns about how the secondary would hold up. They passed the test with gaudy numbers.
Beyond Humphrey being out, the Ravens were also planning to shuffle Rock Ya-Sin in with Ronald Darby throughout the game, an interesting choice. It worked out in a big way.
Stephens played all 60 snaps, and he had his issues with Higgins at times. However, Darby and Ya-Sin played 35 and 25 snaps respectively, to fill the 60 snaps on the other side. They were mainly responsible for Ja'Marr Chase. It was a group effort between the two, but they held him in check and did exactly what they needed to.
Darby only allowed 15 yards while Ya-Sin was responsible for 13. Ya-Sin also had a key pass breakup in the end zone against Chase. The two are both working back from injuries, so to get a full effort from both, they did not ask either to play a full game. They came out healthy with a win, so there are no complaints about the play of these two.