10 burning questions emerging from Baltimore Ravens Week 1 win over Houston Texans

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans and are off to a 1-0 start, but there are plenty of questions that emerged despite the win.

What can we take away from the game that may be applied to the rest of the season?

10. How will the Baltimore Ravens handle Rock Ya-Sin easing in at cornerback moving forward?

An interesting development over the next few weeks will be how the Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks look. Marlon Humphrey has a chance to play this week, according to John Harbaugh, but the odds are that they will ease him back with practice participation first, and he did not get any work last week. He is probably another week away.

Rock Ya-Sin was injured through most of the offseason but was healthy just in time for week one. After all of the missed time, he was eased in with just nine snaps at the end of the game. Still, he will be healthier next week, so does he play more?

Ronald Darby was the Ravens' best cornerback last week, but he also was the one who left the field for Ya-Sin. Do the Ravens push into that split more, or do they take Brandon Stephens off of the field? Due to the injury history of Darby, they may be limiting his snaps. Still, this will be worth watching moving forward.

9. Is Isaiah Likely just a complementary piece for the Baltimore Ravens?

With Mark Andrews out of the picture, there were some thoughts that Isaiah Likely could end up with a big role for the Baltimore Ravens. However, that simply did not come to fruition. Likely finished the game with just one catch for four yards. According to PFF, he was the lowest-graded player on the Ravens offense.

He had major issues as a blocker and did not get open in the passing game. This showed a huge drop between him and Mark Andrews. This is pretty notable because last season the vibe was that Likely would ascend into a tight end similar to Andrews.

However, you have to remember that Likely was the second tight end, and there were not many other pass-catchers. So, he was not getting attention, but the receivers like Demarcus Robinson who were getting attention could not get targets. So, Likely had a great situation. When the attention shifts to him and he is a top guy, it gets tougher. More than that, the Ravens had Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham to lead the way.

When Mark Andrews comes back Likely may end up more efficient because he gets lost in the weeds. Still, he is clearly just a low-end complimentary player at this point who has room to grow in all areas. A year as a depth-tight end will help.

8. Is Odafe Oweh in for a big year for the Baltimore Ravens?

Odafe Oweh was one of the best players in this game for the Baltimore Ravens. He finished with seven pressures in this game as well as two run stops. Oweh was everywhere in this game. He gave Laremy Tunsil issues, but he was great at stunting inside as well to get an advantageous matchup against the left guard.

This could be a big year for Oweh. We noted that while his stats went down last year, he actually was still getting after the passer; the sacks just were not getting home.

Still, the tape did show that he was more up and down in his second season. Even week one did not result in a sack. However, the tape showed that this may have been one of the best games of his career. If he keeps this up, he is a lock to go over five sacks this season, which is his career-high.

7. Will Lamar Jackson continue to struggle under pressure?

A pretty notable split was Lamar Jackson and his ability to play under pressure. Basically, when the offensive line bought him time, he ate the defense up. He was perfect. When the Houston Texans were able to get through, he played awful.

That is significant. It is interesting because you could say that Jackson would take some time to get used to the scheme, but under the right circumstances, the scheme made him look great. It was out of structure and under pressure when he struggled, but he typically has been the best there. So, the first thought is that this can even out.

The other thought is that it may take time for him to build a rapport with Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham more than it will take him time to build continuity with Todd Monken.

When things break down, he needs to know and trust where they will be, and that is not there yet. He missed Beckham on a few chances, and Flowers had most of his production from schemed targets.

Look for Jackson to try to establish more connection with these targets when plays break down, and if that happens, maybe the scheme will not be an issue for fans anymore.

6. Did the Baltimore Ravens find a gem in Ar'Darius Washington?

The Baltimore Ravens may have backed into having a solid slot option. Ar'Darius Washington made his first career start in the slot on Sunday, and it went well. He allowed just four catches for 26 yards, a pressure, and two run stops, and he was the highest-graded player in coverage when it was all said and done.

Washington was always good at TCU, but he was undersized and did not wow at the NFL combine. The Baltimore Ravens have struggled with sticking him at free safety or the slot. Injuries to Arthur Maulet and Pepe Williams let him get a chance in the slot, and now it seems like Maulet has no chance to see the field.

This is huge because the Ravens needed some stability in the cornerback room. Beyond that, it means that they do not have to worry about playing Kyle Hamilton in there. Or, they can use the big Hamilton with the small Washington to mix and match the two. This could end up being a huge win for the defense.

5. Will Justice Hill step up with the loss of JK Dobbins?

Now that J.K. Dobbins is out for the season, there are plenty of questions about what will happen in the Baltimore Ravens backfield. The team has Justice Hill and Gus Edwards, and they will be bringing Melvin Gordon up from the practice squad as well.

So, how will the split work? The backup was Gus Edwards, so the thought may have been that he is the first backup. However, if you recall in the preseason, when Dobbins sat, the Ravens elected to start Hill over Edwards.

The thought may be that Hill and Dobbins have a similar running style and catch balls out of the backfield. Meanwhile, Edwards has a different running style than both. Rather than change the offense around one person, the Ravens may want to give Hill the work that Dobbins was set to get and then have Edwards stay in his same role. How this works out will be worth watching.

4. Was Jadeveon Clowney a defense saving decision?

The Baltimore Ravens signed Jadeveon Clowney late into the preseason. The injury to Tyus Bowser being worse than expected, plus Tavius Robinson and David Ojabo not looking ready for the bright lights, almost forced the team to make that decision.

It looks like an amazing decision right now. Clowney was matched up with a backup right tackle on most of his pass rush snaps, but he had an excellent game with five pressures, per PFF. He was also a unit in the running game.

The addition of Clowney forced attention away from Oweh, and he had a great game. Ojabo is not ready to start across from Oweh, but he looked fine in the third rotational role. The addition of Clowney not only gives them a starter but also increases the ability that both Ojabo and Oweh have. That is a force multiplier.

With all of the injuries and questions in the secondary it is massive that this team has Jadeveon Clowney.

3. Will Odell Beckham bounce back for the Baltimore Ravens in a big way?

While the biggest takeaway from week one was that Zay Flowers looks like the real deal, an underrated takeaway may be that Odell Beckham has a chance to have an even better stat line in the coming weeks. Beckham caught a deep pass in this game, and he and Lamar Jackson may just be getting started on those connections.

With Flowers playing so close to the line, he may end up with more targets and catches, but what will open things up for him is Beckham running deep down the field. When teams adjust to Flowers and creep up, Beckham will be in line for a massive game.

Beckham had 41% of the team's air yards in this game. He had an average depth of target of 14. Meanwhile, Flowers had an average depth of target of 2.8. It is clear that they have contrasting roles. So, Flowers will take work underneath, but when it is time for the big plays down the field, Jackson will connect with Beckham.

He looked like a legitimate threat in this game, and Jackson will soon feel more comfortable, and will certainly be pushing them all down the field more.

2. Can the Baltimore Ravens offensive line hold up?

The biggest issue that the Baltimore Ravens will face in the coming weeks is their offensive line. We already highlighted that Jackson was much worse when pressure was in his face. Meanwhile, when the line gave him a clean pocket, he ripped the Texans apart.

Now, Jackson will be looking at two new offensive linemen. The good news is that Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum should not be out for the rest of the season. The bad news is that they both suffered injuries at the same time, compounding the issues on the offensive line.

The Ravens will be looking to Patrick Mekari and Sam Mustipher to start this week. Mekari has played less than 400 total snaps at left tackle, although he looked fine in the small sample.

Mustipher has about 4,000 career snaps, but Chicago Bears fans will tell you about all of the issues he had. Both are not starting in normal circumstances for a reason. Can Lamar Jackson hold up? Will these injuries plus the Dobbins injury, cause the running game to fall apart? When will Stanley and Linderbaum return? Plenty of questions arise.

1. Is Patrick Queen ready for a career year with the Baltimore Ravens?

One key note from the Baltimore Ravens over the Houston Texans was the play of Patrick Queen. Queen looked like a new player ever since the team traded for Roquan Smith. The crazy thing was that they traded for Smith in the middle of the season.

So, after Queen had a full offseason to adjust to a new role, he came out in week one even better than ever.

The Baltimore Ravens like to use Tyus Bowser as an edge rusher who can drop into coverage. With his injury, they relied on Malik Harrison in this role often, but the team also blitzed Queen off of the edge and dropped him into coverage from there. Queen blitzed nine times, per PFF.

The new role lets him use his athletic ability, and he is thinking far less, as Roquan Smith is now manning the middle. This has turned him into a playmaker, and Sunday was one of his best games.

Will Queen continue this, and does this allow him to make big money in free agency? It is still probably going to be his last season with the team.

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