Game recap: Lamar and the Ravens dominate Jets

While watching the Baltimore Ravens‘ Week One victory over the New York Jets, I couldn’t help but think of a quote from Super Bowl Champion Julian Edelman.

The former wide receiver put it best when he said, “I’ll take an ugly loss over a pretty loss any day”. This is how I felt at the end of the game when I finally turned off my constantly buffering internet stream. We won the game and even though it wasn’t always pretty, there were some key takeaways, both positive and negative. 

What went well for Baltimore

We won! No matter what happened during the game, “you play to win the game” as Herman Edwards put it. One of the issues for Baltimore in recent years is that they would win the games that they were supposed to lose and lose the games that they were supposed to win. This was a game that they were supposed to win, and they did. 

According to NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman, the Ravens entered the 2022-23 season with the second easiest schedule. While there is no such thing as an easy win in the NFL, winning the “easy” games will be the key for Baltimore. Check one off the list. 

Another positive for Baltimore was the improved defense. New star acquisition Marcus Williams made his presence known by intercepting Joe Flacco on the third drive of the game. The Raven’s secondary was decimated by injuries last season, so the addition of Williams and the return of Marlon Humphrey should help Baltimore improve on their 28^th rank in defensive efficiency last season. 

While the passing game was slow to start the afternoon, as the game continued, Lamar and the offense were able to connect on several deep passes including a 55-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Rashad Bateman. 

Couple that with the two touchdowns caught by Devin Duvernay, and the Ravens receiving core may be better than experts predicted coming into the season. 

Justin Tucker is still the G.O.A.T. connecting on a field goal and finishing 3-for-3 on extra point kicks. 

The Negatives

It was hard to ignore the lack of adjustments in the first half by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. I will get into the running game a bit later, but Roman seemed unwilling to shy away from rushing the ball, even though the Jets’ defense knew exactly what was coming their way.

Scoring only three points in the first half sparked stress in Baltimore fans’ thinking, who have witnessed the team’s lack of creativity plague the team in the past few seasons. 

Another problem that emerged from the lack of adjustments to the play-calling was the low efficiency of the rushing attack. While the Ravens were missing running backs, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, the remaining members of the RB core struggled to get anything going.

Kenyan Drake, Mike Davis, Justice Hill, and Lamar Jackson only combined for 63 rushing yards, while averaging 3.0 yards-per-carry. Hopefully, this will improve going forward as this has been Baltimore’s bread and butter.

One of my most disappointing players of the game was rookie tight end Isaiah Likely. I know it was his first game in the NFL, but Likely struggled to make much of an impact on the game.

He was unable to reel in any of the four targets he received from Lamar Jackson, while also dropping a pass thrown directly to his hands. He will be better as the season progresses, and I wasn’t mad… just disappointed. 

On to Miami to face the rising Dolphins

Week Two will see the Ravens hosting the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Dolphins will undoubtedly provide tough competition than the hapless New York Jets, so the Raven’s offense will need to click from the opening kick-off or things might get ugly.

The Ravens will enter the game as the betting favorite, but with the number of underdog victories in week 1, can Ravens fans really feel overly comfortable? 

My prediction: Ravens win by 3 against the Dolphins