Risers and fallers from the Ravens Week 3 win in Dallas.
The Ravens pulled out a 28-25 win on Dallas on Sunday to improve to 1-2 on the young season. On one hand, the Ravens dominated Dallas through three and a half quarters. On the other, the same old Ravens almost let a 22-point lead slip away in just a quarter and a half. While numerous fluke plays and calls aided the Cowboys comeback, some clear issues continue to prevent Baltimore from putting teams away with ease. Let’s look at some of the key risers and fallers after Baltimore’s rollercoaster win.
Stock Up
Derrick Henry, RB
Derrick Henry rolled the putrid Cowboys run defense from the jump. The “washed” running back looked as dominant as ever en route to 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. If the offensive line can continue to open holes and get him to the second level, the team could start rolling.
Kyle Van Noy, OLB
Even with a fractured orbital bone, the veteran has looked just as good, if not better than last year. Van Noy has now registered four sacks over the last two games and while the Ravens lost Jadaveon Clowney in the offseason, they were fortunately able to retain Van Noy who is massively outplaying his cheap contract.
Offensive Line
The highly criticized Ravens offensive line delivered their best performance of the season on Sunday. Lamar Jackson was kept clean and Derrick Henry had ample running room all day as the left side of the Ravens line was particularly great. Cautious optimism should be the feeling moving forward as the Cowboys run defense and interior d-line has been arguably the worst in the league through three weeks. The Bills will present a much bigger challenge up front next Sunday night and it would still behoove the team to experiment with different players on the right side.
Todd Monken, OC
Monken had been heavily criticized through two weeks. In the Raiders and Chiefs games, the play calling felt inconsistent. On Sunday, the Ravens looked to regain their identity as a run-first, play-action team that leaned on their stud running back and quarterback to take over. Monken did a particularly good job of masking the deficiencies on the right side of the Ravens’ offensive line with runs to the left and play-action passing.
Ar’Darius Washington, DB
Washington made multiple big plays in the second half on a Ravens secondary that has, statistically, been the worst in the NFL through three weeks. On the Cowboys second drive of the third quarter, Washington made multiple pass break-ups and should’ve had an interception if it wasn’t for Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks tackling him.
Stock Down
Mark Andrews, TE
The famous Jackson to Andrews connection hasn’t been there through three weeks. For the first time in recent memory, Andrews did not record a catch and was only targeted once. The larger question becomes whether Andrews has fallen off, or if his decline is reflective of a larger trend occurring across the league. Star tight ends have struggled across the NFL as players like Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta, Trey McBride, and Dalton Kincaid have been quiet through three weeks.
Justin Tucker, K
The first true slump of Justin Tucker is a shocking development. Before last year, a Tucker field goal was as close to a sure thing that can come in the NFL. Tucker is now 5-8 this year and missed, by his standards, a routine 46 yarder on Sunday. Dating back to last year, Tucker is 1/7 from 50+ and 37-of-45. While I do expect the 34-year-old to get back on track, this recent development is becoming a concern in Baltimore.
Secondary
After boasting the best pass defense in the NFL in 2023, the Ravens’ secondary has fallen to the worst in the league. Simply put, they’ve been shredded in the second half of the past two games and are now allowing 291 yards per game and 8.1 yards per pass. While there is certainly an element of game script affecting these stats (leading by 10 or more in the last two games), it’s concerning to see such a talented unit get torched like this.
Surprisingly, the cornerbacks have looked strong, making the lack of production on the back-end even more baffling. One possible explanation could be the play of safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Roquan Smith. The two first team All-Pro’s haven’t looked like themselves through three weeks and will look to right the ship against Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday Night Football. We all knew the departure of former Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald would be felt, but things have been rockier than expected. It took Macdonald a few weeks to find his groove in his first year as the player caller and fans should give rookie Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr some leeway as the Ravens head into Week 4.
The Officials
Just like last week, the Ravens were on the receiving end of multiple bizarre calls down the stretch. Over the first three weeks, Baltimore is surrendering 92 penalty yards per game and have eclipsed the century mark in their last two. The Ravens have surrendered 172 yards through penalties this year, with the next closest being the Houston Texans at 123 yards.
Conversely, they’ve benefited from just 104 yards (6th fewest in the league). They are far enough away from the median for fans, coaches and players to question what exactly is going on. On the Cowboys penultimate drive of the game, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh was called for roughing the passer on a routine tackle and safety Marcus Williams was flagged for illegal contact on a play where he barely touched the receiver. In the second quarter, Baltimore was robbed of a safety on a play where Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott committed a clear-cut intentional grounding that was ultimately called illegal touching. In the waning moments of the game, Lamar Jackson was caught saying “stop trying to cheat us” after Baltimore was again flagged for holding on their last kick return. Suffice it to say, a third-party observer could see the clear discrepancy in penalties that has occurred through three weeks.