Ravens Week 1 Defensive Report Card: Young edge rushers standout; Jordan Stout was surgical

Weekly grades for every position group on defense are in with some high, moderate and poor marks.

The Baltimore Ravens came up just short of clinching a come-from-behind victory over the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 27-20 loss on Thursday night. With the whole world watching the prime-time rematch of last year’s AFC championship, there were several impressive performances by players on both sides of the ball and many left much to be desired.

Here is how each individual position group on defense fared on the weekly grade sheet.

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Defensive Line: A-

While the Ravens got bullied in trenches on offense, that was not the case on defense where interior linemen were both stout against the run and consistently got pressure on Patrick Mahomes. They played a big role in the entire defense yielding just 72 net yards on the ground, 21 of which came on a reverse trick play on the Chiefs’ first drive, and only 51 the rest of the way.

Leading the charge for the interior pass rush was the 2023 Pro Bowler and Second team All Pro Nnamdi Madubuike who had half a sack, two assisted tackles and led the team with two quarterback hits. Veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce played the second-fewest defensive snaps of the Ravens defensive linemen (20) but led them all in total tackles with four including two solos and a quarterback hit. Fellow veteran Broderick Washington played the fewest with 18 snaps and recorded an assisted tackle but missed an opportunity to sack Mahomes but whiffed and got sidestepped.

Third-year pro Travis Jones had a very impactful game in which he made a pair of solo tackles and beat both of the Chiefs’ top offensive linemen on plays that resulted in a drive-ending sack or turnover. He walked First Team All Pro guard Joe Thuney back deep into the backfield which forced Patrick Mahomes right into a sack in third down and he did the same to two-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey, which led to an errant low pass getting intercepted at the second level.

Outside Linebackers: A

As disruptive as the Ravens’ interior defensive linemen were against the Chiefs, their edge defenders were just as impactful with how they stuffed the run and pressured Mahomes. Three of the four who appeared in this game recorded a quarterback hit with the lone exception being second-year pro Tavius Robinson who saw the fewest snaps of the bunch with 14.

Before leaving the game with what was reportedly diagnosed as a fractured orbital bone, veteran Kyle Van Noy also recorded a solo tackle. Fourth-year pro Odafe Oweh led the group and tied for the fourth-most total tackles including three solos, played extremely well against the run on the edge and was a handful for both of the Chiefs starting tackles, resulting in one offensive holding penalty.

The most encouraging and exciting performance by a Ravens outside linebacker by far came from third-year pro David Ojabo who despite playing 21 fewer snaps than Oweh (46 to 25) displayed impressive traits in his first regular season game since Week 3 of last season. His lone tackle of the game was a solo that resulted in a loss of yards on a run play and he recorded the only full sack of any defender on the team, which forced the Chiefs to punt on the very next play. If the 2022 second-rounder can finally stay healthy and have more games like he did in the opener, he will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Inside Linebackers: C

The group as a whole was good against the run in this game but struggled mightily at times in coverage, except for second-year pro Trenton Simpson. He made a pair of impressive plays including a pass breakup for an incompletion and another that likely would’ve been intercepted had Mahomes not pulled a Lamar Jackson and caught it himself. Despite showing the ability to be an every-down playmaker at the position, the 2023 third-rounder surprisingly didn’t play 100 percent of the snaps in his first career start in place of 2023 Pro Bowler and Second Team All Pro Patrick Queen. His 38 defensive snaps were 70 percent of the Ravens’ team total and he still finished third on the team in total tackles with five including two solos, split a sack with Madubuike and recorded a quarterback hit.

As for the other two off-ball linebackers who played in this game, both two-time First Team All-Pro Roquan Smith and fellow veteran Malik Harrison were targeted heavily in coverage by Mahomes with much success. Whenever they were matched up against Rashee Rice one-on-one or were responsible for him as the hook defender underneath, which was early and often in the first half, it did not end well for them. Rice recorded the bulk of his seven receptions on nine targets for 103 receiving yards before halftime and while the Ravens adjusted better in the second half, it was still a glaring mismatch that took too long to address.

Smith was credited with giving up five completions on six targets for 69 yards by PFF but was able to make up for some of those lapses in coverage by recording the Ravens’ only turnover of the game on a first-half interception and had a pass breakup as well. He also finished as the Ravens’ leading tackler with seven total including four solos and one for a loss.

Harrison on the other hand, struggled in space throughout the night, whether it was not being able to keep up with Rice or failing to make an open-field tackle on Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco which led to a 23-yard gain on a check down as a result. Moving forward, he could see much time on the edge at the SAM spot if Van Noy has to miss any time but Simpson shouldn’t come off the field anymore either way.

Cornerbacks: C

The Ravens’ strategy at the position for this game in terms of deployment was perplexing when it came to the lack of playing time for first-round rookie Nate Wiggins, who dominated in the preseason but wasn’t the first man up or often inserted when the Marlon Humphrey moved inside to play the slot.

While they didn’t give up a litany of plays as a group, the ones they did were back-breakers. Two of the most glaring were a 23-yard completion to Travis Kelce allowed by Brandon Stephens on an extended play and blown coverage as a result of a miscommunication with one of the safeties that left Chiefs’ first-round rookie receiver Xavier Worthy streaking wide-open down the sideline for his second touchdown of the game.

Stephens led the group in total tackles with four solos, Humphrey and Wiggins tied for the second most with a pair including a solo each, Jalyn Armour-Davis got to start the game and recorded a solo and veteran Ka’dar Hollman assisted on a special teams tackle. Moving forward, Wiggins should see the field much earlier and much more often, especially when the opposing offense boasts a dangerous vertical threat because of the blazing 4.28 speed he possesses and plays with.

Safeties: B+

This position group played well for the most part aside from their part in the busted coverage that gave the momentum right back to the Chiefs after the Ravens offense had made it a three-point game earlier in the fourth quarter.

First Team All Pro Kyle Hamilton succeeded in his mission to limit Kelce’s impact in this game after giving up a touchdown in the AFC title game. The future Hall of Famer only managed two catches for 11 yards on his other three targets in the game.

Veteran Marcus Williams and fourth-year pro Ar’Darius Washington both made impressive plays in coverage at the goal line and in the end zone to prevent touchdowns, force incompletions and make the Chiefs settle for short field goals. Williams finished with the second-most total tackles on the team with six including five solos while Washington’s clutch play occurred on one of his just five defensive snaps in this game and it was in one-on-one coverage against Worthy.

Special Teams

Kicking: A-

The future Hall of Famer banged through both extra point attempts and field goal attempts from under 50 yards after missing his first wide left from 53 yards out. Dating back to last season, Tucker is now 1-of-6 on attempts of over 50 yards but some of those attempts were from 55-and-longer including a 59-yarder in Week 2 last year and a 61-yarder the following Week that came up just short in a torrential downpour.

Punting: A+

Third-year pro Jordan Stout didn’t see much action in the back-and-forth slugfest but when he did, he made the absolute most of his opportunities. Stout not only pinned the Chiefs inside their 20-yard on both of his attempts but his hangtime and placement didn’t allow for a chance for a return because Hollman was already in the returner’s face by the time the ball arrived, forcing fair catches both times. While he averaged of a mere 37.5 yards per punt with a long of 40, both stats are essentially meaningless because distance isn’t always needed to flip the field as a punter but rather pinpoint accuracy and adequate hangtime to allow the coverage team to get downfield.