Ravens Week 3 Defensive Report Card: Both Kyles had big days, cornerbacks played better than box score indicates

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

The Baltimore Ravens finally found a way to finish and didn’t let another double-digit fourth-quarter lead slip away in a decisive 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Week 3. In the team’s first victory of the 2024 regular season, there were several impressive performances by players on both sides of the ball including some tremendous improvements from those who have been much maligned to start the season.

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

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Outside Linebackers: A

Suffering a fractured orbital bone would put some players out of commission for a period of time but since he sustained the injury in the season opener, veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy has taken his game to a higher level. Against the Cowboys in Week 3, he not only recorded a second straight two-sack game but each one came on third down and ended the drive, forcing a near-record-long field goal attempt on the first and a punt on the second. Van Noy finished with a pair of solo tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a batted pass at the line of scrimmage that he nearly corralled for an interception.

Van Noy wasn’t the only edge defender who consistently applied pressure and got the better of Cowboys’ rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton. While fourth-year pro Odafe Oweh didn’t have a second straight two-plus sack game, his ability to beat the first-rounder to the inside as well as around the edge was impressive and highly impactful. He finished with a quarterback hit, drew an offensive hold that negated a defensive pass interference and was flagged for a bogus roughing the passer on a routine tackle as Dak Prescott let the ball go that extended a late drive that ended in a touchdown.

Defensive Line: A

The Ravens continue to have arguably the best interior defensive line unit in the league who are the best at stuffing the run and can collapse the pocket around opposing quarterbacks regularly. They yielded just 51 rushing yards on 16 carries for a miserable average of 3.2 yards per attempt. Leading the charge against Dallas’ ground game was third-year pro Travis Jones who was absolutely dominant at the point of attack and easily shed blocks to make all four of his solo tackles.

A week after 2023 Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike was robbed of a sack on a phantom facemask call, he was done wrong once again and robbed of safety by a loophole in the rule book. On a third and long from deep in Dallas territory where he began the play lined up on the edge, he nearly got Dak Prescott down to the ground in the end zone before the quarterback tossed it to one of his linemen. Even though the pass was completed to an ineligible receiver, the fact that it was completed nonetheless resulted in an illegal touching instead of an intentional grounding which would’ve got the Ravens two points on a safety.

Inside Linebackers: B

The group as a whole played well in the run game and was doing well against the pass until the fourth quarter when the Cowboys started targeting tight end Jake Ferguson over the middle of the field at a high rate with great success. It marked the second week in a row that they played a large part in allowing an opposing tight end to record six-plus receptions for 90-plus receiving yards. While two-time First Team All Pro Roquan Smith finished second on the team with 11 total tackles for the second week in a row, he was the main culprit on some of those deep completions to Ferguson because his zone drop wasn’t quite deep enough or he wasn’t able to stop the catch from being made although he break up one pass.

Even though second-year pro Trenton Simpson played a season-low 51% of the total defensive snaps after playing 100 % in Week 2, he was impressive when he was on the field. He flew around and tackled with great physicality and even made a nice play in coverage on Ferguson to force an incompletion, tied for the fourth-most total tackles with four including a pair of solos and finished as the Ravens’ highest-graded defender according to Pro Football Focus with an overall of 76.6.

Cornerbacks: B-

For the second week in a row, the unit helped keep the opposing offense in check through the first three-quarters of the game only to see them start to make plays late. However, unlike last week, they played much more aggressively in coverage. They pressed the Cowboys receivers early often and made Prescott have to make throws into tight windows and even tighter coverage in several situations.

They didn’t allow a 100-plus-yard pass catcher for the first time this season, collectively held three-time Pro Bowl wideout Ceedee Lamb in check and off his game and made Prescott have to complete passes to 12 different targets. After getting picked on deep down the field last week, Brandon Stephens was much better in that aspect of the game and finished with five solo tackles and a pass breakup.

Three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey finished as the highest-graded member of the entire secondary by PFF with an overall of 75, a solo tackle, two pass breakups, a quarterback hit and a near interception. In his return to action after missing last week’s game with a concussion, first-round rookie Nate Wiggins lined up across from Lamb early and often and came up with a huge play when he forced a fumble against him in the red zone.

Safeties: A-

This position group had a very impactful game led by 2023 First Team All Pro Kyle Hamilton who had his best game of the season thus far. The third-year pro led the team in total tackles with a dozen including seven solos, one of which was a crushing blow on Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin who he blasted on an end around for a gain of just a yard. Hamilton gave up a couple of long catch-and-run receptions to h-back Hunter Luepke but also nearly had a sack on a nickel blitz where he recorded his first quarterback hit of the season.

Veteran Marcus Williams was very active in this game and was constantly in the right place at the right time to make plays on the ball including on a pass breakup over the middle that should’ve been an interception. He still managed to come up with a turnover when he recovered the fumble Wiggins forced on Lamb, finished with four total tackles and was called for a phantom illegal contact penalty.

Two-time Pro Bowl veteran Eddie Jackson played a dozen more defensive snaps than fourth-year pro Ar’Darius Washington (46-34) but the former undrafted gem made far more impactful plays playing in a hybrid nickel. He recorded a pair of solo tackles, two pass breakups including one on Lamb in the slot and another on a two-point conversion attempt. Although he gave up a late touchdown to Turpin after slipping in the back of the end zone, he did draw an offensive pass interference penalty on wide receiver Brandon Cooks deep down the field on an underthrown ball that would’ve likely resulted in an interception had he not been yanked to the ground. Seventh-round rookie Sanoussi Kane played exclusively on special teams and downed a punt at the Dallas nine-yard line.

Special Teams

Kicking: C-

Future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker banged through all four of his extra point attempts but missed his first field goal attempt from under 50 yards this year dating back to Week 12 of last season. His errant 46-yard attempt in the fourth quarter would’ve given the Ravens some more breathing room as the Cowboys tried to mount a furious late comeback.

Punting: A

Third-year pro Jordan Stout bounced back nicely from the late shank on his final attempt which proved costly for the Ravens in Week 2 by displaying both his strong leg and tactical ball placement against the Cowboys. He had three of his four boots downed inside the Dallas 20-yard line including inside the 10 twice and as far back as the seven on his first attempt which ended up being his long of 55 yards.