Ravens Week 4 Report Card: Dean’s List Honors for Both Sides of the Ball

The Ravens dominated the Bills on both sides of the ball in Week 4, earning high grades across their offensive and defensive position groups.

The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Buffalo Bills from start to finish on Sunday night, excelling in all three phases of the game on their way to a 35-10 victory.

Here’s the position-by-position breakdown of their performance.

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Offense

Quarterbacks: A

Lamar Jackson didn’t have to perform any superhuman feats for victory on Sunday night, completing 72.2% of his passes and converting three red zone touchdowns in a decisive performance. He was brilliant in the first half, completing 11 of his 13 passing attempts for 135 yards and two touchdowns before letting the Ravens’ run game take over in the second half. While Josh Allen was under siege by the Ravens defense, Jackson was cool, calm, and collected under center, layering touch passes to the intermediate areas of the field and using his legs to contribute in the run game.

His second-quarter fumble was a notable blemish that threatened to reverse Baltimore’s momentum before halftime, but the biggest takeaway from Jackson’s performance is his leadership and total command of the Ravens offense. He trusted his playmakers and made key throws on third down during the game, and spent his post-game presser hyping up his offensive line after their early-season struggles. He wasn’t asked to do too much, but he made all the right moves.

Running Backs: A+

Derrick Henry and Justice Hill have emerged as one of the most complementary running back duos in the NFL this season, and Sunday night was a full display of their fit and contribution to this offense. Henry rumbled for 199 yards on 24 carries (8.3 YPC), while Hill recorded team-highs with six catches for 78 yards. Ravens fans will be replaying Henry’s 87-yard touchdown run on Baltimore’s first offensive drive, but Hill did his job just as well, converting a third-and-14 and scoring a 19-yard touchdown in the span of three plays. Here’s a great clip from a fan in the stands:

Todd Monken’s game plan was built around the synergy in his backfield, using Henry to attack the Bills downhill and Hill to expose them in space. Henry won’t be happy about his fourth-quarter fumble, but his overall performance is enough to overshadow a mistake that ended in a Ravens touchdown. This was the vision in Eric DeCosta’s mind when he signed Henry this offseason, and it all came together against the Bills in primetime.

Fullback/Tight Ends: B+

The Bills’ exclusive use of nickel and dime defensive packages this season set up an obvious opportunity for the Ravens to roll out heavy formations on offense and play some smashmouth football. Patrick Ricard sprung Henry loose for multiple long runs, and Baltimore’s tight ends continued their stellar blocking so far this season. They didn’t take advantage of coverage mismatches – Isaiah Likely’s 26-yard reception was the group’s – and Mark Andrew’s glaring drop continued a disappointing start to his season.

But Jackson only targeted his tight ends three times, with Monken instead asking them to climb to the second level in the run game. They delivered with aplomb, consistently displacing the Bills’ defensive backs to set up chunk plays on the ground. Andrews and Likely would love to be more explosive through the air, but the whole group committed to the game plan and did the dirty work to get the win.

Offensive Line: A

An injury to Andrew Vorhees renewed concerns about the Ravens’ offensive line, but Patrick Mekari and Roger Rosengarten both thrived in full shifts at left guard and right tackle, respectively. Daniel Faalele showed more growth in another confidence-building performance at right guard that should quiet questions about his long-term viability at the position. But among all of the offensive line hand-wringing over the first four weeks, the spectacular play of Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum has flown under the radar.

Stanley has been nothing short of brilliant at left tackle, with his best stretch of play since his 2020 ankle injury. Linderbaum, meanwhile, has been manhandling linebackers left and right with his athleticism and wrestler’s instincts to win leverage. As a unit, the line is finally starting to gel, even with the switches at left guard and right tackle. Almost 70% of Derrick Henry’s yards came before contact, and the offensive line as a whole wasn’t charged with a single quarterback pressure, per Pro Football Focus. After all the consternation throughout the offseason and training camp, this unit has finally found their identity.

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Defense

Defensive line: A-

Baltimore’s defensive line has been the foundation of their success all year, consistently stuffing the run and getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike collapsed the pocket on Josh Allen, while Brent Urban stepped up in run defense in place of an injured Michael Pierce. The Ravens would still love to get more out of Broderick Washington after his three-year extension in 2023, but he’s also not a liability along the interior.

Jones is the biggest story coming out of this game, establishing himself as a game-wrecker who can shoot gaps against the run and beat double-teams as a pass rusher. The Ravens are tapping the full potential of his 6-foot-4, 338-pound frame, forming one of the most dangerous young interiors in the NFL with Madubuike. Getting Pierce back will only strengthen a group that rotated throughout the game to stay fresh and close the Bills out in the fourth quarter.

Edge rushers: B+

Josh Allen was pressured on 44.1% of his dropbacks, despite just a 23.5% blitz rate by Zach Orr. Translation: the Ravens have figured out how to get pressure with four pass rushers, and plenty of credit goes to the outside linebacker group. Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy aren’t household names across the NFL, but they’ve been as deadly as any edge rushing duo in the league through four weeks. Van Noy is defying time and medicine with his third straight multi-sack game, and Oweh is finally having the breakout season fans have been waiting for.

David Ojabo isn’t flashing as a pass rusher, but he’s rounded out his game with solid edge-setting and a key third-down tackle of Dawson Knox. Adisa Isaac stuffed Ray Davis for a 4-yard loss for his first NFL tackle as part of a solid pro debut. The only disappointment is Tavius Robinson, who has struggled to impact games despite a promising preseason. With Oweh and Van Noy already playing at such a high level, the continued development of Baltimore’s young edge rushers has the potential to supercharge the pass rush later in the season.

Inside linebackers: B+

Roquan Smith turned in another tough, physical game with improved instincts in pass coverage at the helm of a strong overall defensive performance. Malik Harrison played well on limited snaps against the run, but Zach Orr wisely took him off the field once the Bills fell behind. Trenton Simpson played his brand of aggressive, downhill football with no glaring mistakes in pass coverage.

Still, Orr seems to prefer an extra safety in dime packages instead of Simpson in obvious passing situations. That’s the right coaching decision, but the Ravens want to see Simpson develop as a coverage linebacker to maximize his versatility alongside Smith and Kyle Hamilton. If he can’t cover the middle of the field or match up with tight ends and running backs, he can’t be fully weaponized as a blitzer, a necessity to unlock his full potential. Still, he and Smith effectively controlled the middle of the field on Sunday night, preventing yards after contact and catches.

Cornerbacks: B+

Brandon Stephens may have allowed two deep completions to Keon Coleman, but his other five targets fell to the turf as he continues to survive being hunted by opposing quarterbacks. Marlon Humphrey played 34 of his 48 snaps in the slot, closing down on pass-catchers and ballcarriers alike. Nate Wiggins bounced back from some hiccups vs. Dallas in Week 3 for the best performance of his young career, dominating his matchups in coverage to the tune of just 5 yards and 1 catch allowed on 2 targets.

Humphrey has been critical to the defense’s success after Arthur Maulet’s injury, capably sliding into the slot and locking down receivers every week. His physicality has factored into the pass rush and run defense, too, bringing back a level of All-Pro play that Humphrey has struggled to hit through injuries in recent years. The cornerbacks weren’t perfect downfield, but they effectively mixed up their coverage looks at the line of scrimmage to disrupt Allen’s rhythm with his receivers. The biggest issue remains hands, with multiple interception opportunities missed when a turnover would have effectively sealed the game.

Safeties: B+

Kyle Hamilton remains the class of the NFL’s safeties, dominating the Bills from sideline to sideline with his physicality, instincts, and leadership. He might be the best pure defender in the NFL, notching another game with impact plays in coverage, run defense, and the pass rush.

The substandard play from Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson to start the season has been widely labeled as the source of Baltimore’s struggles in pass defense. Williams answered his critics on Sunday night, turning in a much-improved performance in coverage with few opportunities downfield for Josh Allen.

Jackson still struggled, allowing Khalil Shakir to get loose on Allen’s third-quarter scramble drill. He may have made the defense’s biggest mistake, but he refrained from erring multiple times, something that has plagued the safety group so far this year. He might be at risk of losing his spot to Ar’Darius Washington if Washington wasn’t already a crucial element of Orr’s dime packages. He put up his second stellar game in as many weeks splitting his time between free safety and the slot. That versatility is what frees up Hamilton to play his best football as a roving underneath defender instead of worrying about coverage downfield.