CINCINNATI — Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position in their 24-0 win over the Bengals on Sunday:
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson played his best game since late October. There are still some things lacking, but he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to receiver Zay Flowers in stride in the second quarter, and there were times when he ran and made quicker decisions. His 12-yard scamper around the left end in the second quarter was exceptional, and it was his most electrifying run of the season. But Jackson still took four sacks and was indecisive at times about when to run, especially going around right end with two offensive linemen in front of him in the third quarter. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 150 yards and finished with a passer rating of 114.6. He is still fluttering too many passes. Grade B-
Running backs
Baltimore did what it needed to do, and it punished the worst run defense in the NFL (155.5 yards allowed per game) as the Ravens finished with 189 yards on just 24 carries. Derrick Henry finished with 100 yards on 11 attempts and backup Keaton Mitchell ran eight times for 66 yards and came close to breaking a couple of long runs. The Ravens also got a touchdown reception on a short pass to Rasheen Ali in the second quarter, which was an audible by Jackson. After a slow first quarter, Baltimore dominated Cincinnati. Grade: B
Offensive line
The Ravens did what they do best, and that’s run block. They have had the best run blocking group in the NFL for the past two seasons, and they punished Cincinnati almost every way possible. They ran inside the tackles and used tosses as well as pitches around the corner. A lot of those runs were behind left tackle Ronnie Stanley and left guard Andrew Vorhees. This was a total beatdown and something Baltimore needed. It still gives up too much ground on twists and stunts in pass protection, but the game plan was catered to their biggest strength, and that’s knocking the defensive line off the ball. Grade: B
Receivers
At least the Ravens appeared interested, unlike the past two weeks. It appeared as if Jackson made a conscious effort to get the receivers involved with Flowers, the slot receiver, becoming the top weapon. Besides his touchdown catch down the left side and in between two defenders, Flowers finished with three catches for 68 yards. Tight end Mark Andrews also had two catches for 18 yards and outplayed any Cincinnati player that tried to cover him one-on-one in the second half. Even veteran DeAndre Hopkins contributed with a 32-yard reception. Overall, a solid performance by this group on a day when the Ravens dominated with a strong running game. Grade: C
Defensive line
The Bengals had absolutely no running game. None. They finished with 100 yards on 29 carries, but Cincinnati’s running game was an attempt to keep the Ravens off Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. In all honesty, the Ravens had no respect for Cincinnati’s rushing attack or their two top backs, Chase Brown and Samaje Perine. The Ravens dominated the Bengals up front with tackles Travis Jones and John Jenkins, who each had four tackles. Also, Bengals offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims couldn’t contain any of Baltimore’s outside pass rushers. The Bengals finished with 298 yards of total offense, and Burrow had no places to run or to hide from the consistent pressure up front, even deep down in the trenches. Grade: B+
Linebackers
The Ravens kept pressure on Burrow for most of the game by beating the two weak tackles. Outside linebackers Mike Green, a rookie, and Dre’Mont Jones were consistently in the face of Burrow, forcing him to move. Baltimore had three sacks and finished with 10 hits on Burrow. Even strong side linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a good day, but not quite as impressive as outside linebacker Tavius Robinson, who had a sack and two pressures. He forced Burrow to move several times, and that happens when a player has been out of the lineup for a substantial period of time. Robinson has been on injured reserve since Week 6. Middle linebacker Roquan Smith led the team in tackles with 14, but a serious knee injury to rookie weakside linebacker Teddye Buchanan could be costly. Looks like third-year player Trenton Simpson has to step up. Grade: B
Secondary
The Ravens finally made tackles on the back end. There were no whiffs and no dropping of the heads. They kept everything in front of them, and that’s easier to do when playing with a lead instead of from behind. They found a way to neutralize Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who seemed uninterested from the start of the game. Without receiver Tee Higgins, out from a concussion suffered last week against Buffalo, Cincinnati had no other weapons and tried to throw short to intermediate passes over the middle. The Ravens smothered most of those, and all three cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins and Chidobe Awuzie, covered well. Baltimore had a good rotation on the back end to provide ample support. Grade: B+
Special teams
Reserve tight end Charlie Kolar had three assisted tackles on special teams and linebacker Jake Hummel had two assisted tackles as well. Baltimore did slow Cincinnati’s kickoff return game and the Bengals’ punt return game was nonexistent. Well, they had one for minus-2 yards. Jordan Stout punted three times with a long of 53. There wasn’t much to the kicking game, but the coverage units played well. Grade: B
Coaching
That’s all you want in these games. It’s called style points, and the Ravens banged around the Bengals, something they should have done on Thanksgiving night, but they didn’t because of five turnovers. The Ravens worked the offensive game plan to perfection pounding Cincinnati’s defense, and the Bengals had no answers for Baltimore’s zone defenses, which allowed short passes but delivered its best tackling performance in recent weeks. The Ravens came out slowly but conquered and went home victorious. Case closed. Grade: B
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