Mapping a out a blueprint to success in this AFC showdown.
The Baltimore Ravens will be back at home in Week 9 after a two-game road stint, where they will take on the Denver Broncos. Both teams have won five of their last six games but the Ravens are coming off a shocking upset loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 and will be looking to bounce back against a formidable opponent in playoff contention. A win will bring them to 6-3 and keep them just one game back from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the division standings.
Here are five keys integral to the Ravens’ coming out on top in Week 9.
Be more efficient on early downs offensively
The Ravens’ offense has been pretty much unstoppable since their 0-2 start but last week against the Browns, they found it much harder to move the ball consistently. They were a woeful 2-of-10 on third down and often found themselves in unfavorably long down and distances after getting stifled or stuffed on early downs. This week they’ll be facing the third-ranked overall defense and will need to be much better and consistent at moving the ball on first and second down to either avoid third down or create more manageable down and distances where most of the playbook is still at their disposal instead of obvious passing situations.
Stay committed to the run game with Derrick Henry
The Ravens still lead the league in rushing yards by nearly three football fields and are averaging 200 yards on the ground per game. However, their failure to stick with it last week, particularly with their four-time Pro Bowl bellcow, despite never trailing by more than one score is part of what led to their downfall. Henry only carried the ball 11 times and got one more touch on his lone reception for four yards and still finished with 73 rushing yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. This season in games where he touched the ball fewer than 20 times, the Ravens are 1-3 with the lone exception being a 41-38 overtime shootout with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 that could’ve gone either way.
Henry leads the league in rushing by nearly 200 yards with 946 in eight games. Not only is he the offense’s finisher when they need to chew up the clock to hold a lead and secure a victory, but he is also a physical tone-setter whose presence needs to be felt by the defense early in games as well as late. Although the Broncos are allowing the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game with 106.4, they have yet to face a rushing attack as dominant and diverse as the one they’ll face in Baltimore on Sunday led by Henry and reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Get back to playing dominant run defense
Even though the Ravens rank dead last in pass defense and first in fewest rushing yards allowed with an average of just 69.9, the Broncos will still look to establish the run to get their offense and play-action passing game in particular going. Baltimore’s interior defensive line is banged up and ailing with Nnamdi Madubuike being the only healthy player at the position not listed on the injury report while Travis Jones and Broderick Washington are dealing with ankle and knee injuries respectively and nose tackle Michael Pierce was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week.
Expect the Broncos to try to get some traction on the ground with their rushing attack that ranks near the middle of the pack to test the Ravens between the tackles especially where they’ve been susceptible to giving up several chunk runs consistently over their last two games. They’ve allowed a combined 205 yards over that span after yielding just 59 yards per game and 2.9 per carry through the first six games. The Browns were able to limit the number of possessions for the Ravens’ high-octane offense that ranks second in scoring by keeping them off the field for extended periods of time with long sustained drives at times that included mixing in some healthy runs and key short-yardage conversions.
Continue to have answers for the blitz
In the past, during the first few years of Jackson’s tenure as the Ravens’ starting franchise quarterback, the best formula to disrupt him and the offense as a whole was to blitz both against the run and especially the pass where he’d sometimes rush or deliver errant throws. In the first year under offensive coordinator Todd Monken, the offense began playing much better against heavy-blitzing teams and game plans. This season, Jackson has been the best quarterback in the league against the blitz.
According to Next Gen Stats, the two-time league MVP has the highest success rate in the NFL when blitzed which could prove deadly for the Broncos’ top-three-ranked defense as they blitz at the highest rate in the NFL. Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit has yet to play signal caller as dynamic or elusive as Jackson who carved up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blitz packages to the tune of 13-of-17 for 186 passing yards, four touchdowns to no interceptions and a passer rating of 151. The Ravens have so many weapons Jackson can get the ball out quickly to on screens and underneath routes and can make over-aggressive defenses play for turning up the heat with their explosive playmaking ability in space.
Play more disciplined in pass coverage and force rookie mistakes
What was arguably just as frustrating as the dropped interceptions by the Ravens’ secondary against the Browns last week was the high frequency at which wide receivers were left uncovered or could get wide open with relative ease. Even with two of their top three cornerbacks out, there was no excuse for how poorly and undisciplined the defensive backfield as a whole played in coverage. They’ll be going up against a rookie quarterback this week in 2024 first-rounder Bo Nix who is coming off the best stretch of play of his inaugural season. Broncos head coach and offensive play-caller Sean Peyton doesn’t dial up a sophisticated game plan for his young signal caller so the Ravens won’t be seeing anything too exotic. This means as long as they can play tight in coverage and make plays on the ball when they present themselves as well as in contested catch situations, they should be poised to succeed.
The secondary is slated to have both three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey and first-round rookie Nate Wiggins back for this game which bodes well for their ability to play much better in coverage and take the ball away. Humphrey leads the team with an already career-high four interceptions while Wiggins has gotten better with each game he plays. The return of veteran free safety Marcus Williams to action whether it is back in a full-time starting role or as part of a rotation with one or more of his teammates, his playmaking ability could prove pivotal going up against a first-year quarterback and his former head coach from his time with the New Orleans Saints to begin his career.