Breaking down the top performers from the Ravens’ thrilling victory in Week 14
The Baltimore Ravens emerged victorious from a high-scoring battle against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Fresh off their bye week, the Ravens started a bit slow and allowed one of their highest yardage and scoring totals of the season defensively.
However, the Ravens prevailed in the end thanks to timely plays, earning their 10th victory of the season and strengthening their place in the AFC playoff picture. Who stood out from the 37-31 victory? Let’s go through some of the top performers below — vote for your game ball recipient!
Lamar Jackson
Jackson wasn’t at his most accurate in this game, misfiring on some throws en route to a 56% completion percentage. That’s far below his-near 70% mark for the season and he also threw an interception. His 24 completed passes accounted for 316 yards through the air, highlighted by three big-play touchdowns of 46, 54, and 21 yards each.
Jackson’s touchdown passes to Isaiah Likely and Odell Beckham Jr. in the first half gave the Ravens some much-needed life offensively. They were also crucial to keeping pace with a Rams offense that moved the ball and scored 20 points through two quarters.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, Jackson orchestrated a 13-play, 75-yard drive with the Ravens trailing 28-23. He completed seven passes on that drive, with a 21-yard strike to Zay Flowers on third-and-long resulting in the Ravens’ go-ahead touchdown. Then, Jackson found Flowers again for a two-point conversion, which gave the Ravens a three-point lead.
On top of these heroics, Jackson was the team’s leading rusher on the day, with 11 attempts and 70 yards on the ground. He picked up key yardage with his legs when plays broke down or there was no separation downfield.
Justin Madubuike
The Ravens’ defense had an uncharacteristic performance against the Rams, giving up over 400 offensive yards and 30+ points. However, their struggles should not be attributed to Madubuike, who again led the defensive line with a strong game. Madubuike continued his season-long trend of being disruptive and impactful at the line of scrimmage.
The third-year pro tied for second on the defense in total tackles with seven, which was his highest mark of the season. His five solo tackles were also a season-best total and one of them was a tackle-for-loss.
Matthew Stafford was able to throw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns on the day, but it didn’t come easy up front — in large part because of Madubuike’s efforts. He was one of only two Ravens defenders to record a sack and had a whopping five quarterback hits. That was half of the team’s total on the day and matched the entire quarterback hits total of the Rams’ defense.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham’s late-season emergence continued in Week 14. Against his former team, “OBJ” caught four passes for 97 yards and a touchdown — a 66-yard catch in the first half that gave the Ravens a lead. On that play, Beckham made an impressive midair adjustment to contort his body for the catch, which came after dusting a Rams’ defender with a double move.
Before that, Beckham previously made another nice adjustment to pick up a key first down on a lofted pass from Jackson. Beckham’s production quieted from there and he ultimately only reeled in four passes on 10 total targets. However, he recorded a timely 14-yard catch late in the fourth quarter on the Ravens’ go-ahead scoring drive with just minutes remaining.
His 97 receiving yards were the most on the team, which marks the second time in the last three games that Beckham has led the Ravens in receiving. It’s also his second-highest yardage mark of the season.
Tylan Wallace
Fresh off returning from injured reserve, Wallace had his most impactful game of the season — and of his entire Ravens’ tenure thus far. He did not impact the box score from a receiving standpoint but made the biggest play in the highest stakes moment on special teams.
Filling in for an injured Devin Duvernay at punt returner, Wallace returned a 76-yard punt to the house for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. On that play, Wallace outraced several defenders, broke a tackle, and managed to keep his balance up the sideline. He nearly stumbled and stepped out of bounds but stayed upright.
Wallace had two other punt returns prior to this one and picked up 19 combined yards between them. However, it was the premier overtime return that stole the show and gave the Ravens the win. It came after their offense went three-and-out to begin overtime and lifted a huge burden off the entire team’s back, allowing them to escape with a victory.
Honorable mention —
Isaiah Likely: Likely’s five catches were the most on the team and he finished second in receiving yards with 83. His 54-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first quarter gave the Ravens their first points of the game.
Zay Flowers: Flowers made up for two drops by catching a 21-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give the Ravens the lead late. He followed it up with an impressive two-point conversion snag as well. He had six catches for 60 receiving yards in total on the day.