Report Card: Preseason Win Streak Finally Comes to an End

All good things must come to an end, and now so can the discussions about the Ravens’ all-too-discussed preseason winning streak.

Like most games, there was some good, some bad and some puzzling. Let’s take a look at some performances from this loss to the Washington Whatchamacallits, and who helped their cases in making this team.

Offense

Overall: B

The Ravens posted a touchdown a quarter, literally, ran for 149 yards and averaged 8.4 yards a pass attempt. They also saw another nice possession come to a crushing halt with an end-zone interception and didn’t seem to get a lot of push in the run game in the second half. They were 3-3 in the Red Zone, which, you know, is pretty good.

Quarterbacks: B

Josh Johnson was really, really good. He was 10-12 for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and generated some plays with his feet in key downs. He threw two tremendous seam passes to Charlie Kolar, a beautiful back-shoulder toss to Tylan Wallace for a touchdown and made a nice play from his own end zone on a third-down play to hit Pat Ricard for a first down. The end-zone interception was a bad ball/timing after James Proche broke loose for what looked like an easy touchdown, though Proche didn’t do him any favors by not making a better play on the ball. Anthony Brown was pretty good, particularly on his two touchdown passes to Travis Vokolek.

Running Backs: B

Keaton Mitchell stole the show in his cameo performance, showing terrific burst and explosion on a 31-yard carry with his only tote of the game before leaving with a reported shoulder injury. He has impressed all summer, and had a 28-yard kick return, as well. Justice Hill also continued his great summer, picking up 25 yards on two carries. Melvin Gordon was mostly good, but got stopped short on a third-and-one in the first quarter in the open field. Owen Wright runs hard, but didn’t have a lot of space.

Receivers: B

Zay Flowers saw two passes, caught both of them and electrified the crowd with an athletic, exciting 26-yard touchdown to cap the opening drive. Tight ends Kolar and Vokolek both stood out with tough catches in traffic. Wallace made that touchdown catch on his only target.

Offensive Line: C

They averaged 5.5 yards per carry, but that was influenced greatly by Mitchell’s long run, as well as one by Brown. They got very little in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. Ben Cleveland did make an impressive block on Hill’s 10-yard run to start the game, and Sam Mustipher stood out on a Gordon run in the third quarter. They gave up zero sacks, but the quarterbacks deserve some credit for that, as well.

Defense

Overall: C-

The Ravens gave up 426 yards and made Sam Howell look like… well, not like how I expected Sam Howell to look. They did force two turnovers and three sacks, but this wasn’t a stellar night.

Defensive Line: D+

Travis Jones stood out at the start of the game. He was in on a sack, had three tackles and drew a hold. Brent Urban also looked good at the start, with three tackles of his own, including destroying a screen pass. But it wasn’t great after that. Jeremiah Moon had an explosive sack in the second quarter, and nearly got another one late. Malik Hamm forced a fumble. Kai Caesar batted a pass. That’s it. The pressure was inconsistent and the run gaps were far too large.

Linebackers: B-

Rookie Trenton Simpson had an eventful night, picking up three tackles, a sack and another pressure late. But he also got destroyed along the sideline by Jaret Patterson on his touchdown, even throwing in a face-mask penalty for good measure. Still, Simpson showed his speed and physicality on the night, so that’s good. Josh Ross looked like the 2022 version of Josh Ross, and he had five tackles. Del’Shawn Phillips flashes a lot.

Defensive Backs: C

Ar’Darius Washington was an active guy, with seven tackles and three passes defensed. He made several open-field tackles that stood out, and had very tight coverage on a pass downfield late that fell incomplete. Tae Hayes had a pick and got a big hit on a receiver in the third quarter. DeAndre Houston-Carson had five tackles, broke up a pass in the end zone in the second quarter on a great play and recovered a fumble. Kyu Kelly was up and down. He got a holding call in the second quarter, got beat on a pass late in the first half and was in coverage on Dyami Brown’s touchdown, but he also made a great tackle on Washington’s two-point attempt late. Corey Mayfield Jr. had six solo tackles, but he also got beat by Brown in the open field, badly, in the third quarter, and had that pass interference call on fourth down with about 1:00 left that kept Washington driving.

Special Teams: B

There were no 60-yard field goals, so… BORING. But Jordan Stout looked good again, averaging 49.5 yards per punt including a 66-yard bomb int he first quarter. Proche let a punt fall that was downed on the 1, but it’s hard to fault him. Great kick.

Coaching: C

It’s impossible to grade coaching in the preseason, but I loved the play call that got Flowers into space on his touchdown, and there were a couple screens that looked competent — a foreign notion in Baltimore.

[Note: We are aware that commenting isn’t currently functional. We are working to get this issue resolved quickly. Thank you for your patience.]

The post Report Card: Preseason Win Streak Finally Comes to an End appeared first on Russell Street Report.