The Baltimore Ravens came out of this win against the Detroit Lions as huge winners, on the field and for their playoff race. The Ravens now have an 80% chance to make the playoffs thanks to a 7-5 record. With very little leeway and give between the Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and Buffalo Bills, this win was absolutely huge for the Ravens to end their playoff drought in 2017. However, it was what the Ravens did on the field against the Lions that should be the most impressive and give fans the biggest amount of hope.
Coming into this game, I was incredibly skeptical of what the Ravens could do. They had a losing record (along with six other teams picking in the top 10) against all teams with a winning record. To make it worse, the Ravens had looked highly uncompetitive in each of those four games and looked like a team that would make an early exit in the playoffs. Joe Flacco had looked incredibly poor in all but a handful of games and only showed glimpses of great play. Many had additionally questioned whether or not this Ravens defense was actually any good because they had played backup quarterbacks in many games and had yet to face an elite quarterback like Matthew Stafford. Simply put, there was very little reason for the Ravens to actually feel good about their chances against the Lions, but here we are as Ravens fan, riding cloud 9 after a huge 44-20 victory.
For me, the biggest difference in this game was simply Joe Flacco. Flacco, who had thrown for an average yards per attempt below 5.0 yards coming into this game and had more interceptions than touchdowns, looked absolutely stellar. He was on point with his throws, light on his feet, and looked comfortable sitting in the pocket to wait for his receivers to come open. Flacco, who had completed just one of 24 passes over 20 yards in the prior six games, completed two of four passes deep for 89 yards, both to Mike Wallace. One was an excellent use of play action where Flacco drew down the deep safety and left Mike Wallace one on one deep and the other was a beautiful back shoulder fade that showed tremendous touch and timing against Darius Slay. Those two throws were not throws that Flacco would have completed in any of his prior six games, but here we are, marveling at the fact that he was so incredibly on point with all of his throws, including these two deep passes. Hell, had it not been for his receivers having a case of the dropsies Flacco very well may have gone over 300 yards. On the day, Flacco’s receivers dropped four passes, three which would have easily converted first downs and kept very promising drives alive. The dropped passes and stalled drives did not bother Flacco, though. Despite only scoring three points on the Ravens first four drives, largely thanks to the aforementioned drops, Flacco stood tall and stood strong and led the Ravens to 17 points on just four drives to give the Ravens a 20-0 lead at halftime. Even in the second half, Flacco was able to lead the Ravens on two more touchdown drives and a drive that ended with a field goal to put the Ravens at 37 offensive points on the day, their highest total of the regular season to date. Simply put, January Joe showed up early to tease Ravens fans in December. The Ravens will need more of January Joe in the coming weeks because the Ravens defense may be in deep trouble in the upcoming weeks defensively.
Late in the second quarter, star cornerback Jimmy Smith went down with a non-contact injury. As trainers came over to attend to the injured cornerback, Smith immediately grabbed for his calf and appeared to be in serious pain. As he was carried off the field, Smith mouthed, “Gone,” and let out a wide smile, the smile of someone who knew his season was over, but wanted fans to remain positive despite an injury that would spell the end of the Ravens season in prior seasons.
And on this very day, it almost was enough to end the Ravens. On three of four drives to open the second half, Matthew Stafford was able to effectively take his team down the field through the air by continuously attacking rookie cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Stafford attacked deep and challenged Humphrey’s ball skills which were called into question before the draft, and Stafford looked vindicated in his decision to attack the raw rookie. But after three straight touchdown drives, Terrell Suggs decided that he had enough of Stafford and the Lions marching down the field and called a defensive meeting. Suggs, who has since taken over as the leader of the Ravens from the departed Ray Lewis, pulled over every member of the defense and delivered a speech that seemed to totally change the morale of the team. On the next two drives, one led by Stafford and one led by backup Jake Ruddock, the Lions threw interceptions, one to Humphrey and one to Eric Weddle that was returned for a touchdown.
In the past, the end of Jimmy Smith’s season would have meant the end of the season for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2014, the loss of Smith proved to be largely the reason that the Ravens lost to the New England Patriots in the playoffs. In 2016, the loss of Smith largely proved the difference against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown’s stretch across the goal line. However, this year, thanks to the additions of Humphrey and veteran Brandon Carr, the Ravens finally look like they have depth. The Ravens finally look like they are capable of handling the loss of Jimmy Smith. Will there be a drop off? Of course there will be. Smith was a top 5 cornerback in the league prior to his injury. However, we will not see the Ravens turn into one of the worst defenses in the league and actually look poised to continue to be a dominant defense for the playoffs.
If the Ravens can continue to feature an incredibly strong defense and continue to draw out January Joe, they will be an incredibly scary team in the playoffs. No team wants to face the Ravens as is, but now the Ravens could potentially be catching fire at the absolute right time. If this truly can keep up, the Ravens really may become a Super Bowl contender, an unimaginable possibility just a week ago.
Coming into this game, I was incredibly skeptical of what the Ravens could do. They had a losing record (along with six other teams picking in the top 10) against all teams with a winning record. To make it worse, the Ravens had looked highly uncompetitive in each of those four games and looked like a team that would make an early exit in the playoffs. Joe Flacco had looked incredibly poor in all but a handful of games and only showed glimpses of great play. Many had additionally questioned whether or not this Ravens defense was actually any good because they had played backup quarterbacks in many games and had yet to face an elite quarterback like Matthew Stafford. Simply put, there was very little reason for the Ravens to actually feel good about their chances against the Lions, but here we are as Ravens fan, riding cloud 9 after a huge 44-20 victory.
For me, the biggest difference in this game was simply Joe Flacco. Flacco, who had thrown for an average yards per attempt below 5.0 yards coming into this game and had more interceptions than touchdowns, looked absolutely stellar. He was on point with his throws, light on his feet, and looked comfortable sitting in the pocket to wait for his receivers to come open. Flacco, who had completed just one of 24 passes over 20 yards in the prior six games, completed two of four passes deep for 89 yards, both to Mike Wallace. One was an excellent use of play action where Flacco drew down the deep safety and left Mike Wallace one on one deep and the other was a beautiful back shoulder fade that showed tremendous touch and timing against Darius Slay. Those two throws were not throws that Flacco would have completed in any of his prior six games, but here we are, marveling at the fact that he was so incredibly on point with all of his throws, including these two deep passes. Hell, had it not been for his receivers having a case of the dropsies Flacco very well may have gone over 300 yards. On the day, Flacco’s receivers dropped four passes, three which would have easily converted first downs and kept very promising drives alive. The dropped passes and stalled drives did not bother Flacco, though. Despite only scoring three points on the Ravens first four drives, largely thanks to the aforementioned drops, Flacco stood tall and stood strong and led the Ravens to 17 points on just four drives to give the Ravens a 20-0 lead at halftime. Even in the second half, Flacco was able to lead the Ravens on two more touchdown drives and a drive that ended with a field goal to put the Ravens at 37 offensive points on the day, their highest total of the regular season to date. Simply put, January Joe showed up early to tease Ravens fans in December. The Ravens will need more of January Joe in the coming weeks because the Ravens defense may be in deep trouble in the upcoming weeks defensively.
Late in the second quarter, star cornerback Jimmy Smith went down with a non-contact injury. As trainers came over to attend to the injured cornerback, Smith immediately grabbed for his calf and appeared to be in serious pain. As he was carried off the field, Smith mouthed, “Gone,” and let out a wide smile, the smile of someone who knew his season was over, but wanted fans to remain positive despite an injury that would spell the end of the Ravens season in prior seasons.
And on this very day, it almost was enough to end the Ravens. On three of four drives to open the second half, Matthew Stafford was able to effectively take his team down the field through the air by continuously attacking rookie cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Stafford attacked deep and challenged Humphrey’s ball skills which were called into question before the draft, and Stafford looked vindicated in his decision to attack the raw rookie. But after three straight touchdown drives, Terrell Suggs decided that he had enough of Stafford and the Lions marching down the field and called a defensive meeting. Suggs, who has since taken over as the leader of the Ravens from the departed Ray Lewis, pulled over every member of the defense and delivered a speech that seemed to totally change the morale of the team. On the next two drives, one led by Stafford and one led by backup Jake Ruddock, the Lions threw interceptions, one to Humphrey and one to Eric Weddle that was returned for a touchdown.
In the past, the end of Jimmy Smith’s season would have meant the end of the season for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2014, the loss of Smith proved to be largely the reason that the Ravens lost to the New England Patriots in the playoffs. In 2016, the loss of Smith largely proved the difference against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown’s stretch across the goal line. However, this year, thanks to the additions of Humphrey and veteran Brandon Carr, the Ravens finally look like they have depth. The Ravens finally look like they are capable of handling the loss of Jimmy Smith. Will there be a drop off? Of course there will be. Smith was a top 5 cornerback in the league prior to his injury. However, we will not see the Ravens turn into one of the worst defenses in the league and actually look poised to continue to be a dominant defense for the playoffs.
If the Ravens can continue to feature an incredibly strong defense and continue to draw out January Joe, they will be an incredibly scary team in the playoffs. No team wants to face the Ravens as is, but now the Ravens could potentially be catching fire at the absolute right time. If this truly can keep up, the Ravens really may become a Super Bowl contender, an unimaginable possibility just a week ago.
