I can't explain that either.
Our front 7 play alone is enough to carry me over until the next game.
- Lamar showed positive signs of getting back to form - still missed some throws that he'd like back but he looked like Lamar again
- Ricard was dominant
- Drake looked good again and seems to be getting better as the season goes on - a good complement to Gus when he comes back too - stylistically they feed off each other well - his form and style looked the smoothest it has all year
- TEs looked good and Andrews coming back in - Likely still not firing on all cylinders as a receiver but he looked the best he has all year as a blocker which is going to help get him involved in more snaps and more plays which is a good thing and the more plays he makes the more that talent is gonna come to fruition - and Kolar to come back in too - Oliver playing the best football of his career
- OL actually struggled a bit in pass pro in a way they havent done for most of the year but made up for it in the running game - Linderbaum struggled with some line games and Moses struggled in straight up pass pro but generally they were good and leaned on the Saints front 7 in a way that im not sure a ravens OL has been able to do since at least 2020 and maybe since 2019
- DL was great - saints opened up maybe a couple of holes all night in the running game and the did so well to get hands up when they couldnt get to the QB - Campbell especially looked great as a pass rusher and notably these guys were kept fresher with the influx of edge talent we've got the last few weeks
- EDGE has gone from a position where we could barely find enough NFL calibre guys to start let alone play well to the legitimate strength of the team - for the first time this year we were consistently able to get 3 OLBs on the field on passing downs and Bowser's a big part of that and the Saints OL could not deal with the combination of the front 4 and Queen and the DBs coming on blitzes (really well called game by Macdonald... probably his best of the year) - Oweh still looking uncreative as a rusher but he's working well within the pass rush scheme and campbell, houston and bowser all were able to make plays because Oweh created space but id still like to see him kick on and get into more half-man relationships (felt like he was trying to go through the middle of the OT too much last night) - he's inconsistent but flashes... can't wait to see what Ojabo does on his return
- LB has also gone from a weakness to a strength - PQ playing the best football of his career and now we've added an all-pro LB next to him - these guys are only going to get better as they play more together too - not that we want to take safeties off the field but this LB corps now gives us the ability to play more nickel and base against passing looks because of the combination of PQ and Roquan being viable on 3rd down
- Marlon is playing at a consistently high level, MP having a couple of lapses against Olave and between Stephens and Pepe they seem to have solidified a top 3 that works well at CB
- With every passing week we get stronger and stronger at safety - with Marcus Williams still to come back in some time next month
- Tucker's Tucker and Moore's Moore
legitimately leaves only 2 position groups that we're not happy about - punter where Jordan Stout has been inconsistent but flashy and WR where it's obvious what the issue is but not really much left to do to fix it
Greg Roman maybe having the best year as a playcaller/play-designer as a ravens coach, Mike Macdonald getting better as the season goes on and Chris Horton is still among the best in the league
and philosophically on offence we're a team that's well set-up schematically and personnel-wise to take advantage of the sea-change on defence league-wide... the frustrating thing is imagining how good this team could/would be if Bateman was able to return
but tough not to regard us as at least a top 3 team in the AFC right now
