Pick your poison offense

This is kind of a follow up to the previous point. But Jackson making it 11-on-11 football for Baltimore’s offense has forced defenses to pick their poison in a way we haven’t really seen often before.

The key for many opponents has been to contain Jackson on the ground. But that has almost always required a dedicated spy who can’t match his speed or multiple defenders to keep their eyes in the backfield on every play. That overcommitment of personnel to stopping one player means someone else is left open in the passing game or running back Mark Ingram is going to have a wide-open rushing lane.

It’s an offense that doesn’t really have any stars outside of Jackson but it’s one that spreads the love around well to the tune of the second-most total yards in the league.

The Ravens have two 1,000-yard rushers in Jackson and Ingram with backup running back Gus Edwards topping 700 rushing yards himself. Four different players have two-plus rushing touchdowns this season while three have gained at least 5.0 yards-per-carry.

In the passing game, 10 different players have 11-plus targets this season with eight catching double-digit passes. Though Baltimore has no 1,000-yard receivers, nine players have a touchdown reception.

All that ultimately means the Ravens don’t have to rely on just one player excelling to win. If an opponent wants to stop the inside run, they better be prepared for Jackson and Justice Hill bouncing outside. If they want to take away tight end Mark Andrews, they better be able to handle Marquise Brown’s deep speed. That’s too much for a defense to consistently handle and both Jackson and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have done a great job of switching up their packages to take advantage of where the holes are at each week.