Tag: lamar jackson interception

Ravens snap count vs. Bengals: Breakdown, observations from 34-20 win in Week 11

We’re looking at the snap count and playing time percentages for the Ravens Week 11 win over the Bengals on Amazon prime Thursday night

The Ravens are 8-3, and a Chiefs loss to the Eagles on Monday night away from being the top seed in the AFC entering Week 12.

Jackson threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter, and Baltimore beat Cincinnati 34-20 on Thursday night after the Bengals lost Joe Burrow to a wrist injury.

The win completed a head-to-head sweep of Cincinnati (5-5) and moved to 2 1/2 games ahead of the last-place Bengals.

Star quarterback Joe Burrow left in the second quarter after throwing a touchdown pass and couldn’t return, while Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews is expected to miss the rest of the season after hurting an ankle.

With so many players banged up, guys like Jalyn Armour-Davis and Isaiah Likely saw their roles increase in the future.

With Baltimore on a semi-bye, we’re looking at Thursday night’s snap count and playing time percentages.

Where do the Ravens sit in the AFC playoff picture?

We’re looking at an updated look at the AFC playoff picture and the Baltimore Ravens are currently the No. 2 seed behind the Kansas City Chiefs

The Ravens are 7-3, and even after a 33-31 loss to the Browns in Week 10, they sit atop the AFC North, but that standing alone won’t create much separation, as three other division rivals are also currently in the postseason picture.

If the postseason started this weekend, the AFC North would be represented by three teams and the division winners from the AFC East, AFC West, and two AFC South teams.

Baltimore and Cincinnati are set for a high-profile matchup on Thursday night, and a loss would drop the Bengals to 5-5 on the season and down to as low as the 11th or 12th seed in the conference.

With the final day of preparation underway, here’s an updated look at the AFC playoff picture.

Ravens snap count vs. Browns: Breakdown, observations from 33-31 loss in Week 10

We’re looking at the snap counts and playing time percentages from the Baltimore Ravens 33-331 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 10

The NFL is far from a sprint, and with some weeks feeling like a marathon, the Ravens will need to return to the drawing board.

After looking like the best team in the league through one half, Mike MacDonald’s defense melted down, as Baltimore was outscored 24-14 in the second half by Cleveland, as the Browns pulled off the 33-31 upset as time expired.

The Ravens abandoned the run and their defensive principles en route to a shocking 33-31 loss to the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Kevin Stefanski’s team (6-3) moved within a game of the Ravens (7-3), who’ll look to rebound ahead of a massive AFC North matchup against the Bengals (5-4) on Thursday night.

With preparation for Week 11 underway, here’s the snap count from Sunday’s loss.

Studs and duds from Ravens 33-31 loss to the Browns in Week 10

We’re looking at Studs and duds from the Baltimore #Ravens 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 10

The NFL is far from a sprint, and with some weeks feeling like a marathon, the Ravens are set to return to the drawing board.

John Harbaugh’s group looked like the best team in the league through one half, then melted down, as Baltimore was outscored 24-14 in the second by Cleveland, as the Browns pulled off the 33-31 upset as time expired.

The Ravens abandoned the run and their defensive principles en route to a shocking 33-31 loss to the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Kevin Stefanski’s team (6-3) moved within a game of the Ravens (7-3), who’ll look to rebound ahead of a massive AFC North matchup against the Bengals (5-4) on Thursday night.

With fans perplexed and disappointed after the late fourth-quarter meltdown, here are the studs and duds from Sunday’s loss.

Takeaways and observations from Ravens 33-31 loss to the Browns in Week 10

We’re looking at takeaways and observations from the Baltimore Ravens 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium in Week 10

The Ravens abandoned the run and their defensive principles en route to a shocking 33-31 loss to the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

John Harbaugh’s group looked like the best team in the league through one half, then melted down, as the Ravens were outscored 24-14 in the second by Cleveland, as the Browns pulled off the 33-31 upset as time expired.

Kevin Stefanski’s team (6-3) moved within a game of the Ravens (7-3), who’ll look to rebound ahead of a massive AFC North matchup against the Bengals (5-4) on Thursday night.

With fans perplexed and disappointed after the late fourth-quarter meltdown, here are takeaways and observations from the loss.

Instant analysis of Ravens shocking 33-31 loss to the Browns in Week 10

We’re looking at an Instant analysis of the Baltimore Ravens shocking 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 10

Baltimore looked like the best team in the league through one half, and then melted down, as the Ravens were outscored 24-14 in the second by Cleveland, as the Browns pulled off the 33-31 upset as time expired.

The Browns (6-3) moved within a game of the Ravens (7-3), who’ll look to rebound ahead of a massive AFC North matchup against the Bengals (5-4) on Thursday night.

With fans perplexed and disappointed after the late fourth-quarter meltdown, here’s an instant analysis of the shocking loss.

Inside the Ravens’ fourth-down decision everybody hated

Lamar Jackson’s fourth-down red zone interception cost the Ravens their game against the Bills. But was it the wrong decision?

With 4:15 left in their Sunday game against the Buffalo Bills, the Baltimore Ravens had an important decision to make. They had fourth-and-goal at the Buffalo two-yard line, and head coach John Harbaugh had a three-way go. The Ravens could kick the easy field goal to go up 23-20. They could run the ball and either score a touchdown, or pin the Bills near their own end zone. Or, they could put the ball in Lamar Jackson’s hands, and have Jackson try to throw a touchdown pass.

Harbaugh chose Option 3, and as it turned out, that was the wrong answer. The Ravens started this drive at their own five-yard line with 13:38 left in the game, and just about every play in that marathon drive was Jackson either throwing the ball or running it. Jackson had been playing at an MVP level through the first three weeks of the season, and even though the Bills seemed to have answers for him that other defenses did not, this was a reasonable call to make. Maybe not if your quarterback was Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray, but again, Jackson had earned the benefit of the doubt based on what he had done in-season.

If the play had worked in the Ravens’ favor, we’d all be talking about how great Jackson is, and how Harbaugh was once again ahead of the analytical curve.

That was not what happened. Out of 12 personnel, Jackson dropped back and threw an interception to safety Jordan Poyer — the second pass Poyer had picked off in the game.

How the Chiefs baited Lamar Jackson into his second interception

The Chiefs made Lamar Jackson throw his second interception of the game by showing him everything that wasn’t there.

Lamar Jackson may be the master of a lot of things, but he’s not exactly a master of disguise — at least, when it comes to deciphering the disguised coverages opposing defenses throw at him. Jackson has always been more of a “see it and throw it” quarterback than a guy who’s going to read disguised or spun coverages from pre-snap to post-snap, and his second interception against the Chiefs was one such example.

Pre-snap, the Chiefs made this look like Cover-0, with man across the board, no deep safeties, and most likely a blitz. But it was actually a two-deep coverage, with defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Chris Lammons dropping into coverage, and linebacker Ben Niemann dropping into deep middle coverage out of what originally seemed to be a double B-gap blitz setup with Niemann and defensive end Michael Danna (who also dropped into the short middle, along with nose tackle Jarran Reed).

So, Jackson wound up with a completely different defense than the one he expected. The deep post to Marquise Brown would have been a great call against a Cover-0 blitz as long as Jackson could stay upright long enough to throw it, but against a four-man rush with a completely different coverage, Jackson got triple coverage deep.

If you want to know how Jackson wound up throwing into triple coverage and giving Mathieu his second interception of the day, that’s how it happened. It was a brilliant coverage switch by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and the Chiefs executed it perfectly.

Bills CB Taron Johnson ties postseason record with 101-yard pick-six vs. Lamar Jackson

Buffalo’s Taron Johnson victimized Lamar Jackson with a 101-yard pick-six, tying an NFL postseason record.

The Bills came into their divisional round game against the Ravens with a very clear plan — play zone against Lamar Jackson, and combine it with pressure.

The plan has worked marvelously so far. Through the end of the third quarter, Jackson completed just 14 of 24 passes for 162 yards, no touchdowns, and one very long interception — a 101-yard pick-six from Bills cornerback Taron Johnson.

The pick-six ties Green Bay’s George Teague for the longest in postseason history — Teague did it against the Lions and quarterback Erik Kramer in a 28-24 win in the wild-card round on January 8, 1994. (Packers fans will remember this as the “Favre-to-Sharpe Game).”

It’s not the first pick six Johnson has this season, and maybe Jackson should have phoned Ben Roethlisberger and asked his advice about avoiding Johnson jumping the route. Because Johnson has a history of doing that and taking it to the house.

Lamar Jackson assumes the risk

You can never assume as a quarterback. Late in the third quarter Lamar Jackson did, and it might end Baltimore’s season.

You can never assume as a quarterback.

On Saturday night in a critical spot Lamar Jackson assumed. It might cost the Baltimore Ravens a trip to the AFC Championship Game.

Trailing 10-3 late in the third quarter the Ravens were on the move. Baltimore faced a crucial 3rd-and-goal inside the Buffalo Bills’ 10-yard line. The offense lined up with Jackson in the shotgun and three receivers to the left. Buffalo showed blitz, but they dropped into a soft zone coverage.

After taking the snap, Jackson looked to hit his tight end over the middle, working away from the leverage of an inside defender. Everything was fine…assuming that Taron Johnson, lurking underneath, would jump the route.

There’s that word again:

Working from a flat zone underneath Johnson gets to the middle of the field, stepping in front of the throw for the interception. Making matters worse, the defender returned the interception the distance, extending Buffalo’s lead.

As you see the replay, you can see why Jackson assumed the path would be clear. Baltimore was running a pair of curl routes in the end zone and the quarterback believed the outside curl would occupy Johnson. But the defender read Jackson’s eyes, and they took him to the football.

And they might take the Bills, now, to the AFC Championship Game.