Beating the Houston Texans, 41-7, allowed the Baltimore Ravens to sit much of their starting lineup for half of the fourth quarter. It’s the third time this season Baltimore has been out to such a large lead they’ve been able to bench impact players during the game.
On the snap counts for Week 11, we see that reflected as guys like Robert Griffin III, Patrick Mekari and Bennett Jackson got some playing time when they normally wouldn’t. But when I looked a little closer at the snap counts, something interesting popped off the page for me.
On defense, the Ravens saw their midseason additions get significant playing time. In this game, six different players added in Week 5 or later played at least 34% of the defensive snaps. In many cases, these free-agent signings and trade acquisitions actually played more snaps than their long-tenured counterparts.
For instance, cornerback Marcus Peters played 100% of the defensive snaps, significantly more than the 67% Jimmy Smith and 7% Anthony Averett played. Linebackers L.J. Fort (48%) and Josh Bynes (39%) played more than Patrick Onwuasor (15%). Jihad Ward (56%) played more than Brandon Williams (54%). Even Justin Ellis (34%) and Domata Peko (36%) — added last week — played a significant amount.
I contend the Ravens are the best team in the NFL, and a large part of that argument revolves around their defensive turnaround over the last six games. With six players added during the season getting significant playing time in their Week 11 win, a giant glowing sign points to general manager Eric DeCosta’s work behind the scenes.
Seven of the 21 players of the active defensive roster this week were added during the season. That group accounted for 195 of the 671 total defensive snaps (29.1%) against the Texans. That’s practically unheard of for a group that’s playing this well and a testament to both DeCosta and the coaching staff for finding them, signing them and getting them up to speed so quickly.
Click on the next page for the full snap counts for the Ravens in Week 11 against the Texans.