Baltimore Ravens Report Card, Week 13: Miscues pile up in embarrassing loss

Quarterback: D-

After leading a touchdown drive on the Ravens’ opening possession, Lamar Jackson’s night quickly took a downward spiral. The rest of the first half saw him lose two fumbles in Baltimore’s own territory, the second of which he was untouched on and merely lost the ball during his throwing motion. He misfired on a few passes including a bad overthrow to Zay Flowers that would have converted a third down. Jackson was not helped by two long would-be touchdown passes being negated, one by an offensive pass interference and the other by Isaiah Likely fumbling just before crossing the goal line. Later in the fourth quarter, Jackson was intercepted in the red zone on another deflected pass at the line of scrimmage, which deflated any chance of a late-game comeback. Against a defense that has been one of the worst in NFL history, statistically, a three-turnover performance with no touchdowns and a 63.7 passer rating is not good only level — and injuries cannot be a viable explanation.

Running Back: B

Derrick Henry was a lone silver lining for the Ravens’ offense in this game. On the team’s opening drive, he rushed three times with a long 28-yard breakaway touchdown. He was then iced out for most of the rest of the first half, which was strange given the advantageous matchup and that the Ravens were not trailing until the end of the second quarter. Henry had a long 44-yard catch-and-run reception later in the second half that put the Ravens in scoring position. He finished with 104 combined yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry with a score. He ran hard and found more success than last week. Keaton Mitchell also found the end zone with a long 18-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, which was his first time scoring since 2023.

Wide Receiver: D+

The Ravens’ wide receivers accounted for just 31 receiving yards in this game, making up a small fraction of Jackson’s 236 passing yards overall. It was a rough day at the office for Zay Flowers, who finished with two catches on seven targets for just six yards. Flowers lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter and was called for offensive pass interference — albeit questionably — that negated what would have been an impressive long touchdown reception in the second quarter. Deandre Hopkins caught two of three targets for 25 yards to lead all wideouts. Rashod Bateman was targeted only once in his return from injury, while Devontez Walker saw two deep shot attempts from Jackson but he failed to haul in either.

Tight End: C-

Likely and Mark Andrews were unsurprisingly productive against a Bengals’ defense that struggles to defend tight ends. Likely caught a season-high five catches for 95 yards on six targets, while Andrews also saw six targets and finished with four catches for 47 yards — both second on the team. Unfortunately, Likely’s receiving prowess was overshadowed by two costly blunders. He ruined what would have been a 43-yard touchdown after fumbling the ball just before crossing the goal line, resulting instead in a touchback and Bengals’ football. In the fourth quarter, Likely made a poor block that led to Jackson’s intercepted pass attempt being deflected at the line of scrimmage. These blunders alone have to drag the grade down for this group.

Offensive Line: D+

This was a prime get-right game opportunity for the Ravens’ offensive line, but their inconsistency and struggles continued against the Bengals. Jackson was sacked twice and hit five times. His first lost fumble and interception late in the game were both impacted by pressure. The Ravens struggled to block Joseph Ossai, who racked up four quarterback hits and two sacks himself. The Bengals dialed up a lot of heavy blitz packages with defensive backs and brought the house in cover-zero looks, which caused issues for the Ravens. They struggled to pick up extra blitzers and at times untouched rushers got home. The Ravens finally inserted rookie Emery Jones Jr. into the lineup, who rotated series with Andrew Vorhees during the game at left guard. Unfortunately, Jones struggled and looked like a rookie who hasn’t taken very many reps.

Defensive Line: C+

The Ravens’ defensive front had a strong first half where they stifled the Bengals on multiple short-yardage attempts and made red zone stands. As the game progressed, though, they began to wear down and the Bengals started running the ball well in the final two quarters. Chase Brown rushed 15 times for 78 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and Semaje Perine toted 14 carries as well. The Bengals were one of the worst running teams in the NFL heading into this game but managed to grind out 128 yards on the ground. Travis Jones and John Jenkins had some nice tackles-for-losses and Brent Urban recorded a quarterback hit, but the Ravens didn’t get a ton of quarterback pressure through the interior.

Edge Rusher: C

Mike Green had another pair of quarterback hits and got solid push into the pocket at times. He flushed Burrow out but wasn’t able to get home with any sacks. The same can be said for Kyle Van Noy, who also had a quarterback hit. Dre’Mont Jones was a no-show in the stat sheet after a strong performance last week, and Carl Lawson had one lone tackle in his Ravens debut. The Ravens gave up some rushing yardage to the edge and also ceded receptions to running backs in the flats.

Linebacker: C

The Ravens’ inside linebackers were challenged in coverage and the Bengals found some success against them. They were able to isolate Roquan Smith against wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, who beat him for a 29-yard touchdown on third-and-long in the second half. Smith racked up a team-high 11 tackles but made no tackles-for-loss or other impact plays. Teddye Buchanan had seven tackles, but similarly didn’t do very much to slow the Bengals down in coverage or against the run.

Cornerback: C

Chidobe Awuzie played a starring role on defense, making two impressive pass breakups and strong tackles in space. Awuzie took on a bigger role when Nate Wiggins exited the game early with a foot injury. He’s been steady and played at a high level all season. Wiggins had two pass breakups as well before leaving, including solid coverage against Ja’Marr Chase. Unfortunately, Chase still had his way against Marlon Humphrey and others, finishing with seven catches for 110 yards with a long 43-yard reception. Humphrey did at least make an impact elsewhere with nine tackles, two quarterback hits, and a sack. T.J. Tampa was flagged for a costly defensive pass interference penalty in the second half that extended a Bengals’ drive.

Safety: C

Kyle Hamilton had a goal-line pass breakup on fourth down early in the game that was huge at the time and also finished with a tackle-for-loss and seven tackles. He was uncharacteristically beat for a touchdown by Tanner Hudson in the second half, who reeled in a one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone. Malaki Starks didn’t have his best game in coverage either particularly in the second half. Alohi Gilman recorded eight tackles and a pass breakup but didn’t seem to make any noticeable high-impact plays.

Special Teams: C+

Jordan Stout had another notable punt in the first half, when he boomed a 61-yarder out of the Ravens’ own end zone in tight quarters. He also shanked a punt later in the second half. Tyler Loop did not have a field goal attempt and made both extra point tries. Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali each had three kickoff returns but have not been giving the Ravens any long splash plays in the return game, which would be plenty helpful given the offense’s struggles.