Ravens midseason superlatives: Most valuable, most improved, best play and more

Little astir this Ravens play has been casual to predict. On offense, they person traded a run-heavy attack for a much pass-happy attack. On defense, they person fixed up much large plays than anyone could’ve imagined. From week to week, and sometimes from fractional to half, they tin vacillate from ascendant to dormant.

But successful the aggregate, the 2021 Ravens person been led by the accustomed suspects successful Baltimore, with lone injuries keeping immoderate of the team’s stars from headlines, some bully and bad.

With the Ravens 9 games into an expanded 17-game regular-season schedule, Week 11 becomes thing of a halfway point. As the squad prepares for Sunday’s crippled against the Chicago Bears, here’s who’s worthy of midseason superlatives:

Most invaluable Raven: Lamar Jackson

For arsenic agelong arsenic the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player is steadfast and progressive successful Baltimore, don’t expect this reply to change. He’s been the lone agleam spot successful the Ravens’ moving crippled this season, averaging 7.8 yards per transportation connected scrambles, according to Sports Info Solutions. He’s besides taken a measurement guardant arsenic a passer, matching his 2020 accuracy (64.4%) contempt starring the NFL successful mean intended aerial yards (10.1).

No different squad asks truthful overmuch of their quarterback, and nary different subordinate successful Baltimore shoulders truthful overmuch responsibility. Jackson’s connected gait to acceptable vocation highs for interceptions thrown and sacks taken, but there’s a crushed he’s inactive successful the moving for his 2nd league MVP grant successful 3 years.

Most improved Raven: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown

Maybe the wide receiver hasn’t improved truthful overmuch arsenic he’s remained healthy, but the quality betwixt Year 2 and Year 3 has been immense. With 719 receiving yards implicit 9 games, Brown would beryllium connected gait for 1,278 yards implicit a 16-game season, the astir successful Ravens history. He needs conscionable 50 receiving yards Sunday to lucifer his career-high total, acceptable past year.

Despite the occasional drop, Brown has zoomed past offseason questions astir whether helium could ever beryllium a top-dog wide receiver connected a respectable passing attack. The Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp, Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and Brown are the NFL’s lone players with astatine slightest 50 catches, 700 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns this season. The erstwhile first-round pick’s elite velocity makes him a changeless heavy threat, and his improved way moving has fixed him much opportunities to accent defenses aft the catch, too.

Best rookie: Odafe Oweh

The Ravens’ 2nd first-round prime gets the motion present implicit their archetypal first-round pick, wide receiver Rashod Bateman, conscionable based connected longevity. The extracurricular linebacker from Penn State leads each NFL rookies successful backmost pressures (29), according to Pro Football Focus, and has 4 sacks successful 9 games overall. Oweh’s takeaway talents basal retired connected a defence that has mostly lacked them, and he’s impressed with his quality to acceptable the borderline arsenic a tally defender.

Bateman’s nary slouch, either. After mounting a vocation precocious for catches (six) and matching a vocation precocious for receiving yards (80) Thursday against Miami, the erstwhile Minnesota prima has 18 catches for 15 archetypal downs and 241 yards this season. Only 1 Ravens wide receiver successful franchise past racked up much receiving yards implicit his archetypal 4 games — his teammate Brown (304), successful 2019. All that’s missing from Bateman’s torrid commencement is simply a touchdown catch.

Most glaring absence: Marcus Peters

This Ravens defence hasn’t recovered different shot hawk to regenerate Peters, who tore his ACL conscionable days earlier the play opener. He had 4 interceptions successful 14 games past play and 3 picks successful his 10 games with the Ravens successful 2019. Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s defence has conscionable 5 interceptions this year.

The Ravens miss Peters’ on-field swagger and in-game intelligence, which seemed to permeate the secondary erstwhile helium was steadfast and locked in. They besides miss his lockdown ability. While cornerback Anthony Averett has played good other Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens’ blitz rates person fallen nether 35% this year, according to Pro Football Reference, a important drop-off that suggests they’re little comfy with leaving antiaircraft backs connected an island.

Most pleasant surprise: Patrick Mekari

The erstwhile undrafted escaped cause seemed destined to beryllium the Ravens’ adjacent James Hurst, a jack-of-all-trades lineman whom the discourtesy could reliably plug successful anyplace up front. Athletically, helium seemed champion suited for the interior. But erstwhile Ronnie Stanley (ankle) was unopen down aft Week 1, leaving close tackle Alejandro Villanueva to instrumentality to his much earthy near side, the Ravens needed a caller bookend.

In stepped Mekari, who’d past started astatine tackle successful college. Until suffering an ankle wounded successful the Ravens’ Week 7 nonaccomplishment to the Cincinnati Bengals, Mekari was among the Ravens’ astir accordant players, dependable successful some walk and tally blocking. “I couldn’t inquire for a amended subordinate determination close now,” manager John Harbaugh said of the third-year lineman successful mid-October.

Biggest disappointment: Injury timetables

The Ravens’ offseason anticipation was that Stanley (ankle) would beryllium acceptable to unfastened the season. Their late-August anticipation was that choky extremity Nick Boyle (knee) would beryllium acceptable for Week 1, too. Their late-October anticipation was that antiaircraft extremity Derek Wolfe (back/hip) would beryllium capable to play this season.

How overmuch gamesmanship might’ve motivated those expectations is unclear. But arsenic the Ravens participate Week 11, lone 1 of those 3 expected starters, Boyle, has a tenable accidental of playing Sunday successful Chicago. Stanley underwent season-ending ankle country past month for the 2nd consecutive year. Harbaugh said Monday that Wolfe’s not expected to instrumentality this season. Boyle was constricted successful signifier past week, but helium astatine slightest has clip to ramp up his information and get successful crippled shape.

Best single-game performance: Lamar Jackson vs. Indianapolis

The Ravens couldn’t tally the shot successful Week 5. They entered halftime with conscionable a tract goal. They trailed the visiting Colts by 19 points successful the 3rd 4th and by 16 successful the 4th quarter. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, due to the fact that they had Jackson astatine quarterback, and that was enough.

In a 31-25 overtime win, Jackson finished 37-for-43 for 442 yards, 4 touchdowns and nary interceptions and added 14 carries for a game-high 62 yards. He acceptable a single-game franchise grounds for passing yards and became the archetypal subordinate successful NFL past with astatine slightest 400 passing yards and a completion complaint supra 85% successful a game. His 5-yard touchdown walk to Brown successful overtime completed the third-biggest comeback successful Ravens history.

Best play: Justin Tucker’s 66-yard tract goal

The Ravens kicker was already the astir close successful NFL history. In the dying seconds of a Week 3 comeback triumph implicit the Detroit Lions, he besides deed the longest tract extremity successful league history. By approaching the effort arsenic if it were a kickoff and getting what Harbaugh called a “supernatural push,” Tucker knocked the shot acold capable to bounce it disconnected the crossbar and implicit for a 19-17 win.

The record-breaking footwear came conscionable three plays aft the Ravens completed a fourth-and-19 heavy successful their ain territory. “When you person a kicker similar that, you privation to springiness them an accidental similar that,” Harbaugh said. “For him to travel done similar that is conscionable historic. Someone came up to maine connected the sideline and said, ‘I’ve ne'er seen thing similar that before.’ It came to maine close away, due to the fact that cipher has ever done thing similar that before.”

Worst play: Ja’Marr Chase’s 82-yard touchdown

Maybe nary play has summed up the Ravens’ antiaircraft struggles this play amended than the Bengals wide receiver’s back-breaking catch-and-run past month. With Cincinnati facing third-and-2 from its 18-yard enactment and the Ravens trailing 20-17, Bengals backmost Joe Burrow looked to his close for Chase, moving a speedy in-breaking route.

The rookie separated from cornerback Marlon Humphrey, secured the walk and was connected his way. First, Chase broke a tackle from information DeShon Elliott, whose effort undercut Humphrey. Then information Chuck Clark couldn’t corral Chase. Outside linebacker Justin Houston didn’t get a manus connected him. Chase would decorativeness with a career-high 201 receiving yards successful the Bengals’ 41-17 win. Cincinnati rolled up 500-plus yards of full offense, the 2nd hostile successful 3 weeks to bash truthful against the Ravens.

Week 11

RAVENS@BEARS

Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: Chs. 13, 9 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM

Line: Ravens by 6