NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
For the 2nd week in a row, the Baltimore Ravens didn’t play up to their typical style of football, trailing at halftime again, but at the end of the day, they came away with a win in the process. The Ravens came through in the 2nd half again, just like against the Browns in Week 11, by shutting the New York Jets out of the end zone by holding them to 3 points in the entire 2nd half. And, knocking off the New York Jets by the score of 23-10.
The Baltimore Ravens’ offense, for the second week in a row, didn’t look good against the New York Jets and had to rely on their defense to continue their winning ways. Lamar Jackson didn’t throw or run for a touchdown for the 1st time this season, and that could be cause for concern for the Ravens moving forward, but as long as the Ravens have Lamar Jackson under center, then Ravens fans shouldn’t worry one bit. A plus in this game was that of running back Derrick Henry, who had a solid day running for two touchdowns and running for 64 yards on 21 carries. Another plus for the Ravens was the offensive line, which still looks like a mess, but they only allowed one sack on the entire day, which helped the Ravens get this victory against the Jets. Moving forward, the Ravens will need more from Lamar Jackson and the offense to keep moving forward for the division and a run towards the Super Bowl.
The defense continues to play at a very good level during this 5 game winning streak. In all five of their wins during their streak, they have held all of their opponent to under 20 points per game, and they can add the Jets to that list as well. The star of the Ravens’ win over the New York Jets was Dre’Mont Jones, as he sacked Tyrod Taylor 1.5 times, as well as 2nd round rookie Mike Green. And, at the end of the day, the Ravens’ pass rush sacked Tyrod Taylor 3 times in today’s win over the Jets. Also, the Ravens’ D was able to force 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter that sealed the deal for the Ravens, as Marlon Humphrey forced a fumble and recovered Alohi Gilman. And, intercepting Tyrod Taylor with 1 minute left in the game by TJ Tampa for the 1st interception of his career. The defense continues to play very good football since the bye week, and for the 5th consecutive week, held their opponent to under 20 points. And, if they continue to click, then this defense can stop anyone.
The opposite side, the New York Jets held their own against the Ravens in the 1st half by actually having the lead going into halftime by the score of 7-3. And then only scored 3 points in the 2nd half as they were kept out of the endzone in the entire 2nd half. One bright spot for the New York Jets was running back Breece Hall had 119 total yards on offense, including rushing and receiving yards, in the game. Tyrod Taylor outhrew Lamar Jackson, 222 passing yards to 153 passing yards, but the Ravens’ D was able to shut down the Jets’ offense out of the endzone. One thing that did the Jets in was the 3 sacks that they gave up by the Ravens defense. And the two turnovers in the 4th quarter doomed them at the end from picking up points on touchdowns. The New York Jets are looking like a team that’s looking ahead to the future, and that future might be with a new head coach and new franchise quarterback. And with things looking the way they are, it could be that Aaron Glenn might be a one-and-done head coach with the New York Jets.
The Ravens have now been doing 2 things the last 5 games, and that’s winning 5 straight games since the bye week, and holding their opponent to under 20 points in those 5 straight games. And, the Ravens are now in a 1st place tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers as they lost to the Chicago Bears, a team that the Ravens beat to start their 5 game winning streak. And, the Ravens and Steelers have to face each other twice in Week 14 & 18, and Week 18 might determine who will win the AFC North and potentially send the other home empty-handed. But, first, the Baltimore Ravens now have to on a short week get ready to face another AFC North rival in the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving night at 8:20 pm.
