The Ravens do not get to stroll into this one and play pretty. Not with a winless Titans team that is happy to drag the game into the mud, keep it ugly and keep it close. For Baltimore, the assignment is simple in theory and tricky in practice: handle the chaos, stay composed when it gets tight, and make sure this turns into a survival job instead of a trap.
A big part of that starts with the guy Tennessee can use to wreck the afternoon. Jeffery Simmons has been a problem all season, and Baltimore’s offensive line is in no shape to pretend otherwise.
The Ravens are starting a rookie guard at center, Vega Ioane, and may have to lean on Andrew Vorhees again at guard, with veteran guard John Simpson also dealing with issues of his own. That is not a clean setup against a defensive tackle who just posted 10 tackles and a sack and leads all defensive tackles in sacks, pressures and tackles for a loss since the start of last season.
Robert Saleh has seen enough to know what he has. “His stat numbers look like something out of Madden,” Saleh said this week. And Simmons, coming off a war of words with Jalen Hurts that didn’t go his way in the Eagles game, has every reason to be looking at this Ravens front with real interest.
That means the plan can’t be complicated for the sake of it. Declan Doyle needs to put Lamar Jackson in positions to thrive, not ask this offense to win by banging its head against Simmons over and over.
If Baltimore wants to run Henry into a wall on dive plays and keep forcing short-yardage situations behind this line, it is inviting the same kind of trouble it ran into last week against Dallas. Doyle put the responsibility on himself Thursday.
“Specifically, it starts with myself,” Doyle said Thursday, “and looking at the plan and schematically, 'Were we asking our guys to do things that fit the defense? Were we asking them to do things that fit what they are capable of? How did we execute those things at each spot?'
“You kind of go through that process; as soon as we get on the plane we are going through the tape. Any time that we go down there and we do not score on a run play or four run plays, I feel like I failed as a coach.
I feel like our staff feels like we failed our players. I feel like our players feel like they failed execution.
Everybody has a hand in it. But it is really about the problem solving moving forward.”
The answer, at least from Baltimore’s side, may be to live with less and squeeze more out of what works. That could mean doubling Simmons, accepting that the offense won’t be as efficient as it would like, and making sure Jackson is protected from the kind of heat he has faced all season. He is under duress at a 44% pressure rate this year, and the Ravens cannot afford to pile on with penalties and long-yardage situations that turn every snap into a crisis.
That penalty problem is already glaring. Baltimore is averaging six offensive penalties a week, and almost all of them are happening at the line of scrimmage.
That kind of self-inflicted damage is poison against a front like this, especially when the offense is already compromised. Getting stuck in second-and-15 or first-and-20 would be asking for disaster.
So the Ravens may need to spread the touches around and keep Tennessee honest. There is at least some intrigue in how that might look.
Could four Ravens end up with at least 3-5 carries? Could rookie Adam Randall eventually be used in a “Joker” role once he comes off the Injured Reserve list?
Those possibilities matter because Henry is getting stymied behind the line of scrimmage, and the offense may need speed looks and spring plays to create room.
Justice Hill should be involved, and so should Zay Flowers, who needs more than just one carry out of the backfield and probably more than one target there too. If Baltimore can create a little pace, it may help wear down Simmons, who has played the second-most snaps of any defensive tackle so far.
There is also real opportunity for Devontez Walker. He is getting open, and the routes he is running are exactly the kind that make defensive coordinators sweat.
Jackson has underthrown him a couple of times, but that connection feels like it is coming. It has to come, especially with Rashod Bateman being who he is and with Jackson knowing what tends to happen when he goes that direction.
The gap between Flowers and everyone else in this passing game still needs to shrink, especially when it comes to explosive plays. Walker has run 25 routes and is averaging 37 air yards per route, and this feels like a spot where Baltimore can finally start cashing in on some of those chances.
In Other News...
Ravens Beat Dallas In A Game Bigger Than Anyone Realized
The Ravens trip to Rio de Janeiro ended up carrying far more weight than just an early-season win over Dallas. Baltimore came away with a 34-31 victory in a game that drew a massive audience on CBS, and Nielsens numbers made it clear this was not just another overseas showcase. It became the most-watched international NFL game ever, a reminder that when the Ravens are part of a big-stage matchup, the spotlight can be as much about the event as the result.
For Baltimore, the significance goes beyond the box score because this was one of those rare games that pushed the leagues global reach while also producing a tight finish against a team with a huge fan base. Dallas entered at 1-2, and its supporters showed up in force even far from home, which only added to the backdrop of a game that felt bigger than the standings. The Ravens left with the win, but the size of the audience suggested the league may have just found another international benchmark. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Pass Rush Suddenly Faces A Bigger Trey Hendrickson Concern
A week that already carried some uncertainty around the edge of the defense took another turn when Jesse Minter said outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson will not play against the Tennessee Titans. Hendrickson dealt with multiple fractures in a finger in Week 1, then missed every practice this week while looking for a permanent solution, leaving Baltimore to manage one of its key pass-rush pieces without him for at least this matchup.
The hope inside the building is that the surgery serves as a short-term fix that lets the finger heal properly over the long haul, but the immediate reality is a pass rush that has to adjust without one of its more disruptive options. For a defense that leans on pressure to set the tone, the next question is how quickly Hendrickson can get back to being available and effective once the medical side is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Offensive Line Faces A Real Test Around Rookie Center
The Ravens are heading into a week that will put a rookie center right at the middle of everything, with Vega Ioane expected to make his first career start because injuries have thinned out the depth chart. Ioane has limited experience snapping and setting the line from that spot, so Baltimore is leaning on a group that knows how to steady the front, including Ronnie Stanley, John Simpson, Andrew Vorhees, and Roger Rosengarten.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has already made clear that the operation around Ioane has to be cleaner and louder, with more communication helping cover for a young player learning on the fly. It is the kind of assignment that can test not just the center, but the cohesion of the entire line, and the Ravens will find out quickly whether their veteran help is enough to keep the middle from becoming a problem. [Read more 🡒]