The Ravens finally got something resembling stability at center on Sunday, and after the way Vega Ioane held up against Tennessee, there’s no reason to start shuffling him around now.
He’s their starter. He’s their best answer. And after a game-and-a-half without exchange problems and without the A gap turning into a disaster on dropbacks, moving him would be inviting trouble the Ravens don’t need.
That mattered in a 24-18 win over the lowly Titans at home, a result that snapped a four-game losing streak at M&T Bank Stadium on an ugly afternoon that kept getting uglier as injuries piled up, including to Lamar Jackson. Ioane was a major reason Baltimore escaped with the win.
The matchup with Jeffery Simmons was the kind of test that can wreck an interior line, and Ioane passed it. Simmons led Tennessee with 32 pass rush reps Sunday, seven more than any teammate, but he never got home.
He didn’t touch either quarterback, whether it was Jackson before the ankle injury or Snoop Huntley after. Simmons finished with no pressures, no QB hits and no hurries, and he managed just two solo tackles against that interior group.
That’s not a small thing. Simmons came in after piling up 10 tackles and a sack against the Eagles, and since the start of last season he has been the NFL leader among defensive tackles in sacks, pressures and tackles for loss.
Tennessee eventually started sliding him to the edge before halftime to hunt better matchups, including one against Ronnie Stanley, who was coming off a toe injury. That tells you enough about how the Titans felt the middle of the Ravens’ line was holding up.
The Ravens have had to patch together the center spot because of injuries to Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic, who is coming off Achilles surgery. Ioane is the first guy who has looked like the job might actually belong to him.
One longtime NFL personnel executive who watched the Ravens closely said, “They found their center,” and added, “At least for this year. You are 100 percent right.
Leave him alone, let him keep snapping, he can get that solved for you. They just solved a problem … Don’t move him for the guy on the practice squad (center Andre James), and you could end up creating multiple problems.
“Now you have one problem: isolate the guard issue, and figure out who that guy is. You can experiment there.
But a week ago it looked like they had three problems on the line. How they handled Simmons, that’s enough.
I’m sold. You can figure the other stuff out.
Run outside zone, play around with the run game.
“Center is a super important position for them - they drafted the last one in the first round (Tyler Linderbaum who left for Las Vegas as a free agent). They haven’t liked bigger, physical guys there, which is why they probably didn’t see this kid as a center. But the last thing I’m doing now is creating more uncertainty at center to look at a guy I signed off a practice squad last week because I lost three centers to injury.”
Sunday’s interior work was good enough that it changed the conversation. Simmons had one early near-pressure when he lined up over right tackle, and for his final five pass-rush snaps of the first half he was mostly over Stanley, including the sack on the play where Jackson got hurt. Even then, Baltimore wasn’t being overwhelmed inside, and Simmons wasn’t living in the backfield when he lined up over the center or guards.
Robert Saleh probably could have dialed up more blitzes and tried to attack the A gap with linebackers, but that wasn’t his approach. Tennessee blitzed 23.5% of the time, finished with just seven pressures, and posted a 20.6% pressure rate.
The Ravens still have issues elsewhere on the line, especially at guard, and that’s where the focus should stay. Ioane has earned the right to settle in, and Baltimore can sort through the rest by rotating guards if it wants. The center spot is too important to keep treating like an experiment.
And while the ground game remains clunky - seven rushes with Derrick Henry up the middle went for only six total yards - the bigger weapon is still there. Baltimore’s ability to attack downfield with Jackson to Flowers is the real edge, and the Ravens should keep leaning into that.
They also drafted Adam Randall to be a “Joker” offensive weapon, and he could help once he’s eligible to come off IR. Justice Hill can take on more carries, too. As the five-man unit keeps working together, chemistry should improve.
But the main point is simple: the Ravens are already on to something at center. After what Ioane just did, there’s no reason to go looking for another answer.
In Other News...
Cowboys Coach Just Handed Ravens Fans A Fresh Reason To Smile
A fresh note of satisfaction for Ravens fans came out of Dallas this week, and it had nothing to do with a highlight reel. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer openly acknowledged a late-game mistake from the recent loss in Baltimore, saying he limited quarterback Dak Prescotts reads on the final offensive play. He also addressed it directly with the team in a meeting, framing the moment as one of accountability for a coach who wanted to own his role in how the game unfolded.
For Baltimore, the admission only reinforces how razor-thin the ending was before the Ravens were able to line up for the game-winning field goal. It is the kind of postgame detail that lingers because it speaks to how one decision can shape the final seconds, and why the Ravens sideline had just enough time to finish the job. Whether Schottenheimers explanation becomes a larger issue in Dallas is another matter, but for now it gives Baltimore supporters one more reason to smile about how the night ended. [Read more 🡒]
Lamar Jackson's Status Suddenly Became Baltimore's Biggest Week 4 Concern
Lamar Jacksons afternoon took an uneasy turn when he came up hobbled after a sack from Tennessee Titans edge rusher Jermaine Johnson III, leaving Baltimore with an immediate Week 4 concern. Jackson was seen limping and did not take the field to open the third quarter, with Tyler Huntley stepping in at quarterback as the Ravens tried to settle things down around their franchise player.
Even with the ankle issue, Jackson remained part of the sideline flow and had put on his earpiece by mid-afternoon, a sign Baltimore was still managing the situation in real time. For a team built around his presence and playmaking, the bigger question now is how long the Ravens can keep their offense on track if his status stays unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Win Over Titans Came With One Huge Worry
The Ravens left Tennessee with a win and a concern they did not want to carry into the rest of the week. Baltimore beat the Titans 24-18 in Week 4 to move to its third victory of the season, but the game came with the kind of bruising, messy feel that can linger long after the final whistle. Multiple injuries and penalties chipped away at the teams rhythm, turning a promising afternoon into more of a survival exercise.
The biggest issue, though, was Lamar Jackson exiting with an ankle injury and not returning for the second half. Baltimore managed to hold on without him, but the sight of Jackson leaving the game immediately shifts the focus from the standings to the training room. For a team that still has plenty of season left to play, the next step matters almost as much as the win itself. [Read more 🡒]