Trey Hendrickson’s first game in a Ravens uniform didn’t come with fireworks in the sack column, but that wasn’t the assignment. Baltimore brought him in because he’s the kind of edge rusher who can wreck a game without a complicated menu of tricks, and in Week 1, he showed exactly why.
The Ravens kept it simple Sunday. They didn’t need to dress up his role or manufacture pressure for him.
They put him on the right edge, gave him 25 pass-rush snaps, and let him go to work against the left tackle. That was the point of paying $30 million a year for two years for a player with Hendrickson’s age, injury history and run-defense questions: he can win without the defense bending over backward to help him.
Hendrickson finished his debut with five pressures and five hurries, and even without a sack, his presence clearly changed the game. He helped open things up for Tavius Robinson on the left side, and Baltimore got immediate value from an investment that is very unlike the way the franchise usually operates.
Rookie head coach Minter said Baltimore was able to stay in dime defense almost half the time - nearly twice anyone else in the NFL in Week 1 - and still generate pressure without leaning heavily on the blitz.
“I thought he dominated the game,” Minter said. “I think Daniel Jones was pressured on drop-backs more than any quarterback in the league yesterday.
I think we pressured him on 50-plus percent of his drop-back passes … I thought our rushing overall was really effective. It is not always going to be sacks.
It is going to be pressures and low passer rating, low completion percentage. I thought overall we were able to do that.”
The numbers backed that up. The Ravens held the Colts under 150 passing yards and didn’t allow a play longer than 25 yards.
Jones, still working back from his Achilles, never really found his comfort zone. The bootlegs and throws outside the pocket weren’t there, and he spent plenty of the afternoon under duress.
With Hendrickson on the field, Jones averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and posted a QB rating of 76. Robinson also made life miserable from the other side, piling up five pressures, four QB hits and a hurry.
Baltimore generated a 45% pressure rate with Hendrickson on the field.
There were flashes that suggested even bigger things could be coming. Hendrickson came close to a strip sack at midfield and flashed the kind of inside move that makes him such a problem.
On one third down, he lined up wide and still shot the A gap, forcing Jones to throw it away. For a player who didn’t go through the preseason and missed the second half of last season with the Bengals because of injuries, he looked ready.
"Man, it seemed like our rush was close to having a crazy day," longtime corner Marlon Humphrey said. "I know Trey night have had like three near strip sacks ... It was pretty encouraging."
There’s also the matchup context for Week 2. The Saints’ offensive line played 86 snaps in its opener, a workload that could matter in the next game.
New Orleans allowed 22 pressures, which led the NFL, though that number was inflated by the massive snap count. Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. gave up a sack, was beaten twice, and allowed a hurry and two pressures while handling 65 dropbacks against Aiden Hutchinson on the road.
Banks is considered a natural in pass protection and an emerging franchise left tackle, and the Saints have invested heavily in their interior line as well. That makes Sunday a useful test for Baltimore’s front.
Hendrickson’s impact on early downs is still a question. He played 10 run snaps Sunday, and Jonathan Taylor averaged 5.5 yards per carry on those plays.
Baltimore was in dime a lot, though, and two starters from the front seven - Nnamdi Madubuike and Teddye Buchanan - were out with injuries. Both could return Sunday.
The Colts also didn’t go after Hendrickson much in the run game, but when they did, it paid off, including an 18-yard burst by Taylor. Even so, the Ravens have enough depth up front to keep rotating as the season develops.
For Baltimore, though, this was the exact kind of debut it was hoping for. Hendrickson didn’t need gimmicks. He just needed snaps, and he gave the Ravens the kind of immediate return they were after.
In Other News...
Ravens Formula Is Working Early But Week 2 Brings One Big Test
The early returns in Baltimore have pointed to a team that looks unusually synchronized for September, with rookie head coach Jesse Minter and rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle already building a clear identity. The Ravens want to live on explosive plays on offense and take them away on defense, and that approach has shown up in the way Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers have helped stretch the field while the defense works to limit the same kind of game-changing snaps on the other side.
Week 2, though, offers a sharper read on how sturdy that formula really is, especially with Flowers dealing with a hamstring injury that could alter the offenses margin for error. Baltimores strong early ranking in explosive play differential suggests the plan is working, but the next test is whether the Ravens can keep creating separation if one of their most dangerous weapons is not fully available. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Suddenly Have A Receiver Problem Before The Home Opener
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The bigger concern for the Ravens is that Lanes absence comes with Zay Flowers still day-to-day because of a hamstring injury, leaving the passing game a little thinner than anyone would have liked this early in the season. Baltimore can manage that for a stretch, but the home opener now carries a little more pressure on the rest of the wideouts to stabilize the offense while the team waits on two key pieces to get right. [Read more 🡒]
Tavius Robinson Might Be Giving Ravens Defense What It Was Missing
Tavius Robinson gave the Ravens a notable lift in Week 1, and it came at exactly the right time for a defense looking to look sharper up front. Baltimores defensive line showed real improvement against Indianapolis, with Robinson finishing with seven pressures and a sack as the Ravens helped hold the Colts to 149 passing yards and only two plays over 25 yards.
The bigger question now is whether this was a strong opening statement or the start of something more sustainable. Baltimore posted a league-best 52.9% pressure rate, Jesse Minter praised Robinsons performance, and the defense should have more pieces coming back from injury while the coaching staff keeps tweaking things, which gives the Ravens a chance to build on what looked missing a year ago. [Read more 🡒]