AFC North

One Win Away! Ravens vs. Giants

One victory away! After a huge 27-13 triumph over the Giants Sunday, the Ravens must beat the Bengals next week to seal a playoff birth. The Ravens maintained a high level of play this week which they have exhibited since Week 13 and the return of Lamar Jackson. The Ravens were near perfect on both sides of the ball as they overwhelmed a Giants team in need of a win as well.

The Offense

For the fourth straight week, Lamar Jackson played like his 2019 self. Jackson completed 17 of 26 passes for 183 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 80 rushing yards. In particular, his passing was strong and accurate as he used Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown to their fullest. This is also a compliment of the play-calling by Greg Roman.

Jackson completed all four of his passes, one for a touchdown, on the opening drive setting the tone for the rest of the game. With less planned QB runs, Jackson was able to scramble during passing plays which is a strategy he has found most successful running the ball this year.

The triple-threat of Dobbins, Edwards, and Jackson was on full display in this one. Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins were as effective as ever, running over an undeniably strong Giants defensive line. Dobbins rushed for 77 yards plus a touchdown, and Edwards for 85 yards. The success of the two running backs and the passing game kept the Giants guessing and allowed for Jackson to run loose. The potential of Dobbins and Edwards was evident and it looked like a running game that could kill defenses in the playoffs.

The Ravens’ receivers had a bounce back game after weeks of subpar play. Mark Andrews was an absolute unit making some crucial catches and leading the day in catches and yards. Marquise Brown caught all four of his targets and scored a touchdown- great to see since he’s had problems with dropped passes the last few weeks. Miles Boykin, Dez Bryant, and Willie Snead had a catch or two a piece and came up big when their opportunities were presented.

All in all, the Ravens offense was fundamentally sound and made little to no mistakes with standout performances from Jackson, Edwards, Dobbins, and Andrews.

The Defense

The Ravens D was a wall most of the game despite missing Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith in the secondary. Marlon Humphrey was phenomenal once again leading the team in tackles and pass deflections.

The defensive line and line backers were the best we’ve seen all year. The Giants running game was held to 54 yards and no touchdowns. The Ravens recorded 6 sacks, 7 tackles for a loss, and 11 QB hits. Matthew Judon and Chris Board led the rush with 3 sacks and 4 tackles for a loss combined. These outstanding numbers in a single game have been missing all season, and if the defense can keep this up, offenses will not want to play them come January.

Even without a single turnover, the Ravens defense controlled the Giants from start to finish due to the amount of pressure on Daniel Jones and the o-line, eliminating the Giants running game, and slowing down the passing game with 7 deflections.

Moving Forward

As many including myself expected, the Ravens won this game rather handedly. These last three games of the season have been must wins and the Ravens seem to be taking each opponent seriously, as a loss would likely throw them out of the playoffs.

The passing, running, and receiving on offense were consistently above average, and the defense had one of the best games of the season when it came to controlling the line of scrimmage and pressuring the QB. If the Ravens keep this up, they should have no problems beating the Bengals next Sunday and will punch themselves a ticket to the playoffs.

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