Ravens vs. Colts: Full Game Grades for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens hit the road to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. Baltimore entered the game at 3-1 and looking to keep pace with the previously 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals atop the AFC North.
Indianapolis was looking to extend its winning streak to three games after starting the year 0-2.
Both offenses were expected to have big days, but that wasn't the case in the first half. Both teams traded punts for most of the first two quarters.
Neither quarterback looked good in the first half, as they were both getting pressured constantly. Joe Flacco and Andrew Luck each took at least one sack and were hit multiple times.
Luck did manage to get his team into scoring position on two occasions, but the offense stalled and settled for two field goals by Adam Vinatieri.
Flacco rebounded and led Baltimore on a scoring drive just before the half ended. Flacco hit tight end Owen Daniels to move the Ravens into field-goal range, and Justin Tucker came in to hit a 52-yard field goal as the first half expired.
Indianapolis led 6-3 at the break, but the Colts offense got going once the third quarter began. It did so with the help of Flacco, who threw a pick on the Ravens' first offensive series of the second half.
After that, Luck led the Colts on a 7-play, 33-yard drive following Flacco's interception that ended with a 6-yard TD pass to tight end Dwayne Allen.
The Colts took a 13-3 lead, and it looked as though they had control of the game. That is, until Colts punt returner Griff Whalen fumbled a punt in the fourth quarter that the Ravens converted into a field goal to cut the lead to just 13-6.
The Colts would respond with an 8-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Luck running 13 yards for the score. That put the Colts up 20-6 with 8:56 left in the game, and they held on to win the game, 20-13.
Here are my grades for each Ravens unit.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Joe Flacco entered this game on a nice hot streak. Over the previous three games, Flacco had completed 62 of 91 passes for 710 yards, six touchdowns in just one interception.
Facing Indianapolis' defense would be a tough test. That squad entered this game with five interceptions and eight sacks. The Colts defense had been making a living off of stopping opposing teams' quarterbacks.
They did just that versus Baltimore, suffocating Flacco for the majority of the contest. Flacco constantly had pressure in his face, but he also made some terrible throws that cost his team.
His third-quarter interception set the Colts up for an easy touchdown that they had to drive just 33 yards to convert. He finished the game having completed 22 of 38 passes for 235 yards and one interception.
Flacco simply was ineffective for this entire game, but not all of the blame can be put on him. Still, he didn't help the Ravens' cause in what was his worst performance of the season.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Bernard Pierce entered 2014 as the Ravens' starting running back. However, he suffered a thigh injury in practice that caused him to miss Week 3 versus the Browns.
It also limited him in Week 4 against the Panthers, and his injury led to the rise of Lorenzo Taliaferro and Justin Forsett.
Prior to facing Indianapolis, Forsett rushed for 129 yards and one score, while catching seven passes for 33 yards over the previous two games.
As for Taliaferro, the rookie fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina had rushed for 149 yards and two scores over the two games prior to the Colts.
That all changed against Indianapolis. Baltimore couldn't get anything going on the ground, but a big reason was because the Ravens were trailing for most of the game.
That, and the Colts dominating the time of possession, led to the Ravens passing more than they ran the ball.
Baltimore's backs got just 15 carries, but still manged to get 90 yards (6.0 yard per carry).
Forsett had a nice game with 42 rushing yards and 55 receiving yards on seven catches. Pierce got 30 yards on four carries.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Baltimore's receivers were mostly ineffective this game. That's because Indianapolis controlled the line of scrimmage, and Joe Flacco rarely got enough time to wait for a wide receiver to get open.
Ravens receivers combined to catch just 10 passes for 110 yards and no scores.
It didn't help that Steve Smith fumbled that ball away in the first quarter, and Jacoby Jones later muffed a punt. Both of those turnovers ended Ravens drives essentially before they even started.
As for the tight ends, Owen Daniels was the only one who caught a pass. He did gain 70 yards on five catches.
Regardless, this just wasn't a good day for Baltimore's pass-catchers.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Ravens offensive line played great through the first four games, allowing just three sacks. On the other side, Indianapolis recorded eight sacks through its first four games.
On this day, Baltimore's offensive line failed miserably. The linemen rarely gave Joe Flacco time to go through his progressions, as there was constantly a Colts defender in his face.
On the day, Baltimore's line gave up four sacks. That lost Baltimore 38 yards of offense.
They did do a good job opening up running lanes when Baltimore ran the ball. It didn't matter though, as their porous pass blocking led to Baltimore's demise.
Grade: D-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Ravens defensive line was shorthanded against the Colts after starting defensive end Chris Canty was ruled out. Backup lineman Timmy Jernigan also didn't play while recovering from a meniscus injury.
In this game, Indianapolis won the line of scrimmage battle on both sides. As mentioned before, the Colts defensive line dominated the Ravens offensive line.
The same could not be said for Baltimore's defensive line, which was controlled for most of the game. On the ground, Baltimore surrendered 117 yards on 30 carries, an average of 3.9 yards per carry.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata did a good job maintaining his gap. He also recorded the lone interception Baltimore got after linebacker C.J. Mosley batted a pass at the line of scrimmage that fell into the arms of Ngata.
Baltimore did register one sack and five QB hits on Andrew Luck. Overall, the Ravens defensive line didn't play great, but they were one of Baltimore's better units this game.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Ravens defense did an overall good job of containing the Colts, given the time of possession discrepancy. The Colts possessed the ball 17 minutes longer than Baltimore.
That was mostly due to the Ravens' ineffective offense, which left the defense on the field more than it should have been.
Rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley had the best game of his young career. The rookie first-round pick notched 15 tackles, one pass defense and one QB Hit.
The one pass deflection he got was intercepted by Ngata, and veteran linebacker Pernell McPhee notched the Ravens' lone sack of the day.
Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil entered the game with a combined four sacks, but neither got one this game.
Overall, the linebackers played well, but not well enough to make up for the offensive woes.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
The much-maligned Ravens secondary faced a tough test versus the Colts. Indianapolis came into this game with the No. 1 passing offense, while Baltimore ranked 24th in passing yards allowed.
To no surprise, Baltimore's secondary was picked apart by Luck. He passed for 312 yards and two scores on 32-of-49 passing.
Baltimore tried to send pressure at Luck to keep him from exposing the Ravens defense. When that pressure didn't get to Luck, he typically completed big passes.
That said, the secondary did do a good job of bending but not breaking. It also didn't help that the offense was horrendous.
In fact, Indianapolis' first touchdown came on just a 33-yard drive after Flacco threw a pick that put his defense in a bad spot.
Lardarius Webb earned the most playing time he's gotten this year while working back from a back injury. He finished the game with two pass defenses.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Ravens special teams had a rare turnover in this game. Jacoby Jones muffed a punt that the Colts recovered and converted into a field goal.
Jones did have two kickoff returns for 51 yards that helped set Baltimore up in good field position. He had one punt return for no yards.
Justin Tucker was his reliable self, hitting both of his field goals, one of which was from 52 yards at the end of the first half.
Sam Koch punted five times for an average of 48.4 yards per punt. He also downed three punts inside the 20-yard line.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak faced a tough challenge against the Colts. He had to use a makeshift offensive line to keep Flacco clean against a solid Colts pass rush.
Starting left tackle Eugene Monroe missed this game with a meniscus injury. Starting in his place was undrafted free agent James Hurst.
It didn't help that starting guard Kelechi Osemele left the game with a knee injury that cost him most of the second half.
All of this helped the Colts notch four sacks and six QB hits on Flacco. Kubiak did a poor job of keeping Flacco from getting hit too much.
Baltimore finished the game with just 15 rushing attempts versus 38 passing attempts. The Ravens did gain 5.6 yards per rush.
Had they run the ball more, it would have kept the Colts off balance better and not led to Flacco getting pressured so much.
On defense, Dean Pees called a good game to hold the Colts to just 20 points while forcing them into four turnovers. That's what kept Baltimore in the game, but the offense's inability to stay on the field negated this.
The Ravens also committed five penalties for 36 yards. The coaches did ok preparing the Ravens for this game, but they could have done better.
Grade: B-
Cumulative Grade
10 of 10
Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
QB | D |
RB | B |
WR/TE | C- |
OL | D- |
DL | B |
LB | B |
Secondary | C+ |
ST | B+ |
Coaching | B- |
Cumulative Grade | C+ |
The Ravens had a chance to win this game, despite some poor performances from several units. Like in my grades, there was no unit that stepped up and played great to help Baltimore overcome those poor performances.
The defense and special teams were good overall, but the offensive woes were just too much for the Ravens to overcome.
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