Jaguars vs. Ravens: Full Game Grades for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars this week with the opportunity to ascend into a playoff spot with a win.
Entering Week 15, Baltimore held the AFC's No. 7 seed in the playoff picture. However, their 8-5 record was tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers for one of the two wild-card spots.
Regardless, Baltimore had the chance to take hold of one of those playoff spots if it could beat the 2-11 Jaguars, who have struggled mightily this year, including an 0-6 mark on the road.
The Ravens got off to a fast start after Darian Stewart blocked a Jags punt, and Kamar Aiken returned it for the score to put Baltimore up, 7-0.
From there, the entire Ravens team would go into a bit of a dry spell. Jacksonville's offense began clicking as Blake Bortles picked apart the Ravens secondary.
Jacksonville scored on three straight possessions, though, Baltimore's defense did enough to ensure those were field goals and not touchdowns.
That left the Jags holding a 9-7 lead midway in the second quarter before the Ravens offense got going again. Joe Flacco led the offense on a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard Justin Tucker field goal.
That gave the Ravens a 10-9 lead, but after the Ravens got back into scoring position with under a minute in the first half, Tucker missed a 54-yard field goal.
The Jags would move into scoring range to allow Josh Scobee to hit a 45-yarder to give the Jags a 12-10 lead at halftime.
From there, Baltimore awoke and took control on the second half. The Ravens quickly took the lead after Flacco guided the offense into the red zone before he hit Owen Daniels for a three-yard score.
That put Baltimore up 17-12, and both teams wouldn't score again until there was 1:11 left after Tucker hit a field goal to give the Ravens a 20-12 win.
That ended up being the final margin after Jeremy Miles picked off Bortles to seal the win.
Here are my grades for each Ravens unit.
Quarterback
1 of 9
The Jaguars have solid defense when it comes to stopping the pass. As a team, the Jaguars are tied for No. 3 in sacks this season.
In last week's game against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville surrendered just 135 passing yards. However, the Jags gave up 169 rushing yards in their 27-13 loss to Houston, and therein lies their weakness.
This week, Joe Flacco needed to have a big game for Baltimore to win, and he did just that. With the running game not doing much. Flacco picked apart the Jags to the tune of 221 yards on 20-of-30 passing with one score.
Flacco also ran for a key first down on a designed QB run in the fourth quarter to help melt the clock with Baltimore leading, 17-12.
Flacco was the offensive MVP in this one.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 9
The Jaguars have been atrocious when it comes to stopping the run, ranking 28th in that category. When teams are able to establish the ground game, they often have their way with the Jags.
That's something Baltimore has thrived at doing this year, and running back Justin Forsett is the reason why. Forsett is currently third in the NFL in rushing yards, and Baltimore is fifth in rushing offense.
You wouldn't have guessed any of this just by watching this game, though, as Jacksonville controlled the line of scrimmage and shut down the Ravens running backs.
Forsett gained just 48 yards on 16 carries and no scores with his longest run being six yards. Bernard Pierce did gain 37 yards on six carries, but he didn't score either.
This was a game to forget for the running backs, but thankfully, it didn't cost Baltimore a win.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 9
The Ravens receivers were at a disadvantage with No. 1 wideout Torrey Smith battling a knee injury. Though Smith was able to play, his snaps were limited, and he got just two catches for 16 yards.
Marlon Brown stepped up with Smith not playing as much, catching five balls for 66 yards. Steve Smith chipped in five catches for 37 yards.
The pass-catcher of the day was tight end Owen Daniels. He hauled in four passes for 62 yards and Baltimore's lone offensive touchdown.
The Ravens scored just two TDs, and the other one came from Kamar Aiken. He scored on special teams after Darian Stewart blocked a Jags punt, and Aiken returned it for the score to put Baltimore up, 7-0.
This wasn't the greatest of games of Baltimore's pass-catchers, but they did just enough to help get the win.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 9
As mentioned earlier, Jacksonville came into this one sporting one of the NFL's worst run defenses. Baltimore came into this game with one of the top rushing offenses.
That was due in large part to the offensive line playing great and opening up big holes for running backs to run through.
That wasn't the case today, though, as the Jags controlled the line of scrimmage and got the better of Baltimore's line in the run game.
The Ravens rushed for just 93 yards on 23 carries and no scores. While the line didn't get much push in the run game, it played excellent in pass protection.
The line didn't give up a sack and allowed two QB hits.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 9
The Ravens defensive lineman were licking their collective chops at the thought of facing a Jaguars team sporting one of the NFL's worst offensive lines.
That was the case in this game, as Baltimore had its way with the Jags line, thanks to a great effort by the defensive line.
Rookie defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan looked like a star in the making en route to his best game of the year thus far. He recorded two sacks, two tackles for loss and five QB hits.
He was part of a Ravens D-line that held Jacksonville to 82 rushing yards and 248 total yards.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 9
The Ravens linebackers reminded everyone why they are the best unit in the NFL. With the Ravens offense struggling in this game, the defense came up big in shutting down the Jaguars offense.
That was due in large part to the play of the linebackers, particularly Terrell Suggs. He terrorized Blake Bortles in this game, sacking the rookie 2.5 times.
He also chipped in three QB hits and two tackles for loss. Suggs was all over the field today, and the Jags simply had no answer for him.
He wasn't the only linebacker to come up big, though. Elvis Dumervil, CJ Mosley and Pernell McPhee combined for 3.5 sacks and seven QB hits.
This unit was simply lights-out in this one, and it's a big reason why the Ravens escaped with a victory.
Grade: A+
Secondary
7 of 9
The Ravens secondary gave up some big plays against the Jaguars but did just enough to hold them to 12 points and get stops when they were needed the most.
Cornerback Asa Jackson had a big game, notching eight tackles, two pass deflections and one tackle for loss. Unfortunately, he left the game with a knee injury that has his status up in the air going forward, per BaltimoreRavens.com's Ryan Mink.
Also knocked out of this game was rookie safety Terrence Brooks, and he was sadly lost for the year with a torn MCL and PCL, per Mink.
With him out, that meant more snaps for safety Jeromy Miles, who grabbed the game-clinching interception with under a minute left to seal the win.
In all, the secondary helped limit the Jaguars to just 210 passing yards, and they played an overall decent game.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
8 of 9
The Ravens scored just two TDs, and one of them came from Kamar Aiken on special teams. He scored after Darian Stewart blocked a Jags punt, and Aiken returned it for the score to put Baltimore up 7-0.
Kicker Justin Tucker had arguably his worst game of the season, as he missed two field goals for the first time this year. He did hit two field goals, including one with 1:11 left in the game to give Baltimore a 20-12 lead.
As for punter Sam Koch, he had four punts with an average of 50.8 yards per punt, two of which were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Though it wasn't one of their better games, the Ravens special teams were solid once again.
Grade: B+
Cumulative Grade
9 of 9
Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
QB | A- |
RB | C |
WR/TE | B |
OL | B |
DL | A |
LB | A+ |
Secondary | B- |
ST | B+ |
Cumulative Grade | B |
This wasn't the greatest game Baltimore has played this year, but it was good enough to get the win. It puts the Ravens at 9-5 and right in the thick of the playoff race.
As of now, Baltimore is just a half-game behind the 9-4-1 Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the AFC North. It is also tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for one of the two wild-card spots in the AFC.
Had the Ravens lost this one, their playoff hopes would have taken a crushing blow, but they avoided that with the win.
With a home game against the Cleveland Browns and a road game versus the Houston Texans left, Baltimore is in excellent shape to make the postseason heading down the final stretch.
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