Ravens vs. 49ers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a must-win matchup in Week 6 with both teams sitting at 1-4 and looking to turn their seasons around.
You wouldn't have known that watching the Ravens in the first half. Dropped passes, bad throws, penalties and missed assignments kept Baltimore limited to just six points against a 49ers defense that's been allowing 28 points per game.
The defense wasn't much better, especially when it came to the Ravens' porous pass defense. Against one of the worst passing offenses in the league, the Ravens allowed Colin Kaepernick to throw for 225 yards and a score in the first half—76 of them came on a bomb from Kaepernick to Smith for a long touchdown, as Smith smoked Ravens corner Shareece Wright for what looked like an easy score.
Kaepernick also threw a 52-yard pass to fullback Bruce Miller, a career high for him.
As bad as it was, the Ravens trailed only 16-6 at halftime and were in striking distance. Unfortunately, the second half would be much of the same.
Joe Flacco threw a critical interception that the 49ers offense converted into a field goal to take a 19-6 lead in the third quarter.
Baltimore would respond after Flacco threw a 34-yard touchdown to Steve Smith Sr. to help cut the 49ers' lead to 19-13 going into the fourth quarter.
That's when the Ravens' pass defense let them down once more. After a 51-yard strike from Kaepernick to Anquan Boldin, Kaepernick hit a wide-open Quinton Patton in the end zone for six and a 25-13 lead with 10:52 left in the game.
The Ravens would answer with another touchdown after Flacco drove the offense down the field before hitting Kamar Aiken for a two-yard score with 5:14 left. The defense would give up two first downs and allow the 49ers to almost run out the entire clock.
Baltimore would get the ball back with 1:02 left at its own 20-yard line. The Ravens would get down into 49ers territory with enough time for Flacco to throw up a Hail Mary as time expired.
But his pass fell incomplete as the clock ran out, and the Ravens suffered another gut-wrenching loss. The defeat put Baltimore at 1-5 and now firmly in the midst of a rebuilding season.
Postgame Grades for Ravens
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | C+ |
| RB | B- |
| WR | B |
| TE | C |
| OL | B |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B+ |
| DB | D |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | C+ |
Flacco was wildly erratic in this one. He threw two terrible interceptions, both of which the 49ers offense converted into field goals.
Flacco did throw two scores, but both of them came in the second half when his team was trailing by double digits. He has to play better to keep his team from falling in a hole like that. The Ravens just don't have the firepower to overcome deficits like they faced in this one.
The ground game was unable to continue its positive momentum after emerging in the past two weeks. Justin Forsett picked up just 62 yards on 17 carries (3.6 yards per carry), and Baltimore gained just 77 yards on the ground.
The receivers played well thanks in large part to Steve Smith. He finished with seven catches for 137 yards and a score in his first game back after suffering a microfracture in his back.
Tight ends Crockett Gillmore and Maxx Williams combined to catch seven passes for 54 yards in a so-so effort. Forsett actually caught seven passes for 39 yards.
The offensive line played well in not allowing Flacco to be sacked once in this game. It needed to play better, though, in opening up more running lanes for the ground game to have more success.
On defense, the front seven did well in holding the run-heavy 49ers offense to just 65 yards on the ground. They also managed to sack Kaepernick three times.
However, the secondary once again was this team's downfall. It allowed Kaepernick to throw for a season-high 340 yards to go with two scores and no turnovers.
This unit is making every quarterback it goes against look like a star, and it's the big reason Baltimore is 1-5.
Important Note No. 1: Kendrick Lewis Suffers Scary Knee Injury
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The Ravens secondary can ill-afford to lose another starter to injury, but that's exactly what happened against the 49ers.
In the third quarter, safety Kendrick Lewis suffered a knee injury and had to be helped back to the locker room. The team later said he was doubtful to return, which is usually a bad sign the injury is serious.
Lewis had started every game at free safety this season before the injury. He had 13 tackles and two pass deflections through five games in his first season with the Ravens.
If Lewis misses significant time, second-year safety Terrence Brooks or veteran Brynden Trawick would start at that spot. Brooks was inactive against the 49ers, though the team has him listed as the second-string free safety on its depth chart.
Trawick was the one who started there once Lewis went out, so it looks like he has the leg up on this job going forward. Either way, this is not what the Ravens needed.
Important Note No. 2: Steve Smith Is an Ageless Wonder
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In a season full of disappointment, letdowns and failed expectations, Steve Smith Sr. has been a big bright spot for the Ravens.
After his hot start this season was halted due to a back injury, Smith returned this week and picked up right where he left off. He scored Baltimore's first touchdown of the game when he beat his man deep for a 34-yard score to help cut the 49ers' lead to 19-13 in the third quarter.
Smith finished the game with seven grabs for 137 yards and a score. He now has 36 catches for 510 yards and three scores in five games.
The Ravens have been disappointing as a whole this season, but don't let that overshadow how great Smith is playing in the twilight of his career. It's unfortunate he announced this would be his final season over the summer.
Smith looks like he has a good year or two left in him, and the Ravens could use every bit of what remains.
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Important Note No. 3: Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin Shine in Reunion Game
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This wasn't your average regular-season matchup between an NFC and AFC team.
This was a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII when Baltimore defeated San Francisco 34-31 to claim its second championship since the franchise's inception. It was also the first time since that championship game that the 49ers and Ravens had faced each other in the regular season.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, two of its best players from that title team were now playing for the 49ers. Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith played big roles for Baltimore in that win, but they were catching passes for San Francisco this time around.
Boldin was traded to the 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick in the offseason following that Super Bowl win. Smith just left this offseason to sign with San Francisco after spending his first four seasons in Baltimore.
Boldin and Smith both made sure their presence was felt early and often in this one. Boldin finished the game with five grabs for 102 yards.
Smith caught three passes for 96 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown. Those two had caught 34 passes for 458 yards and three scores through five games, but this was easily their best combined game of the year.
And of course, it came against their former team. It's as if all of Baltimore's biggest mistakes in recent years are coming back to bite them in new ways every week this season.
John Harbaugh Calls out Shareece Wright
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Head coach John Harbaugh is reaching his boiling point after watching his defense give up several big passing plays yet again.
That played a big part in Baltimore suffering another loss and dropping to 1-5. Injuries and inconsistent play at cornerback have led to several players who weren't on the opening 53-man roster seeing significant snaps.
That was painfully evident in this game after Torrey Smith badly beat the newly signed Shareece Wright for a 76-yard touchdown. It was so bad that Harbaugh made note of it after the game, as he told the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
"I don't care if you've been here for four days, you put your eyes on your coverage in the right spot," Harbaugh said. "You've got to do that or you can't play. It's simple. You got to play with discipline in the back end."
Smith wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire with just one touchdown this season coming into this game. Even if Wright signed with Baltimore this past week, he's a professional cornerback, and he got burned like a college rookie on that play.
Joe Flacco Owns Up to Costly Mistakes
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The Ravens are 1-5 due in large part to the failures of the defense, but Flacco has to take some blame for it.
That was definitely true in this game, as Flacco threw bone-headed interceptions that led to six 49ers points in a five-point loss. Both interceptions were simply terrible decisions and throws by Flacco, and they proved to be costly in another narrow loss.
Flacco wasn't afraid to own up to them and admit they helped cost Baltimore this win. As he told Zrebiec, "It starts with me and just not making stupid mistakes."
This is a flawed team, and no one player or position can take 100 percent of the blame. It is good to see leaders like Flacco owning up to their errors in hopes of correcting them going forward.
There's going to need to be a lot of error correcting if this Ravens team is going to get off the schneid and get back to its winning ways.
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