The Ravens rookies were instrumental in a tough matchup with the Browns. It was one of their most difficult wins. It’s important for rookies to familiarize themselves with divisional road games, regardless of the opponent. Here’s how the players performed.
Starks’ performance against the Browns was less impressive than the two games before, but he still made a contribution to the best defensive performance of the season. Starks, like most of his teammates struggled to tackle the Browns on their second drive. This led to their field goal. The Ravens tightened their defense and terrorized Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sander and the rest of the team. Starks was in his usual role of limiting deep ball, but also added to the pass rush by putting pressure on both his blitzes. It sounds pretty efficient.
Green had a tough day in Cleveland. Green, who had been putting in some solid performances after the bye-week, was rated as the Ravens’ worst defender when they faced the Browns. This would have been a disaster for the pass rush, and the defense as a whole, if it had happened a couple of weeks earlier. Since the Ravens acquired Dre’Mont, they can weather rookie mistakes from Green and not rely on him as the top edge pass rusher. He will try to bounce back in the Jets game.
Buchanan played one of his best games yet. Since Roquan returned from the bye, Buchanan has been in great form. He finished Sunday’s match with an overall PFF score of 80.2 and a coverage grade of 79.7. Buchanan has become more comfortable with pass coverage, finding drop spots and transferring routes to his teammates. Buchanan is a physical tackler when he has the chance to hit a ball-carrier. He has also been a team leader in this area. Buchanan struggles to run the ball and is hesitant when he gets tackled by linemen, but he is a force in space.
I wasn’t expecting much from an inside linebacker who was a fourth round rookie, as it is one of the most difficult college to NFL transitions. But I am the first person to admit that I was wrong. Buchanan is a true starter in this defense. Buchanan is a great pick if he can become a cheap running partner for Smith when the veteran cap increases in the coming years.
Vinson was again chosen as the backup swing-tackle on game day, replacing Joseph Noteboom. Although he only played three field goal snaps in the special teams unit on Sunday, the coaching staff’s confidence is encouraging.
Loop’s NFL career was crowned with this game, his first divisional game away from home in extremely windy conditions. The Ravens offense also struggled the entire time. To win the game, the Ravens relied on Loop’s kicks. Even in difficult conditions, the first two field goals of 25 and 24-yards were not spectacular. He also made both of his point-after attempts. In the fourth quarter with the game in the balance, Loop drove the football 44 yards by navigating through the swirling wings. The game was tied with less than 5 minutes left. The rookie’s moment was perhaps the biggest of his NFL career.
This was Wester’s worst game. Wester, who had dominated the punt and kick-return spots for the Ravens last week, started this week by returning a punt of 19 yards and taking the Ravens’ first kick. On his second punt he made an baffling mistake. Wester, backed up around his 10-yard line and struggling to track the kick in the wind of Huntington Bank Field, was clearly struggling. Wester dived to try and catch the punt, rather than letting it bounce into the endzone, which would have likely resulted in a touchback. Instead, he muffed the punt and gave Cleveland the ball at the 6-yard-line. The Ravens made a heroic effort to limit the damage, but momentum was already in favor of the Browns.
Wester, who had been credited with the kick-return duties last week, was then relieved of them in favor Keaton Mitchel and Rasheen Al. Wester stayed on as the punt-returner but his confidence was clearly shaken the rest of that night. I do not expect that the rookie will end up in Harbaugh’s doghouse, nor am I expecting this to be an issue for a long time. The coaching staff will surely use this night as an opportunity to teach him. He will continue to return to the field for punts and I expect he’ll be given kick-return duties soon.
Keyon Martin is the perfect replacement for Marlon Huffrey. Martin played only 33% of the snaps in Sunday’s game, but he was still able to make an impact on the field. He made three tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and a pass defence. Martin should be able to fill in for Marlon Humphrey if he is forced to miss more time.