Cool write-up about how important Hollywood and Andrews have been to the Ravens success this year (h/t the Athletic). Also really good to see Ben Powers starting there now.
5. One of the biggest differences for the 2021 Ravens made the difference in overtime against Minnesota.
The Ravens are not the consistently dominant defensive team they’ve been in the past. They weren’t their usually strong special-teams selves Sunday, allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown. That special-teams breakdown put the Ravens behind by two touchdowns. It also produced a minus-5.9 swing in expected points, according to TruMedia, as the Ravens finished with their worst special-teams EPA game (minus-9.3) since 2011.
What the Ravens could do with the game on the line Sunday, what they’ve been able to do better this season than in the past, is complete passes at intermediate depths a high percentage of the time, especially when Lamar Jackson targets Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews.
Andrews/Brown Targets 10-19 Air Yards
The winning drive began with Jackson completing a pass to Brown not quite 20 yards past the line of scrimmage, allowing the Ravens to escape a backed-up drive start. Penalties threatened to kill the drive near midfield, but on first-and-20 from the Minnesota 49, Jackson went back to Brown for 13 yards. That got the Ravens close enough to run the ball and position themselves for Justin Tucker’s winning field goal.
Jackson overthrew Andrews in the first quarter on one of these intermediate throws (defined here as passes when quarterbacks target receivers between 10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage). He failed to connect with Brown on another such pass that the Vikings broke up. But when the Ravens needed Jackson to complete these chain-moving passes late in the game, he was able.
For the season, Jackson has completed 25 of 31 intermediate pass attempts when targeting Brown and Andrews, according to TruMedia. That is nearly 81 percent and far better than his 58 percent completion rate when targeting them on those passes in previous seasons.
Jackson is attempting these passes almost exclusively against zone coverage, frequently Cover 3. He has completed 18 of 20 passes (90 percent) on these throws against zone. According to Next Gen Stats, the average separation for Andrews and Brown on these throws is about three yards.
“Lamar is getting better, becoming a better passer, more accurate throwing to guys who are open against a coverage Baltimore sees repeatedly in the games and probably reps in practice,” an evaluator said. “If it’s not there or he doesn’t see it, he breaks you down in your scramble drill.”
5. One of the biggest differences for the 2021 Ravens made the difference in overtime against Minnesota.
The Ravens are not the consistently dominant defensive team they’ve been in the past. They weren’t their usually strong special-teams selves Sunday, allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown. That special-teams breakdown put the Ravens behind by two touchdowns. It also produced a minus-5.9 swing in expected points, according to TruMedia, as the Ravens finished with their worst special-teams EPA game (minus-9.3) since 2011.
What the Ravens could do with the game on the line Sunday, what they’ve been able to do better this season than in the past, is complete passes at intermediate depths a high percentage of the time, especially when Lamar Jackson targets Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews.
Andrews/Brown Targets 10-19 Air Yards
| SEASONS | 2018-20 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 36 | 8 |
| Cmp-Att | 59-96 | 25-31 |
| Pct | 58.3% | 80.6% |
| Yds/Att | 11.2 | 15.1 |
| TD-INT | 9-1 | 2-0 |
| Rtg | 124.2 | 140.3 |
| EPA/Att | 0.69 | 0.97 |
Jackson overthrew Andrews in the first quarter on one of these intermediate throws (defined here as passes when quarterbacks target receivers between 10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage). He failed to connect with Brown on another such pass that the Vikings broke up. But when the Ravens needed Jackson to complete these chain-moving passes late in the game, he was able.
For the season, Jackson has completed 25 of 31 intermediate pass attempts when targeting Brown and Andrews, according to TruMedia. That is nearly 81 percent and far better than his 58 percent completion rate when targeting them on those passes in previous seasons.
Jackson is attempting these passes almost exclusively against zone coverage, frequently Cover 3. He has completed 18 of 20 passes (90 percent) on these throws against zone. According to Next Gen Stats, the average separation for Andrews and Brown on these throws is about three yards.
“Lamar is getting better, becoming a better passer, more accurate throwing to guys who are open against a coverage Baltimore sees repeatedly in the games and probably reps in practice,” an evaluator said. “If it’s not there or he doesn’t see it, he breaks you down in your scramble drill.”
