Heading into Week 16, the Ravens’ chances to win the AFC North seemed rather bleak. They needed help from the New Orleans Saints, but the tougher task appeared to be defeating the Los Angeles Chargers on the road in primetime.

Not only did the Saints help with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Baltimore helped themselves with a shocking upset victory over the Chargers. The vaunted Ravens defense showed up in a big way with three critical turnovers, while the offense had enough success to defeat one of the NFL’s best teams.

Baltimore’s offensive production certainly left a lot to be desired. They had three three-and-outs, a costly fumble, and did not score a touchdown on three red zone trips. This unit was aided by a defensive score that helped ice the game, and the passing game was far from stellar despite Jackson’s career-high 204 passing yards. His 9.3 yards per attempt may suggest the Ravens were more vertical in their passing game, but his 68-yard touchdown strike to Mark Andrews certainly boosted that total.

Jackson continued to struggle with consistency. His accuracy was equally as frustrating as he delivered several ‘darts,’ while also throwing some of the worst passes in his short stint in the NFL. The key for Jackson is a more consistent throwing motion from his upper body movement to his footwork.

However, fixing these technical aspects of his game is a difficult task, and it is an even harder job considering he is learning on the fly as the starting quarterback on a team that is winning football games. In addition to reading defenses, scanning the field, avoiding incoming pressure, and all the other pre and post snap responsibilities of a quarterback, Jackson is clearly thinking about his throwing motion, which could affect his accuracy and velocity.

Overall, it was an impressive performance given all of those variables. He showed incredible poise and mental toughness by battling back through all the ups and downs of this game. After each inaccurate throw, Jackson seemingly fought back to deliver a perfect throw on the next play.

Aside from his mechanical errors, he is still a ‘sight’ thrower at this point in his career. Instead of anticipated wide receivers getting open, Jackson rather has to see them open before throwing the ball. It is a rare occurrence for him to throw to a receiver who is open. This is not to say that he has not done that this season, but it is not as often as most other NFL quarterbacks. This is one of the growing pains with Jackson, and it can get better with more experience and familiarity with the system. It is relatively unknown how many reps he was getting in practice before Joe Flacco’s injury, and it is fair to question his chemistry with his wide receivers.

Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon continued to take the league by storm with solid running and good vision combined with patience. However, both made critical errors in this game. Dixon had an untimely fumble to open up the second half, while Edwards was involved in a Jackson fumble, yet again, on a zone read.

During the Ravens game, I tweeted out that I thought there was a trend with Jackson fumbling and Gus Edwards. My hypothesis was correct 6 of Jackson's 10 fumbles came on zone reads with Edwards. Not all of them occur at the mesh point, but clearly some disconnect pic.twitter.com/tcTI9Rc7Ii — Logan Levy (@realLoganLevy) December 24, 2018

The zone read is not one of the staples of the Ravens’ ‘new look’ offense. They have run a fair amount of them in each game, but the number of zone reads actually called in the game have been declining since Week 11. This could be because it exposes Jackson to too many extra hits. It is not a new play or anything innovative as it just relies on a linebacker or defensive end to make a mistake in their gap assignments. Most good defenses seldom will make those mistakes, which could be why Baltimore only ran four zone reads against the Chargers.

However, Jackson had his 10th official fumble against Los Angeles off of a zone read play with Gus Edwards as the running back. Looking back throughout all of his fumbles, there may be a timing and chemistry issue between Edwards and Jackson. Six of his ten fumbles occurred on zone read plays with Edwards. The mistakes on each play are a little bit different, but the mesh point is an issue as Edwards is not providing a big enough window for Jackson to pull the football if need be. On the flip side, Jackson is also waiting a bit too long in his read, which could very well throw the running back off.

The Ravens also called a pair of RPOs, and both were successful in their own way. One of these plays resulted in a solid gain for John Brown on a double-slant RPO, while the other was a short gain from Jackson scrambling. He initially made the wrong read by keeping it, but he salvaged the play with a scramble.

Schematically, the Ravens’ offensive approach was not flawless. Although they rushed for 159 yards and dominated the time of possession early on, they were unable to finish drives due to questionable play calling and execution. As seen later in this review, one of the Chargers’ weaknesses is their Cover 3 Mable. When teams line up in trips formations, Los Angeles counters with Cover 3 Mable.

In simple terms, this is a basic Cover 3 with the exception of the weakside cornerback. He would play man coverage instead of playing the deep third. While there is pattern-matching involved that could change the zone responsibilities, this is the nuts and bolts of this coverage. It is designed to create an advantageous number of defenders on the zone side while hoping the man coverage holds strong. Many teams, including the Chiefs, made a living off of these looks against Los Angeles with deep crossing routes. The Ravens attempted these plays, but with very little success.

The positive aspect of Baltimore’s game plan is how simple, yet complex, it was. They ran a majority of power concepts with a pulling guard, usually James Hurst. This play design is nothing new to the NFL, but Baltimore dressed it up with different motions, formations, and personnel to disguise it. However, they were essentially running a similar play with a fair amount of success. This can help an offense stay on track, while also confuse the defense.

Analytics

Ravens Week 16 Play chart Down Distance Personnel Play type Result Down Distance Personnel Play type Result 1st 10 11 Power 43 1st 9 11 Power 3 2nd 6 11 Zone read 0 3rd 6 11 Pass 0 1st 10 13 Play action 9 2nd 1 13 Play action 18 1st 10 12 Power 8 2nd 2 11 RPO 10 1st 10 12 Zone read -8 2nd 18 12 Play action 0 3rd 18 10 Pass 0 1st 10 12 Power 5 2nd 5 11 Outside zone 3 3rd 2 11 QB Power 27 1st 10 13 Power -1 2nd 11 11 Pass 11 1st 10 12 Play action 13 1st 10 12 Zone read -1 2nd 11 11 Zone read 2 3rd 9 11 Pass 15 1st 9 13 Play action 4 2nd 5 11 Play action 1 3rd 4 11 Power 2 4th 2 12 Play action 0 1st 10 11 Split zone 6 2nd 4 11 Power 2 3rd 2 13 Power 1 4th 1 12 QB Power 2 1st 10 13 Power -2 2nd 12 12 Play action 0 3rd 12 11 Power 19 1st 10 13 Power 0 2nd 10 12 Play action 0 3rd 10 11 QB draw 3 1st 10 11 Pass 0 2nd 10 11 Pass 20 1st 10 11 Pass 0 2nd 10 10 Pass 0 3rd 15 11 Pass 8 1st 10 11 Outside zone 0 1st 10 11 Play action 17 1st 10 12 Play action 68 1st 10 12 Play action 7 2nd 3 12 Power 2 3rd 1 13 QB Power 10 1st 10 12 Power 3 2nd 7 11 RPO -1 3rd 8 11 Pass 0 1st 15 12 Play action 8 2nd 7 11 Split zone 1 3rd 6 11 Pass 0 1st 10 11 Trap -2 2nd 12 11 Play action 1 3rd 11 12 Pass 1 1st 10 22 Power 2 2nd 8 12 Duo 3 3rd 5 12 Pass -1 1st 10 13 Duo 21 1st 10 Kneel Kneel -1 2nd 11 Kneel Kneel -1

For the purposes of transparency, I included the two kneel downs into the total count in the chart above. However, I did not include kneel-downs or RPOs when calculating averages and percentages. Being unpredictable will be the key to the Ravens’ offense moving forward. They are clear run-heavy on first-down, while it is more balanced on second down depending on the situation.

Film

This is now a staple of the Ravens’ offense. In this concept, the backside tackle will block the EMOLS (end man on the line of scrimmage), while the center will slide to block the backside defensive tackle. This allows the backside guard to pull and pick up a linebacker, while the playside tackle can also pick up a linebacker after combining on a double team block with the playside guard. Most of Baltimore’s big runs came on concepts like these, and the thing to note throughout this piece is how they dressed it up differently to disguise this play.

On the same drive, the Ravens ran the same exact play, but in a different formation. Instead of having the H-back (tight end) motioning, they had him line up and make the same block. The other difference was the wide receivers. Snead was lined up tight, while Chris Moore was used as a decoy on a jet motion. This looks different, but it is the same exact play: G-pull power.

Soft press again, but he does not sell the outside route just uses his hands to create separation and was not nearly as effective. CB knew it was a fade route all the way and played it accordingly. Less space - not nearly as good of a box out - did not wall off defender to catch pic.twitter.com/sjJZKoPcOC — Logan Levy (@realLoganLevy) December 26, 2018

One Baltimore Beatdown member, Brian Kimball, pointed out that Crabtree has run this route before with some success. Against the Titans, Crabtree ran the same fade route off of a three-step drop from the quarterback. Both times he was greeted with soft-press coverage, but there were a couple of big differences in his route that resulted in different outcomes. Against the Titans, Crabtree did not have to fight with his hands to create separation and used a jab step to have more space to work on the outside.

Against the Chargers, it was a different story. The cornerback still was in soft-press, but a more aggressive version. Once the cornerback identified the route, he punched Crabtree to alter his path, and it worked. Crabtree did not throw any fakes or moves while running his fade route to create separation, and it resulted in a tough contested catch.

However, the pass itself was not perfect either. Jackson was immediately on his toes, his leg was not straight, and the uneven weight distribution led to movement during the throw. His elbow was also not nearly as high as most quarterbacks prefer it to be. All of these factors could have influenced the throw.

One of the few non-power concepts the Ravens run is the split zone. This is a carryover play from what they ran when Joe Flacco was at the helm. In essence, this play is an inside zone, but the EMOLS on the playside is blocked by a motioning H-back, or in Baltimore’s case a tight end. The issue with this play was Matt Skura, who struggled to gain any leverage. The positive aspect of the power concepts is that Skura is often already in a beneficial blocking position, which has helped him improve in run-blocking. While in zone blocking, specifically this scheme, he struggles mightily.

The Ravens ran another variation of their power play. This time in a different personnel package — 12. With two tight ends, Hayden Hurst pulled across the line, while Nick Boyle was already on the line. They also had a jet motion with Willie Snead, who blocked Casey Hayward. The Chargers may have been thinking a different concept was coming, but it was the same power design with a different twist. Baltimore’s innovation in the running game is similar to David Shaw’s system at Stanford. It should be noted that Shaw does have several ties to Baltimore’s current coaching staff.

On a double slant RPO, Jackson has a couple of reads. However, they go to determine if and where to throw the football. He is initially reading the linebacker to see if he should pull or give. After the linebacker committed to the run, which opened up the middle of the field, Jackson then read Derwin James to see which slant he should throw. Once James jumped the inside slant by Mark Andrews, Jackson had an easy completion to Brown.

The Chargers countered Baltimore’s play-action with a single-high safety look. They are running man-coverage on the outside, and John Brown ran a fantastic vertical route. His path to the end zone created separation, including stacking the cornerback. Brown took an inside release to set up a fake post-corner or blaze out, then he cut directly upfield after a few steps towards the sidelines to stack the cornerback and outrun him. The pass from Jackson was overthrown, but his upper body mechanics were sound. Although his elbow was in a good position, it was the weight distribution of his feet that led to the misfire. His front foot slid as the ball was releasing, which could have forced him to put more air under the football to compensate for a sense of losing balance.

The Ravens already showed a power concept from this personnel and formation, which led to the defensive tackle identifying the play. Instead of charging upfield, he knew the point of attack was the on the outside to his left. After breaking free from Skura, who was unable to keep his leverage due to poor hand placement, bad posture, and high hips, Brandon Mebane helped make the tackle.

This is another version of the power concepts Baltimore has utilized in their playbook. Even when Joe Flacco was the starting quarterback, they ran a couple of QB power plays with Jackson. This is essentially the same blocking assignments for the offensive line, but they have an additional blocker with the running back. The Ravens created a 7-on-7 blocking situation using creativity. Against stacked boxes, this is one way to counter that. However, it could expose Jackson to too many hits. Jackson’s vision is one of his best traits as a runner. He weaved in and out of the hole with relative ease behind his blockers and made a couple of defenders miss in the process.

The theme of the night was power concepts, and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg seemingly emptied the playbook with clever designs and combinations. They have run this concept before with the backside guard and tackle both pulling. The additional puller was the H-back (tight end). They have built upon this play with GT Bash concepts as well, where Jackson would actually keep the ball. It does not appear that he has a give/pull read on this play, but it could be something they can add in the future.

Chargers counter 3 x 1 sets with cover 3 mable. Chiefs lived for these looks. KC certainly has better playmakers than the Ravens, but this is a coverage they should be able to beat if given opportunity. pic.twitter.com/h9WgjNCaT5 — Logan Levy (@realLoganLevy) December 21, 2018

Although this play resulted in a first down, Baltimore clearly wanted something bigger. This is a very similar design to a play the Kansas City Chiefs ran against the Chargers a week prior. Los Angeles adjusted well as the hook/curl defender picked up the deep crosser, which closed up the once open window across the field in the deep 1/3.

The zone read is a simple concept to stop, but it is a lot easier said than done. The key is for every defender to have good gap integrity. The defensive end, who is Jackson’s read, forced a pull read by diving inside. The linebacker then attempted to fill that role but was blocked. However, the speed of the Chargers defense was apparent as the ‘Mike’ linebacker crashed into the backfield to make a tackle for a loss.

The Chargers also counter 3 x 1 sets with quarters coverage. It is typically a pattern matching concept that is predicated on the defense reacting to the routes of the wide receivers. In theory, this coverage should work a majority of the time as they are merely matching what the offense shows them. However, sometimes defenses fail to carry out their assignments or overcommit to a particular route, which leads to an open. That is what happened on this play as Andrews’ route was shallow enough where the cornerback felt he could pass it off to an underneath defender. Due to Jackson’s head fakes and the incoming pressure, the linebacker and cornerback jumped the check down route. In turn, Andrews was wide open. It is remarkable how accurate Jackson is in the middle of the field, but he struggles outside the numbers.

The play design on this critical 4th and goal was not a bad idea. Given the formation and personnel, Los Angeles was clearly expecting a running play. The play action created space for Crabtree deep in the end zone. Although he created separation, the throw was errant and led to a turnover on downs. The issue with Jackson’s mechanics were apparent — his elbow was lower than the throwing shoulder, and the stride foot was never firmly cemented into the ground. Jackson may have felt rushed to deliver the pass as timing is crucial on this play, but this was a relatively bad miss.

Although it was a different alignment, the Ravens ran another power concept. With the defense sniffing out the play, Orlando Brown Jr. was unable to contain his assignment, which led to James Hurst having to help and miss the linebacker. It should be noted that this was a rare bad play from a power concept in this game.

Jackson’s five-step drop-back consisted of three ‘big steps’ and two ‘quick’ steps, which is a common practice. Given the nature of this concept, Jackson’s timing on his drop back and delivery must be in line with his receiver. Otherwise, the play could be ruined. With pressure incoming, Jackson took too big of a hitch step to close the space between him and the rusher. He was forced to take a big step because of the unbalanced steps in his drop back, and it led to a near interception.

With different formations and alignments, the Ravens ran the same power concept with James Hurst pulling. Due to a different defensive front and relatively light box, the blocking assignments changed. Regardless, Baltimore had the same success as Dixon had a wide open hole to run through and pick up a significant amount of yards.

Against Cover 3 Mable, the Ravens ran a concept that forced the linebackers to test their depth in zone coverage. Although in theory, this play should never work, Jackson squeezed the ball through a tight window as the linebackers were too shallow in coverage while the safety was drawn deep due to a vertical route. Jackson’s mechanics were nearly flawless — his elbow was high enough to generate good velocity, and his back foot had terrific weight transfer from the arches of his feet to his toes. The only issue was his stride foot, which slid during the throwing motion. Regardless, it was one of his best throws of the day through a tight window.

This was a beautiful play design that was set up by Crabtree’s route, which drew the deep 1⁄3 defender shallow. Andrews was able to run a deep crosser freely across the field and make a terrific play. The impressive part of this play was Andrews’ speed, which was under question coming out of college. He outran several defenders en route to the score. This was yet another impressive display from Jackson, regarding mechanics. His elbow was high enough to get maximum velocity, while he footwork and rotation set up an accurate throw.

Orlando Brown Jr. has had an incredible rookie campaign at right tackle. His strength is generally in pass-protection, but he was badly beaten on this play. Melvin Ingram set him up with a couple of outside steps to open in the inside and then performed a club move to get inside. Jackson avoided the pressure while Brown Jr. recovered. There was nowhere for Jackson to throw the ball downfield, which led to him attempting to scramble with little to no success.

Final Takeaways