6 things we learned from Ravens Week 1 preseason loss to Eagles

There are several revealing takeaways from the Baltimore Ravens’ 16-13 preseason opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night.

With a handful of starting spots and several key roles up for grabs, the team got some early indications of who the front runners should be, who can be reliable upon and who can’t be counted on to fill their needs.

Here five of the main things that can be learned from Friday’s narrow defeat.

Answers to offensive line questions coming into focus

The single biggest concern for outside pundits and even a large contingent of Ravens fans is the status of their starting blocking unit and the uncertainty surrounding it heading into this game. However, after watching it, there appears to be some clarity of who the frontrunners to the three starting vacancies should be with two more games left to play.

In his first taste of NFL action after missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL he suffered during the pre-draft process at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, second-year pro Andrew Vorhees looks to have all but cemented himself as the Ravens’ next starting left guard. He started the game, played deep into the third quarter and looked good pass blocking as well as opening up holes in the run game.

Fourth-year pro Ben Cleveland proved that is one of the Ravens’ three best interior linemen as well as the second-most versatile behind Patrick Mekari with how well he performed at center where he started and finished the game. The 2021 third-rounder has been filling in for 2023 Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum during practice as he deals with a minor soft tissue injury and gave the coaching staff confidence he could handle the duties in a live game if called upon. Cleveland snapped the ball well, assisted his fellow blockers to the left and right of him nicely and shouldn’t be counted out of the starting right guard battle either just because he hasn’t been playing there as of late.

Third-year pro Daniel Faalele got the start and the lion’s share of snaps at right guard as the Ravens continue to experiment and try to develop his skills as an interior lineman after he exclusively played right tackle before this year’s training camp. While his extended playing time at the position against the Eagles would lead some to believe that he too is in pole position to secure a starting spot, he will need to prove he can be more consistent after having some ups and downs as a blocker against the Eagles and getting flagged for a false start.

At right tackle, the Ravens rotated Mekari and rookie Roger Rosengarten in the first half of the game but the second-rounder got the bulk of the reps and appeared to make the most of them. He didn’t outmatch or be overwhelmed at any point and comported himself very well as both a run and pass blocker, further boosting his rising stock after he started earning first-team reps last week.

As far as depth goes, it was a telling to undrafted rookie free agent Darrian Dalcourt get the nod as the next man up to enter the game at center after Cleveland and ahead of seventh-round pick Nick Samac who finished the game. The versatile former Alabama product can also play guard and should be a name to watch in the running to continue the rich tradition of an undrafted rookie making the Ravens roster.

Rookie defensive backs ball out before getting banged up

It is a rare feat for a cornerback to record more than a couple of pass breakups in a single game let alone one half or one drive but Ravens first-rounder Nate Wiggins proved that he isn’t like most players at his position, he is truly special.

For some reason, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett—who was acquired by the Eagles via trade in the offseason—insisted on testing the former Clemson standout early and often and he responded by forcing three incompletions on the opening series of the game. He broke up a pass on his first target, plastered his receiver on the second and would’ve had an interception if he had turned his head around to look for the ball and then forced a turnover on downs with a pass breakup on his third time getting targeted.

Before Wiggins’ night was over, he would record a third pass breakup and three total tackles including one for a loss on his final play of the night where he suffered a shoulder injury. While he was certainly the star of the show when it came to defensive backs who stood out in the opener, he wasn’t the only one nor was he the only rookie.

Seventh-round rookie safety Sanoussi Kane also had himself a nice night on defense and special teams. He was very aggressive and efficient tackling in the open field in both phases of the game including limited two booming punts from third-year pro Jordan Stout for no gain on the return. His overall performance was so encouraging that he already has fans buzzing that he will be the next Anthony Levine who was a special teams ace who could also contribute on defense.

On his final play of the game, he delivered a huge hit that stopped Eagles wide receiver Jacob Harris right in his track but unfortunately, he also suffered a stinger in his neck from the crushing blow and would not return. To add insult to literally injury, he was flagged for a personal foul on the play, giving Philadelphia the ball at the Baltimore five-yard line.

A pair of undrafted rookie defensive backs who actually finished the game healthy flashed as well on both defense and special teams. Safety Beau Brade out of Maryland recorded three total tackles on defense including one for a one-yard loss and forced a fumble on a punt return that was nearly recovered by one of his teammates. Cornerback Bump Cooper Jr. out of Oregon State recorded a pair of tackles including one solo and had a nice pass deflection in the endzone to break up what could’ve been a touchdown.

Interior defensive line depth might be a concern

The Ravens brought back their entire defensive line depth chart from last year and even though Pro Bowler Justin Madubuike and veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce didn’t suit up, others who will be counted on to play key roles and even start did. In both halves of the game no matter who was on the field, the Eagles’ second and third-string offensive line dominated in the trenches, especially at the point of attack which was a big proponent for defense as a whole giving up a whopping 146 rushing yards.

Philadelphia did most of its damage running between the tackles where and their running backs were regularly going untouched with a full head of steam into the second and third levels of the Ravens’ defense. It led to unnecessary yards after contact resulting in numerous first downs and prevented the unit from getting the stops they needed to get off the field or stall long drives.

An easy way to see which team played the best in the trenches more often than not is time of possession, a stat the Ravens are accustomed to outpacing their opponents in during the Jackson era especially. On Friday night, the Eagles dominated time of possession 37:21 to 22:29.

It’s expected for young players who aren’t accustomed to playing as many snaps at this level compared to college to struggle going the distance but it wasn’t just the youngsters and undrafted rookies getting blown off the ball or moved around up the middle. While 11th-year veteran Brent Urban made some nice plays, the same could not be said for fifth-year veteran Broderick Washington and third-year pro Travis Jones who has been unblockable in training camp by several coaches, players and media accounts.

It’s still just one game and perhaps they’ll bounce back over the next couple of preseason contests but it was very uncharacteristic for a Ravens defense to get gashed on the ground at will like they were on Friday.

Thankfully, the unit’s inconsistent play wasn’t enough to spoil second-year linebacker Trenton Simpson’s nice night as he racked up a game-high 11 tackles through three quarters and showed he could disengage from blocks well and handle the responsibilities of wearing the green dot which is given to the defender who relays calls from defensive coordinator Zach Orr to the rest of the unit each play.

Backup quarterbacks deliver mixed bag of results

Judging the play of quarterbacks in the preseason can be difficult sometimes because of all the variables that could impact their performance. Whether it is the quality of blocking or lack thereof they get from backup and reserve offensive linemen to the occasional concentration drop from a young pass catcher looking to get upfield or make their next move before securing the ball, inefficient final stat lines can often be misleading in exhibition games.

All three quarterbacks that the Ravens played against the Eagles were impacted by one or more of the above, resulting in just 99 net passing yards between them on 22 attempts and just 10 completions. Both veteran Josh Johnson and sixth-round rookie Devin Leary still managed to lead scoring drives and showed encouraging traits as well as some of their physical limitations even though the elder statesmen showed he could still get around the edge on a first-down scramble.

When protected, Johnson was accurate and decisive going through his reads and finding the open receiver or checkdown if available. He operated the offense efficiently on the Ravens’ second drive of the game, marching the unit 66 yards and 12 plays before Harbaugh opted to settle for a short field goal from the Eagles three-yard line.

“I think if you watch all of the preseason games, you’re going to see the same things,” Harbaugh said. “I thought he handled it well [and] made some really good throws. The timing and that sort of thing, yes, that’s tough to evaluate, because the guys aren’t all out there. It’s not always going to look real great, but I thought he handled himself really well and made some really good throws. [He] protected the football like you want him to do and got us in the right plays, made some decisions on which plays to get us into, which is part of our offense, so that’s kind of where it’s at.”

Leary led the Ravens’ only touchdown drive of the game in the fourth quarter that covered 61 yards, spanned 16 plays and ate up nearly eight minutes off the clock. He completed five of his six passes and capped off the drive by plunging across the goal line on fourth down for a tying score.

Neither player had enough time or protection to push the ball downfield as their pockets would often quickly crumble when they had deep dropbacks. On his first and only snap of the game, undrafted rookie Emory Jones fell victim to near-instantaneous pressure and was stripped-sacked resulting in the turnover that gave the Eagles and kicker Jake Elliott an unexpected mulligan to win the game.

Some fans and media pundits are concerned about the status of the Ravens backup quarterback situation behind Jackson and will use the opener as a prime example to support their argument. However, where they might not be off base is how the team should consider looking for a primary backup whose skillset at least resembles their starter’s as neither Johnson nor Leary is very dynamic when it comes to being mobile or much of a threat in the running game. If Tyler Huntley winds up shaking loose from the Browns given their depth, bringing him back should definitely be in consideration if possible.

David Ojabo isn’t quite ready to play yet

Several of the Ravens’ young outside linebackers saw the field early and often in this game but the third-year pro was not even among those in uniform. Even though he has been participating in training camp practices, according to head coach John Harbaugh, Ojabo hasn’t gotten the green light from the team doctors to play in games just yet.

“He wasn’t cleared by the doctors to play in the game,” Harbaugh said.

The 2022 second-rounder is working his way back to full strength from a torn ACL that cut his 2023 season short after just three games. As a rookie, a torn Achilles he suffered during the pre-draft process caused him to fall out of the first round and miss the first 13 games of his inaugural season in the league. With three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney gone, Ojabo is expected to step into a much more prominent role in the Ravens edge defender rotation this year.

Reserve running backs showed nice flashes

Even though the Ravens’ top three running backs were in street clothes watching from the sidelines, it didn’t stop their young reserves from bringing some juice to what was a below-average rushing performance on paper in the final box score. The offense finished with just 82 net yards on the ground but all three running backs that touched the ball moved the chains at least once and showed impressive bursts while doing so throughout the game.

The brightest standout of the bunch was second-year pro Oweh Wright who picked up 29 yards from scrimmage and a pair of first downs in his first two touches of the game. After he exploded for 12 yards on his first carry, he took a check-down pass 17 yards upfield on the very next play. The 2023 undrafted free agent who spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad finished as the Ravens leading rusher with 33 yards on seven carries for an average of 4.7.

“Coming into this game, I really just wanted to show that I was consistent, I could make plays on special teams and on offense,” Wright said. “I was honestly a dream come true, especially being from Maryland.”

Fifth-round rookie Rasheen Ali didn’t touch the ball on offense until the second half but he did so often enough to finish with the most carries on the team with 10. Although he recorded just 26 yards for an average of 2.6 yards per carry, there were several instances where he showed good vision, quick feet and explosiveness to make something out of nothing and still gain positive yardage. Undrafted rookie Chris Collier only carried the ball three times but exhibited many of the same desirable traits in addition to strong balance through contact.