What we learned from Sunday’s games

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Eric Edholm’s insights:

1. The Ravens offense got going after two early failures. Lamar Jackson fumbled on the Ravens’ first possession, and they were surprisingly conservative on the second, punting on fourth-and-1 for the first time this season. Maybe it’s because they trusted Jackson to eventually wear down the Giants’ defense. It wasn’t long before Jackson completed 13 of 14 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 55 yards in the first half alone, helping the Ravens build a 21-7 halftime lead. Two of those TDs were scored Rashod Bateman for the first multi-TD game of his career, battling a knee injury and playing his first explosive game in several weeks. Derrick Henry only carried the ball 14 times, while several other Ravens were able to pad their stats. Devontez Walker scored his first NFL TD (on his first catch) and Nelson Agholor had his first reception in three games. It was a good opportunity for the Ravens to get back into action after their bye and prepare for the important final stretch of three games against AFC opponents.
2. DeVito left due to a concussion as the Giants again approached the QB. After their loss, the Giants have now switched to their fourth quarterback of the season Tommy DeVito on Sunday. He was taken off the field towards the end of the first half after a few big hits and replaced by Tim Boylewho was just released from the practice squad this weekend and has been with the team for about a month. It’s not exactly clear where DeVito suffered the concussion, but he was sacked on his second-to-last play before ejecting and suffered a serious blow Justin Madubuike a few games before. Boyle handled his business like a pro, especially considering how little work he probably had with the offense and hitting Malik Nabers for the rookie’s first touchdown in eight games. But it was another miserable game overall for the Giants, who last won in early October – losing nine straight overall – and fell to 0-8 at home. After so much attrition at the position, Brian Daboll and the coaches couldn’t do much because the Giants’ offense was unable to elevate the backup quarterbacks.
3. The Ravens’ penalties were once again an issue. The Ravens entered Week 15 as the NFL’s most penalized team and did their best to maintain that lead. Baltimore was rejected 12 times for 112 yards on Sunday, marring an otherwise dominant performance against the weak Giants. The upset began with four defensive penalties on a single defensive drive, giving the Giants 41 of their 80 yards and their first touchdown. That made it 14-7 with just over two minutes left in the first half, with the Giants getting the ball first in the second half. If the Ravens hadn’t scored on their last possession of the first half, it would have been a bigger deal. The game spiraled out of control as most of the defensive flags fell in the second half, but it was a sustained upset in a trend that spanned the entire season. The Ravens have also been much more prone to penalties on the road, amassing a total of 74 penalties in eight games. That’s more than nine flags per game, and as things stand, the Ravens are scheduled to open the postseason on the road.

Next-Gen Stats for Ravens-Giants (via NFL Pro): Lamar Jackson was at his best against zone coverage against the Giants, completing 17 of 19 attempts for 243 yards and four touchdowns against zone (+19.9% ​​CPOE), a career-high. Jackson was also productive on dropbacks longer than 2.5 seconds, completing 14 of 18 attempts for 236 yards and all five touchdowns (+10.1% CPOE), the most passing touchdowns on such attempts in a game this season. Jackson now has a passer rating of 119.5 in zone coverage and 119.1 on pass attempts over 2.5 seconds this season, both the highest marks in the NFL entering the Week 15 afternoon slate.

NFL Research: Lamar Jackson recorded his sixth career game with five touchdowns and zero INTs, moving into third all-time. The only quarterbacks with more such games are Tom Brady and Drew Brees with eight each.