OWINGS MILLS, Md. — So much good came out of the Ravens' 27-24 win over the Bengals. How about the defense making timely plays when the Ravens needed them. What about the offensive line plugging two new pieces in and not missing a beat. Patrick Mekari stepped in for injured left tackle Ronnie Stanley and Sam Mustipher replaced injured center Tyler Linderbaum.
And of course there is Lamar Jackson.
The quarterback was efficient, steady and moved the ball downfield effectively in week two of the new offensive scheme. He used all of his revamped weapons at wide receiver as he threw for 237 yards. He had 24 completions on 33 attempts and spread the ball around as well. Rookie Zay Flowers had four catches for 62 yards. Odell Beckham Jr. had three catches for 29 yards before getting hurt. Rashod Bateman was three for 18, Nelson Agholor was five for 63 and a touchdown.
This is the kind of production the Ravens envisioned when reshaping the receiver room in the offseason. It’s starting to pay off in a big way.
"That’s kind of the opening salvo, so to speak, you hope. That’s where we want to keep building in terms of the depth of those guys. To see Nelson [Agholor] come in and make those plays - you talk about clutch plays in the game - clutch first downs and conversions. Boy, he made them, the touchdown. All those guys just played so well. Rashod Bateman didn’t have a ton of catches but he played well, ran routes, moved around different spots," said head coach John Harbaugh. "[Devin] Duvernay came in and did really well, had some good runs. I think that’s a big part of who we are is that wide receiver depth."
As for the injury situation Harbaugh said he is going to keep the outlook regarding OBJ and pass rusher Odafe Oweh close to the vest. Both have ankle injuries.
There is some good news on the Marcus Williams front. The safety is not getting surgery on his injured pectoral and not going on injured reserve as he continues to work to get back on the field.
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