The Ravens overcame a bevvy of injuries, including two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson missing the game, rallied to force overtime with a two-minute drive, went ahead in overtime and sealed a huge win over the Falcons with Kyle Hamilton's interception.
Rookie head coach Jesse Minter and novice offensive coordinator Declan Doyle managed the game expertly, knowing what they were up against with Atlanta boasting the best rushing attack in the NFL to go with the top rushing defenses and the best pass rush in terms of pressure rate. Backup quarterback Snoop Huntley is very limited in the downfield passing game but saved his best work for late in two TD drives and secure a 30-23 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to surge to 4-1.
Baltimore’s pass rush was tepid for most of the night, the secondary gave up repeated big plays on third downs (four of third-and-10 or longer), and went 9/19 on that down in regulation, but got key goal-to-go stops late again. Tight end Mark Andrews, who has been in major decline for years, had a rough game that took points off the board but caught a key pass in overtime.
The offense, which finally cut down on its penalty issues, mustered it's crispest drive of the night to tie the game at 23 in the dying seconds, with Huntley (24/32 for 201 yards with a rushing TD and two passing TDs) looking at ease and finally using the middle of the field, throwing a short TD pass to Devontez Walker, then Derrick Henry converted a Wild Cat two-point conversion that sent the game to overtime.
"Snoop is just one of the coolest dudes," Minter said after the game. "He doesn't get rattled."
Here are the key takeaways from Week 5:
Late Fireworks
The Falcons pass rush was a problem most of the night and the Ravens had trouble sustaining things, but the drive to tie the game was masterclass - going 71 yards in six plays in 1:51. The operation was smooth and in sync.
Minter opted to take the ball after winning the toss in overtime and the Ravens reconstructed offensive line continued to take the game over. They had a helluva second half and, facing a defense that came in allowing 2.7 yards/carry, the Ravens got Henry over 100 yards and they ran for 209 yards as a team.
The Ravens mustered a 14-play drive in overtime that erased over seven minutes from the clock to give them their first lead since 3-0. Atlanta backup QB Tua Tagovoalia had to replace Penix late in the game after he took a big hit and Hamilton read him perfectly to end the game with a pick after the Falcons had started to drive.
"It could be a launch point to really get us going," Minter said of the way his team finished the game.
Andrews Is Problem
The overpaid tight end was horrible a few hours after the best tight end on the Ravens roster the last two seasons, by far, Isaiah Likely, comminated Washington for the Giants as he has been doing all season. Andrews cannot separate anymore, he can’t run routes downfield, he is good for about eight yards a catch and he continues to drop easy passes early in games.
Andrews basically cost Baltimore 14 points in the first half of this game. And really 16 because he needed to make a better effort on a two-point conversion that came his way, too.
He dropped a touchdown pass early in the game, a play that simply has to be made, and then had a terrible fumble deep in Baltimore territory that was returned for a touchdown. General manager Eric DeCosta has a nasty habit of letting the wrong people walk, and giving Andrews $13M when he couldn’t land a fourth round pick for him back after his terrible drop in the 2024 playoffs to spite Likely will have major ramifications for this season as he runs low on anyone besides Zay Flowers to make plays downfield. Likely making about the same money as Andrews is even sillier.
Pass-Rush Issues
The Ravens’s pressure peaked early in the game and they were unable to pressure jittery young QB Michael Penix Jr., coming off his third ACL surgery, as the game worse on, especially on obvious pass-rush situations. He had far too much time to operate in general on second-and-long and third-and-long and the Ravens need $30M edge rusher Trey Hendrickson back from his finger surgery ASAP.
Atlanta went up, 14-6, late in the first half when Penix picked up 13 yards to Kyle Pitts on second-and-16, the Drake London for 25 on third-and-three, and Jahan Dotson for 36 on third-and-six, and then Pitts for a touchdown on third-and-five.
In the fourth quarter, Penix had all day to hit London for 14 yards on third-and-two from the Atlanta 18 and then he hit London again for 19 yards on a third-and-15 in which no one could get anywhere close to making the QB concerned.
The Ravens vaunted secondary got picked apart. Minter doesn’t want to blitz but he had to Sunday night (43%) with very shaky results and Penix converted a third-and-10 inside of six minutes that was a backbreaker. There was not nearly enough winning going on up front and Baltimore’s fourth-quarter defense will remain among the worst in the NFL until some real closers emerge.
Complimentary Football
It would take a commitment from the offensive and defensive game plans to be synced to keep this game close given Baltimore’s injury issues, including, of course, no Jackson. It would take a willingness from young offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to keep it simple here and he did.
The best way to stop Falcons dominant running back Bijan Robinson is to keep him off the field and prevent him from getting a volume of plays on the ground to get going. That’s what we got. Jesse Minter played a loaded line of scrimmage, as was required, and Baltimore’s makeshift offensive line helped them sustain possession.
The Ravens ran 40 plays in the first half. They ran the ball 19 times. They were using over 41 second of wall clock time per play in the first half and that helped them keep the ball for 19:28 in that opening half. So even without scoring any touchdowns they were very much in the game at 14-9.
Atlanta held the ball for nearly as much time in the second half, however, with Baltimore’s defense wilting. But overall Minter applied heavy attention to the line, sticking with heavy fronts, and they bottled up Bijan Robinson (17 rushes for 86 yards) outside on one long blast on an outside zone play.
"Overall, I thought we played Bijan very well," Minter said.
KISS
Minter boasted about hunting explosives with Huntley this week but thankfully that was just talk. Well done.
You don’t want Huntley, with a 5.9 yards/attempt average for his career, trying to be something he’s not on the road against a defense that is getting a lot of pressure and with an offensive line that has never played together before. Minter cut down on the motion, the ball was designed to come out quickly and too the flats and with the offensive line so experimental in the interior, the Ravens attacked the perimeter of the field as they needed to.
He leaned into the screen game and horizontal passes, and the designed screens for Derrick Henry we told you were coming, one of which went for a touchdown. And the biggest offensive play of the game came in a “Pony Package” with Henry and running back Justice Hill on the field with Hill taking a draw 47 yards to set up Henry’s touchdown.
Bend Don’t Break
The Ravens got a defensive stop on the opening drive of the first half, to keep the deficit at 17-9 and not greater, continuing a recent trend of holding teams to three at critical times even after giving up some yards previously.
The Falcons got cute and called a pass to a tackle eligible rather than just hammer the ball on the ground. Safety Malaki Starks and corner Marlon Humphrey were excellent in run support in goal-to-go defense in general on the night and it was going to take defensive backs being very active in that regard to corral Atlanta’s rushing attack.
Humprey, who had a rough start to the season and missed most of practice with a calf injury, provided sound tackling and also had a great blitz on a fourth-and-short play to force a pressure and get Atlanta off field late in the third quarter.
Short-Term Center Excels Again
Vega Ioane had to stay at center to give Baltimore a chance to win this game and he did. And while a few snaps were shaky early, the rookie continued to excel. He will make way for new trade acquisition Cam Jurgens next week with him expected back from the concussion protocol, but Ioane is definitely the next man up if Jurgens goes down (he has an extreme injury history).
It wasn’t always perfect but this kid was pushing people around at the second level and the A Gap was well protected again (pressure problems tended to come off the edge). He’s going to be a beast settling back in at guard. and he helped key a rushing attack that had been in a deep funk the past two weeks.
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