Ravens Start Slow, Step On The Gas In The 2nd Half In An Opening Day 24-9 Rout Over The Jets

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Wasn't pretty. Far from it. To be honest, about halfway through the 2nd quarter I was questioning a lot of things. The defense had been doing a pretty knock-up job until that point, but the offense looked lost and tentative. That probably should've been expected given Lamar hadn't played a single snap in the preseason, but it was still a bit baffling to watch.

Then Lamar Jackson showed up in a big way. Dropped a dime to Devin Duvernay on a key 3rd and 5 on a drive that would have been pretty deflating to have settled for 3.

That put the Ravens into the drivers' seat going into the 2nd half, where they really stepped on the gas. 

First Lamar provided us this unreal highlight where he picked up a 1st down where nobody else could.

Later in the 3rd, the offense put together a productive drive after a poor Jets punt that was finished with Duvernay once again… no look? Maybe.

The next time the Ravens touched the ball, it was Lamar throwing an absolute BULLET downfield to Bateman and the rout was on.

From there it was a lot of needless back and forth. Joe Flacco had his guys dropping passes and fumbling away the rock, so there was really no threat of a comeback. 

All in all, the performance from the Ravens was pretty uneven. There were certainly some flashes of brilliance and definitely some sloppiness offensively. The defense played a great game, but the Jets' own sloppiness probably covered up a few of the Ravens blemishes. I'm thrilled that they constantly pressured Flacco though. If they can pressure QB's regularly, this defense is gonna give teams fits. That's my most exciting takeway today, other than Lamar being back.

Regardless, a win is a win. We'll take it. 

1-0, plenty more where that came from.