Ravens 10, Broncos 9
It was about this time last year when Lamar Jackson suffered an injury, forcing Tyler Huntley to finish the season in his place. History repeated itself, at least for this game, as Jackson was knocked out with a knee injury in the opening quarter, forcing Huntley into action the rest of the way.
Huntley is a premium backup, but Baltimore’s offense did not have a great showing in this game. Baltimore’s offensive line, missing Ronnie Stanley, could not pass protect whatsoever against the Broncos. Denver’s terrific pressure disrupted most of Baltimore’s drives, regardless of whether Jackson or Huntley was under center.
Of course, it didn’t help that the Ravens shot themselves in the foot during some crucial moments. Huntley played a mostly clean game, but gave Denver three points when he heaved an interception while trying to throw the ball away. Devin Duvernay was also charged with an interception on a horrible pass into the end zone on a dumb trick play.
The Ravens didn’t seem like they had much hope when they were down 9-3 with five minutes to go. They were stuck on their own 9-yard line, and were having no offensive success to speak of the entire game. However, Mark Andrews converted a fourth-and-1 on his own 18-yard line when he took a direct snap. An unncessary roughness penalty on the Broncos gave the Ravens a first down near midfield, and then a Patrick Surtain pass interference moved the ball to the Denver 37. Huntley then converted a fourth-and-2 with a 3-yard run, and he followed that up by hitting Kenyan Drake with a 13-yard pass. Huntley ran into the end zone on the very next play for the decisive score.
Huntley completed most of his passes, going 27-of-32 for 187 yards and an interception. He also scrambled 10 times for 41 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Ravens are in good hands if Jackson (3-4, 11 yards) is out for a while, but Baltimore’s offensive line must play better.
Aside from Huntley, Drake led the Ravens in rushing with 29 yards on seven carries. Gus Edwards (6-12) was even less of a factor.
Andrews needed some late-game heroics to be relevant in fantasy. He led the Ravens in receiving, but with four catches for 53 yards, followed by Demarcus Robinson (7-41).
Like Huntley, Russell Wilson misfired on just five occasions, albeit with far less volume. He went 17-of-22 for 189 yards, as he had both of his starting receivers on the field at the same time.
