NFL: 5 takeaways from the New England Patriots' Week 10 win over the Baltimore Ravens
One week after nearly losing to the winless New York Jets, the New England Patriots showed up.
The Patriots launched themselves back into playoff contention and beat up on the injury-plagued Baltimore Ravens, trudging through terrible weather and winning Week 10’s “Sunday Night Football” matchup, 23-17.
5. Mark Ingram returns for the Ravens
On the Ravens' first offensive play of the game, QB Lamar Jackson checked the ball down. Near the far sideline he found Mark Ingram, who waited for his blocks, pushed by a Patriot defender and picked up a first down.
After suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 6, the veteran running back Ingram has missed the last few Ravens games, pushing rookie J.K. Dobbins into the limelight. On “Sunday Night Football,” with a healthy Ingram, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh rotated through his backs, using all three in the first quarter alone. Ingram finished with five carries for five yards, Dobbins with 13 rushing yards and Gus Edwards with 42. Even Justice Hill, special teamer and RB4, finished with a reception.
“Justice Hill,” Cris Collinsworth chuckled on the broadcast, “sounds like a Supreme Court nominee.”
4. Injuries continue to pile up for the Ravens
Though Ingram was activated for Sunday night’s game, several other Ravens starters remained on (or will soon join) the injury report. Defensive lineman Calais Campbell, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, right guard Tyre Phillips, and defensive back Jimmy Smith all missed the Patriots game, and D.J. Fluker, Brandon Williams, Nick Boyle and Marcus Peters left the game with injuries.
The Ravens' absences on the line of scrimmage were particularly noticeable. Baltimore's defense failed to stop a fourth-and-one when New England QB Cam Newton dove where Campbell would've normally been, and shaky offensive line play cost the Ravens first downs throughout the second half.
3. New England Patriots lean on RB Damien Harris
The Patriots gave the Ravens a taste of their own medicine. Sixty-seven percent of the Patriots' first half plays were runs, and most of those were with Damien Harris.
Harris pounded the Ravens' defensive line and second level all night, finishing the game with 22 carries for 121 yards. He, alongside the Ravens' own run game, helped chew clock all evening and make the game one of the shortest of the season.
2. Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers throws deep
With one minute left in the first half, Cam Newton took a snap and immediately threw a pass to receiver Jakobi Meyers, who stepped back into the Patriots backfield. Looking across the field deep, Meyers threw a perfect spiral to running back Rex Burkhead for a touchdowns.
Meyers, who was later revealed to have been a skilled deep-ball passer as a high school QB, showed he was an admirable replacement of the injured WR Julian Edelman in every capacity Sunday night.
1. New England Patriots hold on during downpour
When Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' offense took over with under two minutes remaining, viewers could hardly see the field. What started as a light rain had developed into a full on torrential downpour, and Jackson would have to navigate 80-plus yards with no timeouts in the horrendous weather.
The Ravens offense, like it had for most of the second and third quarters, stalled out, and the Patriots held on.
Newton and the Patriots' offense had built a big enough lead, 13 points, before the weather took over to stave off the Ravens comeback, moving a win closer to .500.
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Amaar Burton