Pick Your Poison with the Ravens Offense

As Lamar Jackson says, the Ravens are a “pick your poison” offense.

We’ve already examined their versatility in the run game this season, with Baltimore’s dismantling of the Bills in Week 4 showing just how difficult it is to account for Jackson and Derrick Henry. But their passing game has been pretty dynamic and dangerous as well.

Specifically, their play-action passing game has created considerable strain on defenses. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has called play-action on 32.2% of Lamar Jackson’s dropbacks this season (according to PFF), tied for 3rd-most in the NFL. And Jackson been outstanding on these plays, completing 72.9% of his passes for 10 yards per attempt, with 4 TDs, 0 INTs, and a 127.2 passer rating.

Play-action generally takes place on early downs when the defense is more concerned with the run. And against the Ravens, they should be concerned. Baltimore has rushed for a league-leading 6 yards per carry on 1st down, and they rank 3rd on 2nd down with an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. Throw play-action into the mix, and the defense stands little chance.

This was certainly the case in Baltimore’s Week 6 win over the Commanders. Jackson’s performance on play-action was off the charts as he completed 12 of 13 passes for 239 yards. Many of these completions were the result of the play-action concept spreading the defense thin. But many of them had more to do with Jackson’s continued growth as a passer.

On this first example, you can see the middle of the field open up in response to the play fake. Those second-level defenders got sucked up toward the line of scrimmage to honor the threat of either Lamar or Henry carrying the ball.

But focus on Jackson. He felt the pressure coming from his right, stepped up to avoid it, and then delivered the ball to a wide-open receiver: