Lamar Jackson shoulders a ton of responsibility for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s the team’s leading passer through two games and its leading rusher. He’s the signal-caller, the face of the franchise and the engine of the offense.
But Sunday, in the most tense moment of their young season, the Ravens took the ball out of the MVP’s hands.
The result was a 30-yard touchdown and the defining moment of a 33-16 victory over the Houston Texans that reinforced Baltimore’s place as one of the NFL’s most imposing title contenders.
On a fourth-and-1 at the Texans' 30-yard line early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens decided to line Jackson up on the edge of the field as a wide receiver. Running back Mark Ingram was in position to take the snap. Once he did, he found a gaping hole on the left side of the line and sprinted through it en route to the end zone, allowing Baltimore to extend its lead from 10 points to 17.
The team had been waiting for the right scenario to break out that play call.
“That’s something that we’ve been practicing for many weeks,” coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s something that the offensive coaches, led by [offensive coordinator] Greg Roman, came up with. We’ve gotten a lot of reps on it.”
Preparation paid off. Perhaps the Ravens also sowed confusion within the Texans' defense by removing Jackson from behind center, because Houston’s did not line up in proper position to defend a run to the left side of the line.
Beyond sending Jackson toward the sideline, Baltimore also reconfigured its offensive line on the play to create a significant mismatch and provide extra muscle for Ingram to run behind.
Right tackle Orlando Brown moved to the left side of the line before the snap, setting up between left guard Bradley Bozeman and left tackle Ronnie Stanley. An additional offensive lineman, Patrick Mekari, entered the game and lined up to Stanley’s left. Top-tier blocking tight end Nick Boyle was also on that side of the field, one spot left of Mekari’s.
That meant Baltimore had five blockers positioned on the line of scrimmage to the left of center.
That group easily walled off the Texans' entire defensive line, leaving Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard one-on-one against safety Justin Reid. Ricard, who outweighs Reid by about 100 pounds, smothered his opponent into the ground with relative ease.
“All credit goes to the nine guys who blocked for me,” Ingram said. “I was just able to see the hole, hit the hole and finish the run. I’m thankful for the O-line; coaches called a great scheme. I just had to catch the snap and follow my reads.”
Simple as Ingram’s explanation sounds, the play transformed the complexion of the game. Had the Texans stopped the Ravens and regained possession, they could’ve cut the lead to one score and forced Baltimore into the unfamiliar spot of veering toward the closing minutes of contest with the score tight.
Instead, Ingram rolled into the end zone and Justin Tucker’s extra point put Baltimore up by 17 — three full possessions.
“That was a big play in the game, that was a turning point,” Harbaugh said. “It gave us a little breathing space.”
And it came in the rarest of ways: without Jackson touching the ball.
Aaron Kasinitz covers the Baltimore Ravens for PennLive and can be reached at akasinitz@pennlive.com or on Twitter @AaronKazreports. Follow PennLive’s Ravens coverage on Facebook and Youtube.
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September 21, 2020 at 08:26AM
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The Baltimore Ravens called a direct snap to Mark Ingram on a key fourth down. Here’s why it worked. - PennLive
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