After Stifling Joe Burrow, Can Ravens' New Pass Rush Trio Do the Same to Drake Maye?
Before shutting out Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Ravens defense had not fared well against Pro Bowl-level quarterbacks this season.
The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer noted that one of the main reasons the defense was able to stifle Burrow was a relentless pass rush led by outside linebackers Dre'Mont Jones and Tavius Robinson and defensive tackle Travis Jones.
Dre'Mont Jones, who has bolstered the pass rush since being acquired at the trade deadline, had his best game yet as a Raven, recording five quarterback hits and seven pressures.
Robinson, playing in his first game since suffering a broken foot in Week 6, had a sack, as did Travis Jones. Robinson also applied the pressure that led to Burrow throwing the game-sealing interception that was returned for touchdown.
It was a performance the Bengals couldn't have anticipated because it was the first time the trio had played together.
"On his 18 drop-backs against the group, Burrow went 7-for-15 for 54 yards, scrambled twice for 5 yards, took one sack and threw two interceptions," Shaffer wrote. "Overall, the Bengals averaged 2.5 yards per play and had a ghastly 21.1% success rate in their 19 plays when the Joneses and Robinson were on the field together.
"Their pass rush credentials entering Sunday were unimpressive: just 9.5 combined sacks. But their on-field interplay was seamless. Of Burrow's 14 pressured drop-backs, seven came on plays featuring the Joneses and Robinson, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats. Overall, the Ravens had a 38.9% pressure rate when the trio were on the field. (The Minnesota Vikings, by comparison, lead the NFL this season with a 41% pressure rate.)"
The Ravens will need a strong effort from its pass rush again on Sunday night when they face another outstanding quarterback in the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye.
"Maye is an NFL Most Valuable Player favorite and dangerous scrambler, but he's been sacked 43 times this season, fourth most in the league," Shaffer wrote. "Dre'Mont Jones has one of them, a Week 7 takedown in a 31-13 home loss for Tennessee."
ESPN Simulation Projects Winner of AFC North
ESPN used its Football Power Index to simulate the remaining three weeks of the season 10,000 times. It highlighted the results of one of them.
For Ravens fans, there's good news and bad news.
The Ravens defeated the Patriots, 19-17, in Week 16, and the Green Bay Packers, 39-26, in Week 17 to improve to 9-7 and pull into a first-place tie in the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were routed by the Detroit Lions, 47-10, in Week 16, before blowing out the Cleveland Browns, 34-3, in Week 17.
Unfortunately, the Ravens came out on the losing end of the winner-take-all regular-season finale in Pittsburgh.
"In the much-anticipated showdown to settle the AFC North, the Steelers came through as home underdogs," Seth Walder wrote. "Pittsburgh's pass rush bothered Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who never quite looked like himself in a decisive loss."
It's not known how the other 9,999 simulations played out.
Jackson's Touchdown Pass to Rasheen Ali Was 'Genius Play Design' Resulting From Film Study
When Jackson was asked about his short pass to running back Rasheen Ali that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown, the Ravens quarterback attributed the play's success to film study.
"It started when I was watching film to see what those guys do, and I just made a check at the line, and Rasheen just did the rest," Jackson said.
Film Watchers dissected the play, noting that the Bengals showed the exact same look – an all-out blitz before dropping two players into coverage – when they played the Ravens on Thanksgiving, and it resulted in Jackson throwing an interception.
"The crucial part is that [the Bengals] didn't have anybody responsible for the running back, given that he stays in to block," Film Watchers said.
When Jackson saw the alignment again, he knew what to do.
"Lamar Jackson recognized it, he read the defense perfectly, and he's checking into the play that they had installed all week preparing to face this specific look defensively," Film Watchers said. "And the play that they called was this genius play design.
"The running back initially sells the block, so you allow that edge to come free. The running back literally swims around him. Lamar Jackson doesn't have his eyes on anyone else. He wings it right out to that running back, and all of a sudden he's got nobody on him, because they knew the defense, they knew they didn't have anybody on the running back, and they dialed up the perfect play. It's a 30-yard touchdown on a screen pass with no blockers. That is an awesome play design. Great job from Lamar Jackson reading the defense. Great implement from [Offensive Coordinator] Todd Monken."
Monken Cracks Top 10 in Ranking of Head Coaching Candidates
Speaking of Monken, he was No. 7 on The Ringer's ranking of the top 30 head coaching candidates for 2026.
"He has been a head coach at the college level, he's led successful offenses with a variety of schemes, and he's adapted his play calling to his personnel at every stop," Steven Ruiz and Diante Lee wrote. "Monken has proved that he can cook up a championship-level offense if given quality ingredients. Any team that's interested in hiring an offensive-minded head coach should give him a look."
As noted in Late for Work last week, Monken also made Sports Illustrated's list of the top 43 head coaching candidates.
Ravens Select Texas Tech Edge Rusher in Mock Draft
The latest mock draft from Sports Illustrated’s Daniel Flick has the Ravens selecting Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey at No. 14 overall.
"Bailey was college football's most productive pass rusher this season, leading the FBS with 74 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and finishing second with 13.5 sacks," Flick wrote. "The 6' 3", 250-pound Bailey is a lightning rod off the edge, but he wins with more than speed — he has tremendous pass-rush instincts, a feel for when to execute moves and the power to win through the chest of blockers."
- NFL.com ranked all 32 teams by projected cap space and draft capital.
