Mink: Keaton Mitchell has been more involved since the Ravens' bye week, but he hasn't been super involved. He had four carries against Chicago, Miami, and Minnesota, a season-high six carries versus the Browns, then two carries each of the past two weeks versus the Jets and Bengals. Mitchell took one of his touches on Thanksgiving – a creative toss counter – 18 yards for a touchdown. He also had three targets in the passing game, tied for a season high.
After playing 26% of the Ravens' offensive snaps against the Browns, Mitchell's snaps have dropped each of the past two weeks. He had just eight snaps against the Bengals, but that game was a bit of an anomaly with all the turnovers and the Ravens trying to claw their way back from a large deficit.
There's room for Mitchell to be more involved. Ravens coaches would probably like to see him have more than eight snaps.
The challenge is you also don't want to take Derrick Henry (a future Hall of Famer) off the field too much. The other factor is how much the Ravens trust Mitchell in third-down situations. Is he reliable in pass protection and dangerous as a receiver? The Ravens turned to Rasheen Ali in those situations more often than Mitchell. Those aren't Mitchell's strengths, but does the upside of his big-play potential overshadow it?
Given how good Mitchell has looked with the ball in his hands, it wouldn't surprise me if the Ravens give him more opportunities down the stretch when they could lean on the ground game more overall. I want Henry getting the rock and Mitchell sprinkled in. If the Ravens offense, and particularly the rushing attack, start clicking better, I think you'll see both.
Brown: I agree that Ali getting the most snaps among running backs was surprising. However, you brought up the main reason it happened – his ability as a pass protector.
Ali has assumed the role in pass protection that is usually handled by Justice Hill, who's on injured reserve. The Ravens were in two-minute mode late in the first half and for much of the fourth quarter after they fell behind by double digits.
You could argue that Henry or Mitchell still should have been utilized more in those obvious passing situations. However, pass protection for Lamar Jackson is critical, and Head Coach John Harbaugh liked what he saw from Ali.
"He pass protected well. He ran his routes well. He chipped well," Harbaugh said.
That was the first time since Week 6 that the Ravens trailed a game by double digits in the fourth quarter. I don't think Ali leading the running backs in snaps is a trend that will continue.
Mink: There's a theme to this week's Mailbag questions. The Ravens only had 22 rushes in part because they didn't have very many plays overall due to their five turnovers. It's not like the run-pass balance was way out of whack. Jackson threw the ball 32 times and they ran it 22. That's fairly standard.
We can all agree that seeing 10 carries from Henry is low. It's the second fewest he's had in a game this season. Generally, Henry is around the 20 mark.
The Ravens are running the ball nearly 42% of the time on first down – the third highest rate in the league. But they aren't having as much success as they need to on early-down runs. When you don't run the ball well on first down, it makes running it less likely on second-and-long and third down.
Like I said earlier, I think Thursday night's loss to the Bengals was the exception, not the rule. The game was lost because of the turnovers, not a lack of carries.
Brown: That's funny. Like Henry, Washington regularly posterizes guys who try to tackle him. In case you were wondering, Washington says he weighs 311 pounds, and he's also an excellent blocker.
The Ravens have plenty of versatile defenders they might throw at him in pass coverage, including Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, and Marlon Humphrey. They did a good job on Washington last season, holding him to two catches for 42 yards in two games.
While Washington is an imposing figure, Aaron Rodgers' favorite tight end target has been Pat Freiermuth, who has four touchdown catches compared to just one for Washington. However, the Ravens can't afford to allow Washington to turn a short throw into a big gain. Whenever he makes a catch, gang tackling will be critical.
