Part of the shame of the Ravens' 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots on "Sunday Night Football" was what could have been.
Lamar Jackson felt healthy and was off to one of his best starts this season before taking a knee to the back that sidelined him for the rest of the game.
Derrick Henry was rolling but ceded more snaps and carries to Keaton Mitchell, and Henry wasn't on the field for much of the fourth quarter when the Ravens' 11-point lead slipped away.
Here are the takeaways from the Ravens' Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades and snap counts in their Week 16 loss:
- Henry played 24 snaps while Mitchell had 19. That's a season-high for Mitchell, who also had a season-high nine carries but posted a season-low 1.4 yards per rush. Henry took 43.6% of the Ravens' snaps, which is a higher percentage than last week's 36.6% but below his season average of 53.2%. Per Next Gen Stats, Henry had a season-high 66.7% success rate against the Patriots.
- Henry didn't have a perfect night, as his first-quarter fumble short-circuited the Ravens' early momentum. But he did run for 128 yards and two touchdowns and had his top average speed of the season. Over the past two games, Henry has averaged 8.1 yards per carry.
- Jackson got off to a hot start, completing seven of 10 passes for 101 yards before suffering his back injury. Jackson's 85.2 PFF grade is his second-highest of the season, only trailing his four-touchdown game in Miami. Jackson said he was finally past his nagging injuries. "My legs felt great," he said. "I just got kneed in the back in the red zone."
- Tight end Charlie Kolar has been the Ravens' highest graded offensive player in three of the past four games. He's the only player who hasn't dropped a pass this season.
- DeAndre Hopkins' five targets were a season high, and his 20 snaps were the most he's had since Thanksgiving. Hopkins had one drop but made a miraculous one-handed snag on the sideline and finished with a season-high four catches for 41 yards.
- Rookie guard Emery Jones Jr. played 13 snaps in relief of injured Andrew Vorhees (foot). He had a 51.7 grade with higher marks in run blocking than pass protection. Right guard Daniel Faalele, who helped pave the way for Henry's first touchdown run of the game, also had his highest pass blocking grade (78.8) since Week 2.
- Safety Kyle Hamilton was the Ravens' highest-graded defensive player at 74.4.
- Linebacker Trenton Simpson stepped in for injured Teddye Buchanan in the starting lineup and played 72% of the snaps. Simpson made seven tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss, but earned a 49.7 PFF grade because of a low coverage grade.
- Patriots quarterback Drake Maye targeted cornerback Marlon Humphrey 13 times. No other defensive back had more than six targets. Humphrey was credited with surrendering nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.
