Measuring a team’s progress or improvement over an offseason, based on the results of an opening-night road game against the defending Super Bowl champion, is a dubious exercise. So let’s keep what we’re about to say about the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 1 offense—featuring three new starters on the offensive line—in proper context.
For the most part, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to distill the entirety of Baltimore’s roster into one damning fact Thursday night, which we all knew going in: The Ravens will struggle to protect the quarterback while their new offensive line gels. This was underlined by the absolutely stunning statistic that just two of Lamar Jackson’s first 18 pass attempts traveled more than four yards in the air. The first time he attempted what we might all consider a proper “deep” shot in the third quarter, Jackson looked almost out of practice, failing to lead tight end Isaiah Likely enough to get him some separation from single coverage.
