Baltimore

Ravens

Van Noy will undergo further testing to determine how much time he will miss, but the veteran linebacker is almost certain to miss multiple weeks with the injury. Van Noy joined the Ravens in late September of last year and turned in one of his most productive seasons as a pro. In 14 games, Van Noy posted a career-high nine sacks while also tallying nine TFLs — the second-highest total in his career. Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger suffered a fractured orbital bone during Week 7 of his rookie season in 2022 and didn’t return until Week 13. It’s possible Van Noy is looking at a similar recovery.

It was a wild night for Bateman, who also committed a pair of penalties. He was nevertheless almost the hero after he got the Ravens inside the red zone with a 38-yard grab in the dying moments. Good stuff, but Bateman seems poised to remain a wind sprint all-star on the outside as Lamar Jackson focuses on the middle of the field.

Flowers’ sixth career 10-target performance featured some really low quality looks from Lamar Jackson, including an L-Jax end zone miss that should have been the game-tying or winning score in the waning seconds. Before that, Flowers drew a pair of DPIs, one of which was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty. He also lost another grab to another illegal formation call. It was that kind of night for the Ravens. Fantasy managers need Flowers’ usage to be more creative, but the Ravens won’t always be facing a front like this. That being said, the Ravens’ protection is undeniably an issue, and could continue to limit Flowers to these shorter looks for the time being. The Raiders and Maxx Crosby are on tap for Week 2.

With the Ravens spending most of the game playing (closely) from behind and Rasheen Ali stashed on I.R. beforehand, Hill dominated third downs and posted a new career high for receptions. Derrick Henry still out-carried Hill 13-1. It was an uncreative game plan for the Ravens facing an imposing front with a shaky offensive line. Hill probably isn’t normally going to command this many checkdowns, but tonight’s performance makes him worth a PPR looksee as a bench stash.

This one is as bad as it looks, as Andrews got soundly out-produced by his position group mate Isaiah Likely, who posted new career highs in receptions (nine) and yards (111). Likely also gathered momentum as the game went on, clearly becoming Lamar Jackson’s first read. Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke charted Likely as overtaking Andrews in 11 personnel as the Ravens got deeper into the second half. For his part, Andrews fell down on what should have a long gain in the fourth quarter. It’s just one game that might say more about Likely than Andrews, but you’re allowed to be concerned. Andrews will still obviously remain a high-end TE1 for Week 2 against the Raiders as we let more data points roll in. This might be the rare offense where two pass-catching tight ends are fantasy viable.

It was a thoroughly sluggish Ravens debut for the Big Dog, who capped Baltimore’s marathon opening drive with a five-yard score and was then barely heard from again. It wasn’t all Henry’s fault, as the Ravens’ line couldn’t block or even line up right, while Baltimore spent almost the entire game in trail mode, leading to an avalanche of third-down snaps for Justice Hill. It wasn’t what we wanted to see, but the only thing Henry could need is improved Week 2 game script against the Raiders to get back on track.

Putting Mark Andrews on something of a milk carton, Likely was surprisingly the Ravens’ most-targeted pass catcher. Both his nine receptions and 111 yards were new career highs. He entered the evening with just one previous 100-yard effort. Astoundingly, his night was almost much bigger, but an inaccurate Lamar Jackson missed him on a back-corner touchdown throw with time running out. Likely did corral the game-tying or winning score moments later only to be ruled out of bounds by a shoe tip. For the TD the duo connected on, Jackson escaped the pocket and found a freelancing Likely, who provided a winding 49-yard YAC job. There will be much hand-wringing and consternation over Likely and Andrews’ usage vis a vis each other, but the one thing we know for sure is that Likely needs to be 100 percent rostered ahead of Week 2 against the Raiders. There’s a chance this goes down his best game of the season, but you don’t need us to tell you Likely is looking like a critical part of this offense.

Jackson also lost a fumble inside his own 20-yard line. This one contained multitudes, as Jackson — who was looking noticeably svelte, as promised — was continually thwarted by poor offensive line play and some “what might have been throws” from himself. That includes multiple missed connections on what was agonizingly close to being the game-tying or winning drive with time running out in the fourth quarter. The story of the game, beyond LT Ronnie Stanley’s constant illegal formation penalties, was Jackson’s 9/111/1 connection with Isaiah Likely and comparative struggle to connect with Mark Andrews and Zay Flowers. Jackson missed Flowers on what should have been a layup score on the aforementioned final drive, and also missed Likely on several critical throws. On the other hand, Jackson employed his skinnier frame as expected with his 122 yards rushing being the third most of his increasingly illustrious career. There is so much to clean up here, but the Ravens and Jackson were still ultimately a Likely shoe tip away from potentially pulling off a stunning road upset (the Ravens had planned to go for two). Jackson now has 10 days to rest up for what should be an easier matchup with the Raiders.

It’s a rookie-heavy list for a healthy Ravens team. Fourth-rounder Walker had a quiet training camp in the Ravens’ receiver corps.

Ali earned a “doubtful” tag for Week 1 against the Chiefs, suggesting this is more of a four-game ailment than season-ending issue. It still means Ali is unlikely to get into the 2024 change-of-pace mix behind Derrick Henry, at least until deep into the second half of the season.