Baltimore Ravens 27, Philadelphia Eagles 26
Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from the Baltimore Ravens’ 27-26 Week 15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles:
Quarterback grade: Carson Wentz, 32.2
Wentz's play plummets after solid Week 14 performance
While a large margin separates Baltimore’s top-five defense from Washington's (who Philadelphia faced in Week 14), Wentz’s performance in Week 15 found its lowest depths. In addition to earning his lowest grade of the season, Wentz would have better served his team had he simply spiked the football on the 12 plays he was under pressure; spiking the football would have earned Wentz a 39.6 passer rating on such plays, whereas he recorded a paltry 8.3 rating when under pressure.
Top offensive grades:
LT Jason Peters, 82.8
C Jason Kelce, 82.4
RG Brandon Brooks, 77.9
LG Stefen Wisniewski, 75.0
HB Ryan Mathews, 74.4
Solid run blocking allows Eagles to keep pace
Philadelphia displayed surprising success on the ground, accumulating an impressive 169 rushing yards—the most allowed in a game by Baltimore in 2016. RB Ryan Mathews erupted for a season-high 128 rushing yards, and only his third game this season where he exceeded 3 yards after contact per attempt. TE Zach Ertz paced the offense through the air, but the credit for nearly pulling off the upset goes to the offensive line. LT Jason Peters (82.8) and C Jason Kelce (82.3) earned the game's highest run-blocking grades, and neither allowed a sack in pass protection.
Top defensive grades:
WLB Nigel Bradham, 83.8
DI Fletcher Cox, 82.9
ED Brandon Graham, 82.4
ED Vinny Curry, 80.2
LB Jordan Hicks, 77.4
Eagles' secondary unable to capitalize
The Eagles’ defense suffered greatly from a lack of consistency along the defensive line: Fletcher Cox (82.9) and edge defenders Brandon Graham (82.4) and Vinny Curry (80.2) excelled, while interior defender Bennie Logan (48.9) and edge defender Connor Barwin (39.0) struggled to keep pace. While the linebacker corps produced the teams highest overall grade—Nigel Bradham (83.8)—the secondary failed to take advantage of several off-target throws from Ravens QB Joe Flacco.
Quarterback grade: Joe Flacco, 42.0
Flacco's play continues to disappoint
Many would consider walking away from a game with the victory and a pair of touchdown passes to one interception a success. If, however, you have high postseason aspirations, your good feelings may need to be tempered when your quarterback completes only three-of-nine attempts farther than 9 yards downfield, and produces only 3.8 yards per target on 22 dropbacks when provided with a clean pocket.
Top offensive grades:
LT Ronnie Stanley, 86.8
LG Marshal Yanda, 82.9
FB Kyle Juszczyk, 82.7
C Jeremy Zuttah, 80.6
WR Mike Wallace, 72.2
Game won in the trenches
Make no mistake, the credit for this victory goes to the Ravens' offensive line. The spotlight should be appropriately centered upon rookie LT Ronnie Stanley out of Notre Dame after submitting a third-straight game with an overall grade in the 80.0s, and his first game of the season where he didn’t allow a single pressure during 34 snaps of protection. LG Marshal Yanda’s (82.9) performance was also notable, as he and Stanley's combined efforts permitted RB Terrance West to accumulate 122 total yards at 7.2 yards per touch.
Top defensive grades:
LB C.J. Mosley, 86.8
S Eric Weddle, 84.9
CB Jerraud Powers, 83.2
S Lardarius Webb, 81.7
CB Shareece Wright, 80.3
Baltimore defense pushed to the breaking point
While he didn’t quite reach the depths of Carson Wentz’s game grade, Ravens LB Zachary Orr did a number on the overall effectiveness of the Baltimore defense, with a 33.5 grade earned over 86 snaps on the field. LB C.J. Mosley (86.8) and S Eric Weddle (84.9) held the unit together with a combined 18 solo tackles, five assists, and four defensive stops. CB Jerraud Powers (83.2) held his seven targeted coverage responsibilities to averaging only a single yard after contact per target.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Ronnie Stanley, LT, Ravens
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