Ravens: Jernigan seizes the opportunity

It was clear that Haloti Ngata’s suspension meant there would be some shuffling in Baltimore’s defensive line rotation. Ngata had played more snaps than any other Ravens lineman, featuring in at least 60% of the snaps in nine of 12 games. He also graded in the top 10 both against the run (+8.9), and rushing the passer (+9.3), leaving some big shoes to fill, and forcing the Ravens to turn to second-round rookie Timmy Jernigan.

Prior to last week Jernigan, when he played, featured in just 28.3% of the snaps, but in the absence of Ngata he was on the field for 57% of the defensive snaps against Miami, turning in a solid +1.0 performance. Despite the low snap count, Jernigan's +9.2 overall grade ranks 14th in the league among 3-4 defensive ends. Jernigan has primarily been used as a pass rusher, his two sacks and 13 total pressures on limited snaps give him a 7.9 Pass Rushing Productivity score, ninth-best at the position. However, while Jernigan has been used sparingly in run defense, his impressive 17.5 Run Stop Percentage stands out, even if he has played too few snaps to be meaningful. With Jernigan playing like this, Ngata's absence may not hurt the Ravens as much as expected.