Bills pass rush gets a golden opportunity against battered Ravens line

ORCHARD PARK – Whether or not star quarterback Lamar Jackson is back in time to face the Buffalo Bills Sunday at Highmark Stadium, one of the biggest keys for the Baltimore Ravens will be the performance of its injury-ravaged offensive line.

Obviously, getting Jackson on the field gives the line a better chance to look good because he’s such a dynamic player both as a passer and runner, similar to Josh Allen in that he can turn a potential sack into a 30-yard scramble or completion.

Still, the Bills’ defensive front has to take advantage of Baltimore’s blockers who have already used 16 different five-man combinations in the first seven games, plus lost brutish blocking tight end Durham Smythe for the season.

With their line struggling to find consistency amid all the turnover, the Ravens’ offense has been haphazard. Sure, they topped 30 points three times, but those games came against the defenses of the Falcons, Cowboys and Colts that currently rank 20th, 23rd and 24th, respectively, in points allowed per game. They managed a mundane 24 points (with Jackson) in a win over the lowly Titans, and in the other three games, losses to the Saints (with Jackson), Browns and Bengals (without Jackson), they’ve scored a total of just 40 points.

“It’s like, what are we asking some of these younger guys to do? Can they do it? Can we be good at the things that we’re asking them to do?” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said of the offensive line. “We’ve certainly had a little bit of flux on the O-line, but that’s not an excuse to say that we shouldn’t be able to move the ball with who we have.”

How Ravens offensive line injuries have hurt Baltimore’s offense

Who they have, of course, is maybe Jackson, running back Derrick Henry, and wide receiver Zay Flowers, three of the best players at their positions in the NFL. But when your line is struggling to protect and create gaps in the run game, an offense can get bogged down.

Things only got trickier in the 35-13 loss to Cincinnati last week when the line suffered another setback as rookie first-round pick Vega Ioane hurt his knee and is likely out against Buffalo. Veteran center Cam Jurgens, who was acquired in a trade from the Eagles, made his Ravens’ debut against the Bengals and was average while RT Roger Rosengarten and LG John Simpson both had rough games.

“Sure, but that’s no excuse,” LT Ronnie Stanley said of the injuries. “We have a lot of players hurt; they have players hurt. That’s happened throughout the league. We still have enough to get the job done, and that’s what we expect from our players.”

Through seven games, even though both Jackson and backup QB Tyler Huntley are mobile and can escape pressure, the Ravens’ sack percentage against of 8.2% is seventh-worst. And in the last two games, Henry has rushed for only 103 yards and 3.02 yards per carry.

Can the Bills pass rush exploit the Ravens’ offensive line?

The opportunity is there for the Bills to exploit a weakness, but one has to wonder if they’re capable.

Buffalo’s pass rush has been inconsistent and ineffective with a sack percentage of 4.2% which ranks 26th in the league, and a pressure rate of 30% which is 31st. Greg Rousseau (six sacks, 39 pressures) and Deone Walker (one sack, 22 pressures) are doing their part, but defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard needs a whole lot more from Bradley Chubb and Michael Hoecht. They were supposed to be difference-makers at OLB but haven’t been. Possibly getting oft-injured Ed Oliver back would be helpful, but that’s no guarantee.

“We have guys that are winning,” Leonhard said of the pass rush, though that comment flies in the face of the numbers. “There’s plenty of opportunities. You turn on the tape and you guys see winning.”

Sure, but they aren’t finishing.

“It’s not perfect, but at the same time, that’s the strength of our team right now,” Leonhard said of the front line. “What we’re doing up front in the run game and how we’re being aggressive and attacking, and then the consistent, I’ll say, how we’re making quarterbacks uncomfortable in the pocket, that’s real. That’s something we have to build off of and we got to get the coverage to a point where you’re seeing those guys be able to finish because the quarterbacks hold the ball that extra clip longer.”

Will Lamar Jackson’s return fix the Ravens offense?

For the Ravens, will simply getting Jackson back make everything right again? Minter pushed back on that when he was asked about it Monday.

“Look, Lamar is one of one, right?” Minter said. “Two-time MVP, obviously a high-caliber player, but I just don’t like the built-in excuse of why things are going a certain way. I think our offensive line, if they walked in right now, would say, ‘We need to play better in certain situations. We need to do things better.’

“Tight ends would say the same thing. Declan (Doyle, the offensive coordinator) would say the same thing. So, while we know the caliber of player Lamar is and the numbers when he’s out there versus when he’s not, we understand all that. That’s why he’s who he is and why he’s won the awards that he’s won, but we can still operate better in those times where we don’t have him, for sure.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills pass rush gets a golden opportunity against battered Ravens line