Baltimore defense one of league’s toughest vs. pass
Raiders rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst leads the team with four quarterback sacks. BALTIMORE >> Derek Carr’s quest to ruin the Raiders’ chances at the No. 1 pick continues in Baltimore today, but one of the league’s stiffest defenses stands in his way.
The Ravens only allow 300 total yards per game, fewest in the NFL, and their 205.4 passing yards surrendered per game rank second.
Baltimore snapped a threegame losing streak with a threepoint win over the Bengals last Sunday in rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson’s starting debut, and he’ll get the go again today against the Raiders.
Here are three things to watch when the two sides kick off at 10 a.m. from M&T Bank Stadium. WILL MO HURST TOP KHALIL
MACK’S ROOKIE SACK MARK? >> During a season in which the Raiders have little to be thankful for, Hurst slipping to the fifth round stands atop that list this Thanksgiving.
He’s avoided any recurring heart issues and blossomed into a promising building block on the Raiders’ defensive line, so much so he might even be the team’s defensive MVP through 10 games. Hurst leads the Raiders with four sacks as a defensive tackle, which is how many Khalil Mack tallied as a rookie defensive end in 2014. And Hurst still has six games to top that.
He’ll have his work cut out for him today, though, as Ravens quarterbacks have only been sacked 20 times this season, tied for the sixth-fewest in the league.
Though replacing Mack is a near-impossible task, Hurst’s UP NEXT
Raiders (2-8) at Ravens (5-5), today, 10 a.m., CBS
continued emergence would provide a silver lining to an otherwise miserable season.
“We graded Mo as a highdrafted player. Then he had the condition that he had and teams backed off. It was at that point in the draft in the fifth round, it was too good to pass up,” Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said this week. “He’s the player we expected him to be. He’s a perfect fit for what we do here defensively. He hasn’t let us down a day. He’s played really good for a rookie.”
WILL RAIDERS GET A KEY BODY BACK AT RECEIVER? >> Jordy Nelson is officially questionable for today’s game, but coach Jon Gruden said Friday the veteran has a “pretty good chance to play.”
Nelson missed last Sunday’s game against the Cardinals after injuring his knee the week prior against the Chargers. Gruden offered Nelson the chance to stay in the Bay Area to rehab last weekend, but the 33-year-old chose to travel with the team to Arizona.
Nelson hasn’t exactly lived up to his preseason advertisement with only 25 catches for 353 yards and three touchdowns this season but just having him on the field would be good news for a depleted receiving corps.
After Brandon LaFell’s seasonending Achilles injury, the Raiders signed Keon Hatcher off the Packers’ practice squad and elevated Johnny Holton from their own practice squad. Martavis Bryant will miss his second straight game with a knee injury, so all the Raiders have other than Hatcher, Holton and Nelson is rookie Marcell Ateman and veteran Dwayne Harris.
Even if Nelson doesn’t go off, just having him healthy against the second-best passing defense in the league is a plus.
“I don’t know how much, but we’ll see how it goes,” Gruden said of Nelson’s potential usage today. “Keon Hatcher will be ready to play.”
HOW DO THE RAIDERS SLOW DOWN LAMAR JACKSON? >> Jackson is only starting the second game of his career, but he hardly looked like a rookie in last week’s win against the Bengals.
His 27 carries for 117 yards gave the Raiders a good indication of the type of quarterback they’ll face today, and Gruden had practice squad speedster Rico Gafford emulate Jackson in practice this week in addition to watching Jackson’s Louisville tape.
Jackson told reporters this week to expect more passing than his 19 attempts against the Bengals, so the Raiders are tasked with slowing down a dual-threat signal-caller unlike any they’ll face this season.
“There’s a lot of quarterback style runs in there, obviously. He carried the ball 27 times last week with some success,” Guenther said. “One thing I told our guys in the beginning of the week, we don’t have a lot of marque guys, a lot of big named guys. What we got are guys that study the game, love playing together. That’s what this game is all about. It’s about responsibilities, leverage, angles, all those types of things. Everybody has to do their part, all 11 on defense have to do their part to stop an offense like this which is unique.”