What We Saw 2023: Week 7

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season

Drew DeLuca
What We Saw 7 Months Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Saints
Lions @ Ravens
Raiders @ Bears
Browns @ Colts
Bills @ Patriots
Commanders @ Giants
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Steelers @ Rams
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Packers @ Broncos
Chargers @ Chiefs
Dolphins @ Eagles

Lions @ Ravens

Final Score: Ravens: 38, Lions: 6

Writer: Nick Beaudoin (I don’t have Twitter)

 

There would be no “biting of kneecaps” today, as the Lions’ third-ranked scoring offense was dismantled by Baltimore’s second-ranked scoring defense. After opting against a bye week following last week’s trip to London, the Ravens came to play today, putting on a clinic both offensively and defensively.

As the scoreboard may suggest, this game never felt close. The Ravens took their first four drives for touchdowns, while the Lions simultaneously fought until the middle of the second quarter before earning a first down. At the end of the first half, the Ravens had out-gained the Lions in yardage 355-97, and held a 28-0 lead. The Lions were able to put themselves in scoring position both at the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters, however after walking away with 0 points in both possessions, the Ravens responded with a four-play, 94-yard drive, making the game 35-0 and essentially turning the entire second half into garbage time.

 

Four Up

  • Lamar Jackson – This was a perfect game from Lamar, posting a 155.8 QBR (out of a possible 158.3), and what could be the QB1 overall fantasy performance this week.
  • Gus “Bus” Edwards – All aboard! In what looked like a bad matchup against a stout Lions defensive line, the Gus Bus gained 144 all-purpose yards and one touchdown, including an 80-yard reception early in the third quarter.
  • Amon-Ra St. Brown – ARSB commanded a ridiculous 19-targets and put up another 100-yard performance. He is clearly the Alpha in this offense.
  • Jahmyr Gibbs – Although the majority of his production came in garbage time, Gibbs put up 126 all-purpose yards and scored the first touchdown of his career.

Three Down

  • Jared Goff – Goff was uncomfortable this whole game, turning in his worst (real-life and fantasy performance) of the season.
  • Jameson Williams – While quietly earning six targets, the talented first-round pick finished the game with 0 receptions. Not good.
  • Rashod Bateman – Even when scoring 38 points, Bateman continues his decline from relevance in the Baltimore offense.

 

Detroit Lions

 

Quarterback

 

Jared Goff: 33/53, 284 Yards, INT, 5 Sacks

 

Jared Goff was under pressure all day, leading to his worst performance of the season against an impressive Baltimore defense. The Ravens’ defensive line consistently got the best of the top-ranked Detroit offense, combining for 8 QB hits and 5 sacks.

The Lions were simply outmatched in this game. They were unable to establish the run, found themselves in far too many 3rd-and-long situations, and were forced to consistently turn the ball over to a Baltimore offense that could not be stopped. They were able to string together a few drives, but were (more often than not) unable to finish, leaving points on the field on multiple occasions. Their only score came as the result of a roughing the passer call on a failed 3rd-and-19 early in the fourth quarter.

Although this was a poor performance from the Lions, this is still a smart, well-coached team. I expect them to learn from this game, and continue improving down the stretch.

 

Missed Opportunities

  • Completed a 4th-and-15 with 14 seconds left in the second quarter that would have put the Lions in easy field goal range (at worst), but it was called back by holding penalty, resulting in a punt.
  • Unable to complete a 4th-and-goal from the 6-yard line early in the third quarter, resulting in a turnover on downs.
  • With two minutes remaining in the game, Goff almost hit Jameson Williams for a 47-yard touchdown. Williams beat his defender deep but was unable to adjust and make the play.

https://twitter.com/bobbybaltimoree/status/1716160210761363780

 

Running Back

 

Jahmyr Gibbs: 11 Carries, 68 Yards, TD | 10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 58 Yards

 

Jahmyr Gibbs made the most of his opportunities with David Montgomery (ribs) sidelined, combining for 20 touches on the day. Although relatively quiet in the first half, Gibbs made fantasy managers proud in the end, scoring the first touchdown of his career and racking up several late receptions. He showed burst on multiple plays early, but kept getting shoestring tackled and losing in one-on-one situations. It felt like just a matter of time before he broke one, until early in the fourth quarter, when he took a pitch untouched around the left side for a 21-yard touchdown. Gibbs was the clear RB1 with Montgomery out, out-touching Craig Reynolds 20-4. He appears to be fully healthy and should continue to be heavily involved in this offense down the stretch.

 

Craig Reynolds: 3 Carries, 16 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Amon-Ra St. Brown: 19 Targets, 13 Receptions, 102 Yards

 

Amon-Ra St. Brown delivered once again, earning a ridiculous 36% target share, and reminding us that he is the clear Alpha in this offense. Although most of his damage was done when the game was out of hand, Goff continued to look his way, and St. Brown continued to create separation from the Ravens’ secondary. Although 5.4 yards/target is not the stat line we are hoping for, this still represent’s ARSB’s floor and value to this offense.

 

Missed Opportunities

  • He had two drops on the day. Today was just not the Lions’ day.

 

Sam LaPorta: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 52 Yards

 

Almost all of Sam LaPorta’s usage came in garbage time, racking up several extra receptions late in the game. He did not have any specific plays drawn up for him early like we typically see, instead making the most of check-downs in the middle of the field and fighting for extra yardage. When all is said and done, he probably still did enough for your team to keep you happy within the TE landscape. He did appear to get hit in the head late in the game, which may be something to monitor as the week goes on.

 

Josh Reynolds: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 43 Yards

Kalif Raymond: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Jameson Williams: 6 Targets, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards

 

Jameson Williams quietly managed six targets on the day; however, none of them felt truly close to being receptions. His timing with Goff looked to be off, with none worse than a “could have been” 47-yard touchdown reception with two minutes remaining in the game. Goff’s pass wasn’t perfect, and Williams had to adjust, but Goff was able to hit his hands with the defender beat, and Williams wasn’t able to bring it in.

 

Baltimore Ravens

 

Quarterback

 

Lamar Jackson: 21/27, 357 Yards, 3 TDs | 9 Carries, 36 Yards, TD

 

This was a masterclass from Lamar Jackson. Lamar continues to ascend as a passer, with his awareness and pocket presence seemingly improving each week. He made smart decisions, accurate throws and only opted to run when necessary (or designed). He stood in the pocket and fired strikes downfield, even as the defense collapsed around him and he knew he would be taking hits. The old Lamar would have felt that pressure and taken off immediately, but today’s Lamar used the threat of his legs in a different way, baiting defenders in and beating them over the top.

The second-quarter TD pass to Nelson Agholor was a perfect example of this. At one point looking like the play was about to end (in a sack), Lamar escaped the pocket, took off to the right, and while pressure from Aidan Hutchinson was mounting, he kept his eyes downfield (for 9.6 seconds to be exact) before finding Nelson Agholor crossing in the end zone late. This is the sort of maturity and performance that the Ravens were hoping for when bringing in OC Todd Monken, and Lamar is certainly making the case for his new contract.

 

https://twitter.com/bobbybaltimoree/status/1716145372031029718

 

Tyler Huntley: 0/1, 0 Yards

 

Running Back

 

Gus Edwards: 14 Carries, 64 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 80 Yards

 

Although it was Justice Hill starting and receiving the first touches of the game, Gus Edwards reclaimed his role at the top of the depth chart, earning 144 total yards and a touchdown. Although his 80-yard reception was admittedly a “broken” play, where the defenders all committed to the RPO (this was also a good read from Lamar), it was encouraging to see his speed down the sidelines as the Lions’ secondary did their best to catch him. Edwards was also used in the Ravens’ lone goal line situation, converting his TD on a two-yard pitch from Lamar.

https://twitter.com/bfromthesea/status/1716168271303479492

 

Justice Hill: 4 Carries, 46 Yards, FL, 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

 

Justice Hill was the “starter,” and the recipient of a designed screen to him on the opening play. However, his usage in this offense remains limited and inconsistent. The Ravens’ game plan almost felt backward from what we are used to, where the success of the passing game eventually opened up the run game, instead of vice versa. Hill is definitely the quicker option of the two, but he fumbled once again on an RPO handoff with two minutes left in the first half, and we didn’t see much of Hill after that.

Missed Opportunities

  • Hill has lost two fumbles this season. We will see if/how Harbaugh responds to this. This leads us to..

 

Keaton Mitchell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards

 

I’m putting this in here for all of you Keaton Mitchell truthers out there. Mitchell was involved in one play, which was a jet-sweep that turned into a nine-yard “reception.” I’m sure they’d like to get him more involved, but at this moment, there is nothing to suggest that a significantly bigger workload is on the way.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Zay Flowers: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 75 Yards

 

Zay Flowers remains the most dangerous option in this WR room, continuing to separate at an elite level, and finding himself wide open in the intermediate parts of the field. Flowers made several big plays in this game, displaying tremendous footwork on the sidelines, and making a highlight-reel 46-yard reception to set up a touchdown on the first drive of the game.

Missed Opportunities

  • Dropped a quick screen late in the third, but likely wouldn’t have resulted in much

 

Odell Beckham: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 49 Yards

 

The stat line looks promising, but Odell Beckham’s usage didn’t come until this game was entirely out of hand. Beckham looked healthy today, making a few nice cuts and doing his best Zay Flowers impression with the ball in his hands. It was clear that the Ravens wanted to get him involved, and if he can stay healthy, he could be a solid WR2 on this team in the second half of the season.

Missed Opportunities

  • Lamar took a deep shot to him early in the third, but it was covered well and wasn’t very close

 

Rashod Bateman: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 36 Yards

 

Rashod Bateman is still a good player and can contribute to this offense, but he is quickly becoming an afterthought with the emergence of Flowers (and potentially Beckham).

 

Nelson Agholor: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards, TD

 

Nelson Agholor remains a viable option in this offense but is highly unpredictable for fantasy purposes. Although he did score the TD today, it was on a broken play that Lamar was able to extend for almost 10 seconds before finding him in the end zone.

 

Mark Andrews: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 63 Yards, 2 TDs

 

Mark Andrews was able to celebrate “National Tight-End Day” in style, gaining 63 yards on the day, and scoring touchdowns in both the second and third quarters. He is still the Ravens’ top red zone option, and an every-week TE1.

Patrick Ricard: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 31 Yards

Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Saints
Lions @ Ravens
Raiders @ Bears
Browns @ Colts
Bills @ Patriots
Commanders @ Giants
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Steelers @ Rams
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Packers @ Broncos
Chargers @ Chiefs
Dolphins @ Eagles

One response to “What We Saw 2023: Week 7”

  1. James Warren says:
    October 23, 2023 at 1:05 pm

    Awesome commentary, on both teams and deep inside the offense of both teams. I am not a fantasy football guy, but this kind of analysis is excellent for anyone who wants to learn about the teams followed.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.