Ravens @ Cardinals
Final Score: Ravens 31, Cardinals 24
Writer: Brett Ford (@fadethatman on Twitter)
After getting blown out in each of their last four games, the Arizona Cardinals looked respectable against a far superior Baltimore Ravens team, and battled hard until the end. The Ravens did just enough to earn the road victory, defeating the hosts, 31-24, in the desert.
Gus Edwards highlighted the stat sheet with three rushing touchdowns, but the Ravens’ offense did not operate anywhere near as efficiently as it did last week in a complete dismantling of the Detroit Lions. Instead, Baltimore capitalized on Arizona’s mistakes, taking advantage of good starting field position and penalty yardage to find the endzone four times. It wasn’t inspiring, in reality or in fantasy, but a win is a win.
#Ravens coach John Harbaugh: “over time, the best teams win when you’re not at your best” pic.twitter.com/BBsCXqgXri
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) October 29, 2023
Let’s dig in.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 18/27, 157 Yards, TD | 5 Carries, 17 Yards
Certainly nowhere near the efficiency he displayed a week ago, Lamar Jackson was good-not-great for the Ravens on Sunday. He put the Birds on the board with a touchdown drive in the first quarter, going 6-for-7 on the drive and finding Mark Andrews for a five-yard touchdown to finish it off.
Jackson did very little on the ground and wasn’t great through the air, either. The Ravens’ offense moves as Lamar moves. Maybe it was a lack of motivation. It’s tough to get up for a bad team that’s not even in your conference, let alone your division. But Jackson and the Ravens both will need to play better if they want to keep winning against a tougher schedule coming up.
Running Back
Gus Edwards: 19 Carries, 80 Yards, 3 TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)
The Gus Bus has left the station and taken full control of this Ravens backfield. With trade talk swirling around the Ravens’ running back room, Edwards showed what he is capable of with a three-touchdown performance. Edwards was full on ground and pound, never registering a single carry for more than 10 yards, but still finished with 80 yards and three scores. The volume that he saw out of the backfield was elite, and should encourage fantasy managers of his prospects moving forward.
He showed good patience and vision on his second score, a seven-yard touchdown run.
Gus Edwards scores his second rushing touchdown of the day for the third multi-TD performance of his career: pic.twitter.com/ICYSdYZ0tn
— Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) October 29, 2023
Justice Hill:4 Carries, 15 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards
Relegated to a pass-catching role as Edwards took charge of the backfield, Hill was explosive on his limited touches. Unless the Ravens face negative game scripts in some of their tougher games moving forward, Hill likely won’t be as useful as Edwards in the coming weeks.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Flowers: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 19 Yards
Flowers finished with similar usage to what he’s used to, but produced just 19 yards on five catches. The Ravens love to use the shifty rookie receiver in short areas, but the player dubbed “Joystick” for his elusiveness wasn’t able to generate his normal YAC numbers in this one.
Mark Andrews: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards, TD
Andrews made four catches for 40 yards and a score, a solid line for a shallow position. He and Jackson continued to display their innate connection, working together to open the Ravens’ scoring with a scramble-drill touchdown pass.
Mark Andrews just sold the Arizona defense an ocean front property!
Lamar Jackson finds him! #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/oeWNhNYXR6
— Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) October 29, 2023
Odell Beckham Jr.: 4 Targets
Typically, we wouldn’t include a guy who recorded zero catches, but Beckham was incredibly effective for not even catching the football. He drew a pair of defensive pass interference penalties on the defense, with both of them setting up an eventual touchdown. Despite missing nearly an entire quarter after taking a flying knee to the chest on a collision in the secondary, Beckham saw an uptick in snap percentage and routes run this week, meaning that (if fully healthy, which is always a BIG if with Beckham) he could see more production in the coming weeks.
Rashod Bateman: 1 Carry, 18 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards
Bateman was more involved this week than last, running 20 routes on 40 offensive snaps. He made a huge interception-saving catch in the first quarter to keep the Ravens’ drive alive and even got a carry later in the game that he took for 18 yards.
Rashod Bateman making plays? brick by brick cuz this really should’ve been intercepted pic.twitter.com/eoDgwVdqA8
— Tramar Jackson (@TreOneOh) October 30, 2023
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Isaiah Likely: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Nelson Agholor: 1 target
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Joshua Dobbs: 25/37, 208 Yards, 2 TD2 INT | 6 Carries, 26 Yards, TD
Dobbs has been a very good fantasy quarterback in the past handful of weeks, and continued his streak of being fantasy-relevant with a three-touchdown performance against the Ravens. There were some very ill-advised throws (including both of his interceptions), but Dobbs outscored Jackson in nearly all fantasy formats. How ’bout them apples?
Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters after the game that Dobbs would be the starter heading into Week 9 at Cleveland, so even though Kyler Murray is looming behind him on the depth chart, the Cardinals seem content to roll with their current starter.
Running Back
Emari Demercado: 20 Carries, 78 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard
As an undrafted rookie free agent, Demercado has looked impressive since James Conner went down earlier this season. In this one, he toted the ball a career-high 20 times for 78 yards and even pulled in a catch. Demercado has worked himself into elite usage, bordering on bellcow status while Conner is on the mend. He earned 83% of the Cardinals’ running back carries and was on the field for eight of nine third downs as well. Dobbs vultured the only rushing touchdown, but Demercado still has a massive role in this offense.
Keaontay Ingram: 2 Carries, 9 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
Ingram was a change-of-pace back, but also was on the field for two out of four goal-line snaps. He carried the ball twice and caught one pass, but his snap count was barely half of what Demercado recorded on Sunday.
Damien Williams: 2 Carries, 5 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Williams got a touch on all three snaps that he was on the field for. I guess that’s notable.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Trey McBride: 14 Targets, 10 Receptions, 95 Yards, TD
This was the Trey McBride breakout game. With Zach Ertz being placed on injured reserve earlier this week, McBride took full advantage, absorbing all of Ertz’s usage and then some. He was on the field for 62 out of 76 offensive snaps, ran 36 routes and was targeted a team-high 14 times. His touchdown catch was a thing of beauty, combining a great catch with a strong run and a modified “tush push” to finish it off in the end zone.
TREY MCBRIDE WILL NOT BE DENIED pic.twitter.com/uuJQCxoeC8
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) October 29, 2023
With a near 40% target share, McBride’s involvement is likely unsustainable, but it is certainly enough to garner a waiver claim, especially in PPR formats.
Marquise Brown: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 33 Yards, TD
It was a revenge game for Hollywood Brown, but his production likely wasn’t as elite as he had hoped. Despite pulling in six catches and a touchdown, Brown gained just 33 yards through the air. Still, the target percentage and usage make him a viable starting receiver in most fantasy formats.
Josh Dobbs (11) to Marquise Brown (4)
Arizona Cardinals
1 yard
pic.twitter.com/p1h0qp6p70— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDsVideos) October 30, 2023
Michael Wilson: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 58 Yards
Wilson was on the field for 68 out of 76 offensive snaps and ran 36 routes, just two fewer than Brown. He generated half of his yardage on a 29-yard catch in the fourth quarter to save his day from a fantasy standpoint but was not targeted in or around the red zone at all.
Rondale Moore: 2 Carries, 11 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Thought of as just a gadget player, Moore was on the field for 53 of 76 offensive snaps and ran 34 routes, mostly out of the slot. Though Moore was on the field for nearly 75% of the Cardinals’ plays, he had just five opportunities and four touches. It’s safe to say that Moore isn’t a huge factor in the offense and is used mostly as a change of pace.
Zach Pascal: 1 Target