The Baltimore Ravens walked out of M&T Bank Stadium with a win in Week 6 over the Cincinnati Bengals. The victory pushed them further in the lead in the AFC North and set them up nicely for the future.
But it was far from a perfect victory. Against the winless Bengals, the Ravens struggled to find a rhythm in several areas and routinely hurt themselves with penalties and boneheaded plays. For as great as some players looked, others looked equally as bad.
Let’s take a closer look at the studs and duds of Baltimore’s Week 6 win over Cincinnati.
Stud: QB Lamar Jackson
Though Jackson was far from perfect as a passer, he carried the team to a win. His 19 rushing attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown ultimately were the difference, and he routinely showed just how dangerous he can be when defenses focus on stopping the running backs inside.
Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 200 yards and rush for at least 150 in the same game. In just his 14th regular-season start, Jackson once again proved he’s a different breed of player.
Dud: LG Bradley Bozeman
Bozeman might need to be benched at this point in favor of James Hurst or Ben Powers. Bozeman has struggled quite a bit at times this season, and Week 6 was a prime example. He had four penalties that continually killed drives. What’s worse is that those four penalties came in just one half.
Part of the reason for the flags was Bozeman getting beat by the Bengals’ depleted defensive line. It didn’t help that Jackson held the ball a little too long at times, but this also isn’t the first time Bozeman has struggled either.
He’s clearly the weak spot on an otherwise solid offensive line. After six games, the Ravens should have gotten a good look at where he’s at. He can still improve, but he was a big dud in Week 6.
Stud: CB Marlon Humphrey
Humphrey continued his streak of amazing games, this time locking down Tyler Boyd all game long. It’s telling that Boyd was thrown at seven times and only caught three passes for 10 yards. Boyd had no fewer than 71 yards in the last three matchups against Baltimore, proving just how valuable Humphrey was in this game.
But he stepped it up even further by grabbing his second interception of the season. When the ball bounced off the hands of the intended receiver and back to Humphrey, he did what Baltimore has rarely done this season and made the play he should have made. It might not have been the craziest highlight of anyone’s career, but by capitalizing on a mistake like that, Humphrey helped push the Ravens to a win.
Dud: CB Maurice Canady
Canady had been playing well the last two weeks but got picked on today. If Dalton wasn’t even bothering to look at Humphrey, it was partially because Canady gave the receiver he was covering a ton of room. On at least one drive, Dalton fired several consecutive passes right at Canady, connecting on all of them.
To some degree, it’s not exactly fair to expect Canady to be perfect every game. He was on the Ravens practice squad just a few weeks ago and for good reason. But with Cincinnati missing their top two starting receivers in this game, it only highlights just how bad the showing was and how bad it could have been if the Bengals were healthy.
You’d better believe that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who faces the Ravens in Week 7, will see the film of Canady giving up chunks of uncontested yards.
Stud: K Justin Tucker
Tucker hit on all three of his field goals. That included a little Tucker flair (undoubtedly unintended) as one bounced off the upright and fell in. He also hit on both of his extra points. In doing that, Tucker became the fastest kicker to 1,000 career points, hitting the milestone in just 118 games.
It’s easy to overlook just how amazing Tucker really is. In a game with a six-point margin of victory, having a kicker that is automatic is a big part of the reason the Ravens won. Look around the league and you’ll see a bunch of games decided by bad kicking but the Ravens are so rarely on the receiving end of it.
