Ravens' Marlon Humphrey takes a dig at their defense while praising Lamar Jackson for "carrying"
As Lamar Jackson likely knows, Marlon Humphrey has been a name synonymous with the Baltimore Ravens since the early moments of the first Donald Trump administration. In that time, his status with the team has only grown. Not many players can get away with criticizing their own unit, especially newcomers. However, Humphrey has said what most Ravens fans are thinking.
Speaking in comments following the 35-34 thriller against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, Humphrey compared his defense to being the little brothers of the team.
“He's special, but we're like the little bros right now,” Humphrey said, via ESPN. “He's carrying (our defense).”
Lamar Jackson continued his pattern of exceptional accuracy against the Bengals, throwing for at least a 75% completion rate for the fifth time this season. He also threw for four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Jackson's fans would also likely note that he racked up about 250 yards in the second half.
The Ravens seemed like they were on pace to get blown out by Joe Burrow in their second meeting between the two teams. Jackson's Baltimore went into halftime down 14-7. However, an explosive fourth quarter performance saw the Ravens put up 21 points, snagging just enough to beat Burrow.
Of course, the defense had the winning play, denying a go-ahead two-point try from the Bengals in the final moments after Burrow scored what could have been a game-tying touchdown had Zac Taylor opted for an extra point instead.
Lamar Jackson's "little bro" compliment stuck with league worst and best rankings
While the Baltimore offense is a sight to behold for obvious reasons, the defense is also worth watching for less obvious reasons. Lamar Jackson's defense boasts the best rushing defense in terms of average yards allowed per game. However, they also give up about 30 more yards per game than anybody, per ESPN analytics.
The discrepancy between their ability to lockdown the line of scrimmage but not the secondary is striking. One can only believe that the reason for this is a conscious choice made by the defensive staff to stack the line and force offenses to beat them over the top.
Based on the rankings, most quarterbacks have been able to do so, including Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase. Chase had by far his biggest night of the season, racking up 264 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, as the defense gets closer to the playoffs, they eventually will face players of this caliber every week. Will their secondary tighten up before then?