Although he is not a coach, Aaron Rodgers pushed for greater authority while he was in Green Bay. He has that control in New York, but the Jets offense is floundering.
With their offensive, the Ravens have turned things around, now leading the league in yards per play. They have succeeded because of Derrick Henry and the anxiety the running back instills in opponents.
Coach Zac Taylor of the Bengals scored 38 points on Sunday thanks to his offensive aggression in regulation, but his conservative play in overtime cost them.
More on these best and worst coaching decisions of Week 5:
Like: Ravens’ heavy personnel grouping
Finally, the potential of a Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry backfield is being fulfilled. In weeks 3 and 4, Henry carried for a total of 350 yards. The Bengals defense stacked the box, played in strange fronts, and ran blitzed in Week 5 because they were terrified of getting trampled by Henry.
On 63 percent of their snaps, the Ravens used multiple tight ends and/or multiple backs. They posed a threat to run from those personnel groupings, but they made 27 drops back (not all of which end in a pass attempt). Jackson completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9%) on those dropbacks, averaging 9.6 air yards per pass for 245 yards and three touchdowns. The Ravens tight ends (Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar) combined for 11 receptions, 177 yards and three touchdowns.
Stats from heavy personnel groupings
| Explosive play rate | 16.30% |
| First downs | 20 |
| Air yards per attempt | 9.6 |
| EPA per drop back | 0.61 |
The Ravens’ utilization of heavy personnel groupings and Henry’s threat forced the opposition to adjust and helped set up some explosive throw plays even when they were not using play action.
8:25 remaining in the third quarter, first-and-10
Andrews, Likely, and Kolar were aligned to the right of the formation in this instance by the Ravens. Likely gestured to the opposite side before to the snap.
They conducted four verticals from this compacted formation. In addition to having eight players in the box, the Bengals only had three defensive backs and four linebackers on the field.
Kolar was running past linebacker Logan Wilson when Jackson glanced off free safety Geno Stone, leaving Kolar wide open down the opposite seam.
All-time quote from @charliekolar_ 😂 😂 pic.twitter.com/wNoaBOu2wt
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 7, 2024
The Bengals’ filled boxes and linebackers provided opportunities for the Ravens to exploit throughout the game. Zay Flowers, the receiver, had plenty of room to maneuver on the sideline and was able to catch multiple curls and comebacks. Todd Monken, the offensive coordinator, should keep using heavy personnel because opponents are afraid of Henry. Henry scorched the Bengals for a 56-yard run to win the game in overtime as soon as they removed a safety from the box.
DERRICK HENRY THE KING.
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
THIS. GAME.
📺: #BALvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/pyESOlZxkH
Dislike: The Aaron Rodgers offense
Even after Rodgers won two MVPs under Matt LaFleur’s Packers scheme, he complained about his lack of control at the line of scrimmage and the continual use of motion and play action. Great quarterbacks, in his opinion, did not require such kinds of training wheels. At the line of scrimmage, great quarterbacks have complete control over the play, something that a high-motion offense denies them. Motions deduct time from the game clock, and the ball must be snapped at a precise moment.
Rodgers gets what he wants with the Jets. Rodgers seems to have a say in everything, from people to schematic decisions. The Jets are ranked 31st in play-action usage and 24th in motion usage, respectively, according Sports Info Solutions. The Jets offense does not try to gain an advantage by using a complicated plan. Receivers need to win one-on-one matches straight up and the quarterback needs to guide the offense into the proper play.
Jets offense is really living on the extremes in terms of route profile.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 7, 2024
They are top 3 in rate of:
Short fades, deep fades, short outs, ins, slants and go routes
And bottom 3 in rate of:
Deep crossers, medium crossers, deep outs, comebacks and digs
The quarterback must be able to sense pressure and lead the offense into ideal protection or the appropriate play by audibling, much like Peyton Manning. The issue is that Rodgers has not been able to provide the Jets with enough of a lead to sustain his offensive scheme. Although Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator for the Vikings, has every quarterback in the league guessing, he outplayed Rodgers in their London chess match.
“They had a seven-up presentation and we got to something that we talked about,” Rodgers said after the game. “And I peeked the backside or something to the left to see if we were hot or not, and doing that, I totally lost sight of (Andrew) Van Ginkel and he made a nice play.”
2:30 remaining in the first quarter, third-and-6
The Vikings piled the line of scrimmage with seven defenders on third-and-six. Rodgers needed to determine who was dropping and who was blitzing quickly. Rodgers had safety Harrison Smith lined up to his left and linebacker Van Ginkel on his right.
After the game, Rodgers said he had glanced to his left, but he probably should have thrown to the left as he did not appear to notice Smith approaching. Rather, he sprang to the right, where Van Ginkel fell and was observing him closely.
ANDREW VAN GINKEL PICK-6!
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
📺: #NYJvsMIN on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2FUojk8zLu
Defensive players often read the center in Cover 0 blitzes. Defenders on that side could descend in whatever direction the center blocks. Van Ginkel dropped as the center obstructed his path.
When blitzed, Rodgers ranks 29th among qualified quarterbacks in expected points added (EPA) per dropback. Simply said, that is insufficient for a seasoned quarterback.
The Jets rank 24th in EPA per play, which is worse than any season Rodgers had with LaFleur. Yes, Rodgers is aging, and we shouldn’t expect the Jets to be a top-10 offense, but for them to compete with the defense they have, they need to be middle of the pack. Even after giving everything Rodgers has wanted, they are far from it. There is one more thing Rodgers has on his wish list, but it might cost them a pretty penny to get Davante Adams from Las Vegas. General manager Joe Douglas will have to decide whether this team is worth continuing to invest in or whether he’s feeding into sunk cost.
Like: Zac Taylor’s aggressive decision. Dislike: Taylor’s conservative decision
One of the best games of the season was played by the Bengals and Ravens. We discussed how the Ravens designed exciting plays. The brilliance of Ja’Marr Chase allowed the Bengals to produce a few of their own. One call was particularly noteworthy. With 14 seconds left in the first half and one timeout, the Bengals might have attempted to drive into field goal range, but Taylor made a well-planned play to go for the end zone.
0:14 remaining in the second quarter, first-and-10
To Joe Burrow’s left, the Bengals have three receivers in a trips formation. Andrei Iosivas was positioned in position No. 3, which was third from the sideline, while Chase was positioned in position No. 2, which was the second furthest from the sideline.
The Bengals used Iosivas to run a deep crosser to the other side in order to keep that side of the coverage because they knew the Ravens were a quarters team.
It is the responsibility of the weakside safety to take the lead deep crosser, and he succeeded in doing so. Chase and Marcus Williams, the strongside safety, were now one on one. With ease, Chase turned him around and outran him to score the touchdown.
BURROW TO CHASE. 41-YARD TD.
: #BALvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/7ZRVX14NHN— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Over time, Taylor adopted a new strategy. Following a fumble recovery by the defense, which put the ball on the Ravens’ 38-yard line, the Bengals were set up for a long field goal (56 yards). Taylor signaled three consecutive runs into filled boxes, each of which gained three yards, setting up Evan McPherson for a 53-yard field goal try. McPherson failed to make the kick, and holder Ryan Rehkow was unable to secure a clear grip. With the ball back, the Ravens prevailed in the match.
“I’m very reflective on things that I can improve on,” Taylor said after the game. “At the end of the day, the decision for me is we are in comfortable enough field-goal range for Evan, and I don’t want to do anything to disrupt that.”
Although kickers are making more of these 50-yard field goals than ever before, there is still a large margin for error. McPherson has a greater chance of hitting it from closer range. Though Taylor took responsibility for his approach, he’s made similar judgments in extra games before that cost his team. Taylor needs to press hard all the way to the finish. The Bengals really do not have any margin for error at 1-4.
