Broncos' Blueprint to Beating the Ravens: Two Areas to Perfect

The Denver Broncos must make these areas a point of emphasis against the Baltimore Ravens.

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (0) during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

After starting the season 0-2, the Denver Broncos have turned things around and are now sitting with a 5-3 record and holding onto the top Wildcard spot in the AFC. Now, nine games are left to be played, but the Broncos still have plenty of room to improve, especially on offense.

The Broncos have a tough stretch of games over their next five, with back-to-back road games and three of five on the road. This stretch includes two divisional road games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, and home games against the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns.

But it all starts with Denver's upcoming road game against the Baltimore Ravens. 

The Ravens lead the Broncos series with 10-6, and the last three games have all gone Baltimore’s way. In the previous three games, the Ravens put up twice as many points as the Broncos, but this year, there is a chance Denver can end the streak.

Baltimore's defense has made them formidable in the past, and it has consistently been one of the top units in the NFL, but that isn’t the case this year. That leads us to the point of emphasis for the Broncos offense this week.

Ravens' Passing Defense

The Broncos' passing offense has been inconsistent this year. Although an excellent performance against the worst team in the NFL doesn’t move that needle a whole lot, the Broncos have a chance for success against the Ravens.

The Carolina Panthers have a terrible defense. But the Ravens' passing defense is somehow worse. The Ravens allow 291.4 passing yards per game, which is 20.3 yards more allowed than the second-worst team.

Even though the Broncos are averaging 185.9 passing yards per game, they've done better than the average against poor passing defenses. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bo Nix get the first game of 300-plus passing yards of his career. On top of allowing the most yards, the Ravens have the fourth-highest passing EPA allowed. 

The Ravens' pass rush can make things difficult for the Broncos. They're inconsistent and have the eighth-lowest pressure rate in the NFL on the season at 29.7%, but they have four games breaking that, with two of them featuring close to a 40% pressure rate. When the Ravens are hot, they're hot, but they've been anything but consistent. 

The Ravens also do an excellent job of limiting separation in coverage, leading the league with the lowest average separation allowed. The Ravens play a tight zone defense, which Nix has struggled against this season.

While the Ravens are statistically worse than the Panthers, they don’t blow coverages like Carolina, and they can make for difficult reads for the quarterback. The point of emphasis for the Broncos is to make sure Nix is ready to face that kind of defense and work with him in the film room so that when the game comes, he doesn't have issues making reads that he has had in the past. 

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Preparation & Reliable Tackling

Led by quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, the Baltimore Ravens have the NFL's most productive offense through the season's first six weeks, averaging over 453 yards per game. / Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Broncos defense has to be ready because the Ravens can hurt you with their passing game, which is among the best in the NFL this season. Meanwhile, Baltimore's running game is the best in the NFL.

The Ravens have already scored 28 touchdowns (tied for the league lead), compared to the Broncos, who've allowed 12 touchdowns, the third-lowest in the NFL. Of the Ravens' 28 touchdowns, 17 have come through the air and 11 on the ground, whereas eight of the 12 touchdowns the Broncos have allowed have come through the air. 

In most NFL games, there's one area where an offense excels, and if you stop it or slow it down, they’ll struggle, but the Ravens aren’t like that. If you slow down their passing game, they'll run the ball until things open back up through the air, and if you stop the run, they will be creative with their rushing calls and use the short passing game as an extension of the ground game until things open back up. 

The Broncos have to be on point with their tackling, as the Ravens rank third in the NFL in yards after the catch and average 8.1 yards per pass. Baltimore's receiving weapons average 4.3 yards of separation, tied for the highest in the NFL.

To take it one step further, the Ravens' offensive line has done a great job, tying for the fourth-longest time to pressure allowed at 2.85 seconds, which is tied with the Broncos. Lamar Jackson is tough to tackle, with 12 sacks on the season and a sack percentage of 4.8%. 

Jackson’s ability to extend plays as a runner and make defenses pay by taking off almost forces a player to spy on him all game. With Derrick Henry added to the mix in the backfield, it's easy to see why the Ravens have been the best rushing offense this season.

The Ravens average 6.2 yards per rush, which is a yard more than the second-highest team, and rank sixth in EPA/rush and third in rushing success rate. While Baltimore does have some bad runs, as every team does, it has the seventh-lowest run-stuffed rate, which makes sense as Henry is very hard to bring down. 

Bottom Line

So, the point of emphasis for this game is the preparation.

The Broncos need to ensure Nix is prepped and ready to face a type of defense he has struggled against this season. The tight coverage and tight windows have been a weak spot, but if the Ravens' pass rush shows up, we could see issues with Nix's footwork again.

The Broncos defense has to be ready for this unique challenge. This is Denver's toughest matchup this season.

Every other offense the Broncos have faced either struggled running the ball or passing it. and the Ravens are excellent at both. What the Broncos have done well this season, especially with their aggressiveness, could end up being their downfall against Jackson, Henry, and the Ravens if they aren’t careful. 

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