Lamar Jackson and Josh Johnson didn’t hold back Tuesday.
Four days after the Ravens averaged a meager 5.3 air yards per attempt in a preseason-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — a mark that would’ve ranked last in the NFL last season — the team’s top two quarterbacks threw more deep passes than they have in maybe any practice this training camp.
“It just worked out today,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said after practice. “I mean, we’ve been trying to keep working just some of our downfield pass game. It just worked out today where the ball found its way down the field.”
Unofficially, Jackson finished 23-for-38 overall in team drills, including 17-for-30 in 11-on-11 action and 6-for-8 in seven-on-seven action. (Several dropped passes hurt his completion percentage.) Here’s how Jackson’s day as a passer unfolded, period by period, throw by throw, along with other notes from Tuesday’s practice in “shells” (shoulder pads and helmets).
11-on-11: 1-for-2
1. Jackson rolled out to his right and hit wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a short gain.
2. Jackson looked for Agholor again on a deep crosser, but cornerback Marlon Humphrey was well positioned in zone coverage, and the ball was overthrown.
11-on-11: 1-for-3
3. Jackson faked a handoff and found tight end Mark Andrews uncovered in the left flat for a solid gain.
4. On another play-action drop-back, Jackson looked to squeeze a pass to wide receiver Tylan Wallace down the right sideline, but safety Marcus Williams broke on the throw to disrupt the “hole shot.”
5. Jackson threw deep down the left sideline to wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who continued to ramp up his workload in his return from an apparent midsection injury he suffered last week. Bateman got a half-step of separation on cornerback Brandon Stephens, and one hand on the pass, but couldn’t bring it in.
11-on-11: 2-for-3
6. Jackson and the coaches ignored a would-be sack by outside linebacker Odafe Oweh to throw a check-down to running back Derrick Henry.
7. Despite good coverage from safety Ar’Darius Washington, Jackson hit Agholor on a slot fade — only to watch him drop the pass.
8. Jackson connected with Andrews on a short throw over the middle after a run fake.
9. Jackson threw deep to wide receiver Zay Flowers down the right sideline, and the pass landed too far inside for Flowers to run under. But the wideout went after the ball, going through Stephens’ body and drawing a pass interference penalty in the process.
11-on-11: 4-for-4, TD
10. Jackson threw a swing pass to Henry, who had blockers in front of him on an apparent screen play.
11. Another screen, with Jackson hitting Flowers out wide on an apparent run-pass option. Screens also featured prominently Tuesday, with Monken later saying the Ravens “didn’t screen enough last year, didn’t take the pressure off our O-line enough.”
12. Jackson bided his time in the pocket before hitting Andrews about 25 yards downfield along the left sideline. The tight end had broken free from inside linebacker Trenton Simpson on the play.
13. A rare coverage bust left wide receiver Anthony Miller uncovered downfield, and Jackson found him for an easy touchdown pass. Humphrey was the defender closest in coverage.
7-on-7: 3-for-4
14. Jackson hooked up with Agholor for a short gain near the left sideline.
15. Jackson targeted Andrews, who was running a corner route against cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis. Jackson’s pass turned Andrews around slightly — it arrived at his inside shoulder rather than his outside shoulder — but the tight end couldn’t complete what was still a catchable pass.
16. Jackson hit wide receiver Keith Kirkwood for a catch over the middle in front of Williams.
17. Jackson pumped a deep shot down the left seam to Agholor, who got behind Stephens and reached out for a full-extension catch.
7-on-7: 3-for-4
18. Jackson looked long again, this time for Flowers, but Stephens was close enough in coverage to get a hand on the ball without looking back and break up the catch.
19. Jackson threw a fastball up the right seam to tight end Charlie Kolar. Safety Kyle Hamilton, back after missing Monday’s practice with a minor leg injury, appeared to be in position to make a play on the ball, but he pulled up rather than risking another awkward collision.
20. Jackson settled for a check-down to Agholor.
21. Jackson hit tight end Charlie Kolar, running an out-breaking route against Simpson, for a short gain.
11-on-11: 2-for-4
22. Jackson threw over the middle to Agholor, who was running a post pattern, but cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams made a leaping pass defense.
23. Tight end Isaiah Likely ran a shallow cross against safety Daryl Worley, and Jackson found him for a short gain.
24. Jackson connected with Kirkwood for what should’ve been a big gain, but cornerback Ka’dar Hollman raked through the ball as Kirkwood tried to complete the catch, ripping it loose and forcing an incompletion.
25. Jackson faked a handoff and located Flowers, who was wide open on a short out-breaking route, almost 10 yards away from undrafted rookie safety Beau Brade.
11-on-11: 1-for-2
26. Facing a blitz, Jackson hit Likely on a short out-breaker.
27. Jackson took a “sack” after Oweh and a blitzing Washington punctured the pocket.
28. Another sack, this one coming after Oweh beat left tackle Ronnie Stanley with an outside rush.
29. Backpedaling away from pressure, Jackson threw off his back foot to Flowers, who was running a deep crosser against Washington. But the ball ended up out of reach.
11-on-11: 2-for-4
30. After a run fake, Jackson looked for Agholor near the left sideline. His pass, while slightly behind the receiver, was catchable. Agholor dropped it anyway, continuing a recent trend of shaky hands.
31. Jackson stared down the blitz and found Kirkwood over the middle for about a 10-yard gain against Stephens.
32. Jackson hit Kolar for another solid gain after the tight end settled into a soft spot in zone coverage.
33. Jackson launched another deep shot to Flowers, running a vertical route just inside the numbers, but Hamilton showed great range to close on the ball and break up the pass. “That was ridiculous,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “I’d be hard-pressed to find somebody else in the league that can make a play like that. Now, we wish he would have caught the ball — he’ll tell you that, too — but it was a heck of a play.” Afterward, Flowers talked briefly with Monken.
11-on-11: 2-for-4
34. Jackson escaped the pocket and threw the ball away after feeling pressure from rookie outside linebacker Adisa Isaac.
35. Another coverage bust left Flowers open near the right sideline, and Jackson found him for a big gain before Worley cornered him.
36. Jackson couldn’t connect with Wallace, who was well-covered on a corner route by Armour-Davis.
37. Jackson stepped up and away from pressure in the pocket before throwing a check-down to Henry over the middle.
11-on-11 (red zone): 2-for-2
38. Jackson went short to running back Justice Hill, who was running an angle route out of the backfield.
39. Lined up around the 5-yard line, Jackson sent Likely in motion and hit him as he moved laterally on an apparent pick play. But Washington sorted through the traffic and got to Likely before he could break the plane for a touchdown.
11-on-11 (red zone): 0-for-2
40. Jackson looked for Miller on a crosser, but linebacker Malik Harrison, defending in the end zone with his back to Jackson, disrupted Miller’s catch just as the ball arrived.
41. Forced out of the pocket and sped up by defensive lineman Justin Madubuike, Jackson threw wide of Wallace in the end zone near the right sideline.
Attendance
The Ravens practiced without center Tyler Linderbaum (soft-tissue injury), wide receiver Russell Gage, running back Rasheen Ali (stinger), inside linebacker Chris Board (concussion), cornerback Nate Wiggins (shoulder), defensive back Christian Matthew and safety Sanoussi Kane (stinger). Running back Keaton Mitchell (knee) and cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee) remain sidelined.
The Ravens signed veteran running back John Kelly, who’d spent the past three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He has 32 carries for 96 yards over his career, but no attempts over the past two seasons. In a corresponding move, the team released outside linebacker Quincy Roche.
Stock report
- When Justin Tucker attempted a 68-yard field goal — 2 yards longer than his NFL-record make — there was no questioning whether it was straight enough. But long enough? One official signaled that Tucker’s ball had cleared the uprights. So did Damarion Williams, who was hoping to return the kick. But after another official signaled that Tucker had missed, the other official quickly changed his call. So did Williams. Not even special teams coordinator Chris Horton, asked about the kick after practice, knew whether it was good. Fortunately, an Instagram video from YouTube star Donald De La Haye (aka DeeStroying), who attended Tuesday’s practice, left no doubt: Tucker’s kick was good from 68.
- Outside linebacker David Ojabo had maybe his best practice of training camp, showing some of the explosiveness that was missing early on. He beat Stanley cleanly with an outside move on one 11-on-11 play and beat right tackle Roger Rosengarten not long after with a similar move. Ojabo, who was not cleared to play in Friday’s game as he continues his rehab from last season’s ACL tear, is “finally healthy enough to stack days of practice, and I think you see that from when he started practicing to now, because he’s getting better and better and better,” Orr said.
- Washington had his second would-be pick-six in a nine-day span, stepping in front of a rushed pass from Johnson to Miller and running it back the other way. Few Ravens players have played better over the past two weeks. “A.D. was great for us last year before he got hurt, and he’s going to continue to get better and better and better,” Orr said. “He plays all over the secondary. He’s a scrappy guy, he’s explosive, he’s a takeaway machine.”
- Miller, whom the Ravens signed Sunday, didn’t look Tuesday like a receiver whose last NFL catch came in 2021. Along with the touchdown pass from Jackson, he connected with Josh Johnson for a deep catch down the right sideline and finished practice with a score in Johnson’s red-zone period.
