Ravens snap-count analysis: Defense shuts down Titans RB Derrick Henry without overtaxing veteran linemen

Ravens offensive snap counts vs. Tennessee Titans 1/10/21

Orlando Brown Jr. T 65

Bradley Bozeman G 65

Patrick Mekari C 65

Ben Powers G 65

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Lamar Jackson QB 65

Patrick Ricard FB 49

Marquise Brown WR 46

Willie Snead IV WR 42

Miles Boykin WR 41

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Tyre Phillips T 39

Mark Andrews TE 38

J.K. Dobbins RB 33

Gus Edwards RB 29

D.J. Fluker T 26

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Eric Tomlinson TE 22

Dez Bryant WR 9

Devin Duvernay WR 6

Matt Skura OL 5

Justice Hill RB 5

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Observations: Ricard’s workload did not immediately skyrocket after tight end Nick Boyle suffered a season-ending injury, but his role in the offense has grown to a new level over the past two weeks. This seems unlikely to change given his effectiveness as a receiver against the Titans. The Ravens did not use a sixth offensive lineman as much as they did late in the regular season, and Tomlinson’s snap count returned to a pre-Week 17 level. Phillips again played more than Fluker, who did not practice until Friday because of a knee injury. With Snead back from an ankle injury, the Ravens tightened their rotation at wide receiver, using Duvernay and Bryant far less than they did in Weeks 16 and 17. The Ravens again sat veteran running back Mark Ingram II, relying almost exclusively on Dobbins and Edwards, with Hill mixed in for a few passing downs.

Ravens defensive snap counts vs. Tennessee Titans 1/10/21

Chuck Clark SS 51

DeShon Elliott FS 51

Marlon Humphrey CB 51

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Marcus Peters CB 51

Patrick Queen LB 43

Derek Wolfe DE 32

Calais Campbell DE 31

Brandon Williams NT 30

Matthew Judon LB 30

Malik Harrison LB 28

Justin Madubuike DT 24

Tyus Bowser LB 23

Yannick Ngakoue LB 22

Jimmy Smith CB 21

Pernell McPhee LB 20

Justin Ellis NT 16

L.J. Fort LB 15

Jihad Ward DE 14

Chris Board LB 8

Observations: We saw how much the Ravens tailor their linebacker rotation to the opponent, as Harrison quadrupled his snap count from Week 17 and played the most he had since the last time the Ravens faced the Titans and 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back Derrick Henry. The smaller Board, meanwhile, played his lowest defensive snap count since Week 10. The Ravens had to be thrilled that they shut down Henry without asking for extreme workloads from their veteran defensive linemen, Campbell, Williams and Wolfe. Given the importance of fortifying the middle, they went back to Ellis, who was inactive for Week 17. They leaned toward veterans on the edge, where Judon and McPhee gave them terrific production on modest workloads. Again, they have to be happy they’ve performed so well while keeping these guys relatively fresh. In the secondary, the Ravens tightened their rotation considerably, keeping their top two safeties and top two cornerbacks on the field for every defensive snap. With Smith back, Anthony Averett did not play a single defensive snap; he averaged 54 the last three weeks of the regular season. We saw a similar pattern the last time they played the Titans, so Averett will probably return to the field against opponents that use more wide receivers.