Weekly grades for every position group on offense are in with some high, moderate and poor marks.

The Baltimore Ravens finally found a way to finish and didn’t let another double-digit fourth-quarter lead slip away in a decisive 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Week 3. In the team’s first victory of the 2024 regular season, there were several impressive performances by players on both sides of the ball including some tremendous improvements from those who have been much maligned to start the season.

Here is how each individual position group on offense fared on the weekly grade sheet.

Quarterback: A+

Lamar Jackson had another “phenomenal” outing in the apt words of head coach John Harbaugh in his postgame press conference. He used his arm and legs to carve up the Dallas’ defense almost every time he stepped on the field in the first three quarters and then once again with the game on the line. Needing a couple of first downs to keep the ball away from the Cowboys after they had made things a little too close for comfort late in the game, the reigning league MVP came to the Ravens’ rescue to ice the game with a couple of clutch plays. The first came on a crucial third down conversion when he had to deliver a quick accurate pass with pressure from a blitz coming in hot and two plays later, he faked out everyone including the cameraman on an option player where he pulled the ball late and exploded up the middle for a 10-yard gain and game-clinching first down.

“In crunch time, you want it in his hands,” Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum said. “It was a big first-down conversion on third down to Zay [Flowers], and then obviously him getting that first down at the end to seal the game.

Jackson finished 12-of-15 for 182 passing yards, a touchdown, no turnovers, a quarterback rating of 96.8 and a passer rating of 139.4. As a runner, he finished second on the team in carries (14) and rushing yards (87) and yards per carry (6.2) and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season.

Running Backs: A+++

While Jackson made the game-winning plays in the end, four-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry was the star of the show for most of the day who made his presence felt early and often. He finally had his big breakout game as a Raven in which he accounted for over 50 % of the team’s total carries and rushing yards with a season-high 151 yards on 25 attempts. He ripped off several chunk runs, delivered some nasty stiff arms, made multiple defenders miss, broke numerous tackles and scored a pair of touchdowns, bringing his season total to four in three games. He also took a screen pass for 23 yards to bring his scrimmage total to 174 on 26 combined touches.

The only other running back to see the field on offense for the third game in a row was fellow veteran Justice Hill who had another solid outing as a change-of-pace option to Henry and pass catcher out of the backfield. He finished with five carries for 33 rushing yards and team-leading 6.6 yards per carry and caught both of his targets for 21 receiving yards including a long of 12 on a half-back screen to bring his scrimmage total to 54 yards on seven combined touches.

Fullback: A+

Four-time Pro Bowler Patrick Ricard saw the field for a season-high 32 offensive snaps which was 51 percent of the team’s total and only five fewer than Henry. He made key blocks to spring both of the Ravens running backs and Jackson on numerous occasions including on Henry’s first touchdown run down near the goal line.

Wide Receiver: A-

For the second week in a row, this position group accounted for over 50 % of Jackson’s completions and passing yards with seven collective catches for 104 yards. Leading the way was 10th-year veteran Nelson Agholor who nearly tripled his receiving yardage total through the first two games on a 56-yard catch and run where he made a defender miss and nearly took it the distance before being tackled two yards short of crossing the goal line.

The only two other receivers to catch one or more passes were fourth-year pro Rashod Bateman and second-year pro Zay Flowers. They tied for the team in receptions (three) and targets (four) receptions and both of them came up with some crucial catches for first downs. Bateman was the recipient of Jackson’s lone touchdown pass which was a 13-yarder where he found himself wide open over the middle in the end zone. Flowers made up for a huge gaffe as a member of the hands team on special teams that resulted in the Cowboys recovering their onside kick attempt by reeling in Jackson’s clutch third-down pass on the final drive of the game.

Tight Ends: B

This position wasn’t nearly as heavily utilized in the passing attack for the second week in a row but still made significant contributions nonetheless. Third-year pro Charlie Kolar surprisingly led the group in receiving yards, all of which came on the lone target that he hauled in for a career-long reception of 30 yards on Jackson’s first passing attempt of the game.

Three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews was only targeted once and it was a fastball misfire by Jackson on a third and short late in the game that resulted in the offense going three and out but he made some nice perimeter blocks in the run game. Isaiah Likely’s lone target and catch went for four yards and led to the Ravens’ first punt of the game but where he made his presence felt the most was as a blocker in the run game where he came across the formation multiple times as a lead blocker for Jackson on the edge including on his nine-yard touchdown run for the first points of the game.

Offensive Line: A-

For the first time this season, the unit was an overwhelming strength as a whole instead of being stout on the left side and a detrimental liability on the right. After being dragged through social and the national media for his lapses in pass protection that cost the Ravens dearly in their upset loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2, third-year pro Daniel Faalele had his best game at right guard in which he showed tremendous growth and improvement. He and veteran right tackle Patrick Mekari earned the right to play 100% of the team’s total offensive snaps with how well the offense moved the ball from start to finish with them in the lineup.

“What made me stick with it was they were doing so well,” Harbaugh said. “Running the ball, pass protection – they were doing a really good job of blocking. They took care of their pass rushers, especially Micah [Parsons] – they did a great job there. So, I just felt like there was no reason to make a change there. I just felt like there was no reason to make a change there. We had the possibility of rotating some guys in, but [the starting offensive linemen] were playing too well to do that.”

The strides that Faalele made allowed Linderbaum to shine as the anchor in the middle and led to him finishing as the Ravens’ highest-graded player according to Pro Football Focus with an overall grade of 91.4.