Ravens' Trade Deadline Addition Continues Earning Praise

"I think he's is a really good player. He's physical. [When] you get him on the edge in the pass rush like that, that was a help to us," head coach John Harbaugh said. "Our defensive personality has always been what it is; so, he fits it really well. That's kind of why we wanted him. That's why we were excited – one of the reasons we were excited to have him, but he's a good football player. He plays really hard and tough, and he has good balance when he's rushing, stays on his feet and gives you the best chance to wrap up a quarterback."

Since being acquired from the Tennessee Titans just before the deadline, Jones leads the team with 20 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, and has recorded 1.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits. What makes him especially impactful is how versatile he is with the ability to play inside and on the edge, giving the Ravens tremendous schematic flexibility, especially with third-year outside linebacker Tavius Robinson back in the mix, who possesses similar dynamic traits as a heavy-handed hybrid pass rusher.

"It's huge to be able to do both, for sure," Robinson said about Jones' versatility. "He is a guy who has kind of done that his whole career, so it's been good for me to kind of learn from him, take tips from him in the meeting room and stuff like that. So, yes, it's been good, for sure."

The 2023 fourth-rounder also loves the aggressive and confident energy that Jones has brought to the Ravens defense and fed off it against the Bengals, which helped him have a standout game of his own with a sack, 2 quarterback hits and a key pressure that led to the interception that was handed off to Gilman who took it the distance for a score.

Jones and Robinson tandem are key to overall pass rush success

Since the Ravens didn't acquire Jones until Robinson had already been on injured reserve for a few weeks with a broken foot, this past week marked their first game playing with each other. It yielded the kind of highly disruptive results this defensive unit has lacked in a specific, yet essential, aspect of the game: being able to generate consistent pressure and sacks with a standard four-man rush.

“It’s real impactful when you can win with the four-man rush and you can win at multiple spots and now you can hunt mismatches and that’s what we were able to do with Dre’Mont,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “I thought the whole front, the outside linebackers (and) the (defensive) line played their best game of the season last week and we needed them to.”

After their first game plan against the Bengals didn’t pan out for all four quarters, the Ravens knew that they’d have to be able to apply pressure without bringing extra bodies to the rush heading into the rematch. They did just that, finishing with 3 sacks and 17 pressures as Burrow was never given a chance to get comfortable in the pocket or in rhythm as a passer.

“They dominated in the four-man rush,” Orr said. “It all started with the physicality and the violence. We challenged those guys non-stop to play like that regardless of who’s in there and they’ve done that. They did that so we’re looking for another performance of that. If we can get that out of them, we’re gonna be in good shape.”

Needing to win their next three games to guarantee a playoff berth and third straight AFC North title, this revamped pass rush unit is primed to pounce on some banged-up offensive lines to close the season. They can start by feasting in primetime this week in primetime against a New England Patriots' unit that will be without first-round rookie left tackle Will Campbell. Expect to see the Ravens run more twists and stunts to Drake Maye's blindside in this game to try to take advantage of the tandem of rookie Jared Wilson and fourth-year pro Vederian Lowe.

The Ravens have been handing out some extensions to core pending free agents over the past couple of weeks and have many more up for new deals after this season. Jones has already shown that he knows how to 'Play like a Raven' in the six games he's been on the team. If he keeps producing and elevating those around him, he'll continue climbing up the list of priority targets to get brought back for next season and beyond because their defense it most dangerous with players like him in the fold.