Ravens stock report: Keaton Mitchell flashes but QBs struggle in preseason win vs. Colts

The Ravens won their preseason opener Thursday with an old-school recipe: stout defense, productive rushing, difference-making special teams and not much aerial fireworks.

Despite a combined 59 yards on 5-for-19 passing from quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Devin Leary, the Ravens held off the Indianapolis Colts for a 24-16 win at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens, who rested many of their starters and leaned on an impressive rookie class, will next travel to Arlington, Texas, for an Aug. 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s a look at their risers and fallers from Thursday’s game.

Risers

RB Keaton Mitchell: The Ravens’ third-string running back looked like he’d be RB2 on a lot of rosters outside Baltimore. Which is to say, Mitchell looked a lot like he did as a rookie, before his catastrophic knee injury. He had nine carries for 68 yards (7.6 per carry), running with patience behind the line of scrimmage and flashing the explosiveness that defined his 2023 season. Mitchell finished the Ravens’ opening touchdown drive with a 23-yard outside-zone run and then a 22-yard gap-scheme run, breaking second-level tackles on both.

“Keaton’s one of those guys that’s obviously got that ability to take it to the house at any time,” coach John Harbaugh said. “You can bounce it to the edge. You can cut it back. He’s good in the pass game, and then also establishing the fact that you’ll run the ball between the tackles, I think he’s doing that, too. And that’s really important.”

WR/PR LaJohntay Wester: The sixth-round pick’s second meaningful punt return inside M&T Bank Stadium was like something out of a dream. He made one Colt miss with a juke, slipped another arm tackle, accelerated through a gap, broke another tackle attempt and was then off to the races. Wester is still only a couple of mistakes away from losing the Ravens’ punt return job, but his 87-yard touchdown distanced himself from the competition. Wester also had two catches for a team-high 41 yards.

“He said he was going to take one [return] to the crib, and he did it,” Mitchell said. “He [is] definitely going to make something happen in his league at punt return.”

CB Jalyn Armour-Davis: The Ravens probably didn’t expect Armour-Davis to play as much as he did. The fourth-year corner left the field along with starting safety Malaki Starks late in the first quarter, but rookie cornerback Bilhal Kone’s knee injury led to a return. Armour-Davis wasn’t perfect in coverage, but he finished with two pass breakups, held up well as an outside and inside cornerback and got reps as a first-team vice on the Ravens’ punt return unit. Most important, he left the game in good health. Harbaugh said Armour-Davis “did a really nice job out there and played exceptionally well.”

RB Rasheen Ali: Do the Ravens have space for a fourth running back on their 53-man roster? Probably not, but Ali can bolster his case with standout special teams play. He had a 69-yard kickoff return in the second quarter — more than Mitchell had on his three attempts total (64), and longer than any Ravens kickoff return last year. Ali, who finished the short-field touchdown drive with two carries for 21 yards, has impressive open-field speed and could be difficult to sneak on to the practice squad.

Ravens pass rushers: Every time a Colts quarterback got into an obvious passing down in the first half, it felt like the Ravens were breathing down Anthony Richardson Sr.’s or Daniel Jones’ neck. Outside linebacker David Ojabo had an unblocked sack. Outside linebacker Adisa Isaac had a sack, too, as he cleaned up a Mike Green-forced pressure. Defensive linemen Aeneas Peebles, C.J. Ravenell and C.J. Okoye all got into the backfield. The Ravens weren’t beating the Colts’ first-string offensive line, but the show of depth was a nice reassurance for a pass rush seeking more consistent pressure.

“Your main goal as a pass rusher is to get them to third-and-long,” said Green, a second-round pick. “So if you’re being disruptive in the run game on first and second down, it opens up more opportunities for you to go out there and pass rush. So, as long as we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing in our first two downs, and we get them in third-and-long, you’re able to go out there and show what you can really do when it comes down to getting to the quarterback.”

K Tyler Loop: Training camp field goals matter only so much. “We all know that the games are what matters,” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Monday. For as well as Loop has kicked this summer in more intimate practice settings, the talk in Baltimore this week seemed destined to center on the sixth-round pick’s missed 46-yarder in his home stadium. Then Loop got another attempt, from even farther out, and redeemed himself. Loop’s 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and three extra points amounted to a solid night’s work — not enough to take an ironclad hold on the starting job, but commanding enough.

Loop “hit the ball really well tonight,” Harbaugh said. “So, I would say tonight, he passed the test. It might not have been A-plus-plus, but B-plus.”

Fallers

Ravens quarterbacks: The Ravens had more first-half touchdowns (three) than they did first-half completions (two). Rush introduced himself to Ravens fans with an interception on his first drop-back and finished 2-for-4 for 16 yards. Leary helped draw a couple of pass interference penalties but entered halftime without a completion and with an interception that ended a potential scoring drive. His lack of chemistry with the wide receivers he targeted on vertical routes was apparent. He finished 3-for-12 for 43 yards and the pick.

“It wasn’t very good tonight,” Harbaugh said of the passing game. “I mean ... is there a record for low [preseason passing yards]? How many passing yards did we have? Fifty-nine [passing yards]. Has an NFL preseason game ever been won in 59 passing yards? ... Yes, we’d like to pass for more than 59 yards, I assure you.”

Said Leary: “I just want to continue to play ball, continue to get the reps and learn from them. Second year in this system being dialed in and just continuing to learn every day.”

CB Bilhal Kone: The sixth-round pick’s rookie season is over before Week 1 after he tore a knee ligament and was carted off the field in the first quarter. Ravens officials were excited about Kone’s ball skills and athletic tools, but a shoulder injury interrupted his training camp, and now a preseason injury will stunt his development further.

“It’s very unfortunate,” Green said. “‘B.K.’ is a good dude. He’s a great player. I actually played against him last year when he was at Western Michigan. It’s sad, of course, but the game of football is very physical, so I know he’s going to find a way to bounce back. He has the type of mentality that he can battle through adversity, so if he just sticks to his path, then everything should be good for him.”

RG Daniel Faalele: Critics of the mountainous Faalele seized on his struggles against Ravens defensive lineman Travis Jones’ bull rush in Sunday’s practice at M&T Bank Stadium. They won’t let up after reserve Adetomiwa Adebawore bulldozed him on his way to a first-quarter sack. Faalele dropped weight this offseason, which should help with his mobility in the Ravens’ run game and overall endurance, but his power has been his best asset in pass protection. He can’t afford to be so easily displaced.

This article has been updated.