The Baltimore Ravens began their preseason slate with a last-second loss, falling 16-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night. With this being their third-straight preseason defeat, it's safe to say that their era of preseason dominance has come to an end.
However, preseason isn't exactly about wins and losses, but more so seeing how individual players are coming along. In that regard, the Ravens had plenty of standouts, both good and bad, on Friday night.
So, here are three winners and losers from Baltimore's first game of the preseason.
LB Trenton Simpson
Simpson will take over the starting inside linebacker job playing alongside Roquan Smith, but considering he played just 46 defensive snaps as a rookie, it's important to get him some more reps before the season. The Clemson product played the first three quarters of Friday's game, and shined with a team-high 11 total tackles. He also wore the green dot as the one who relays plays to the rest of the defense.
All in all, a great first impression for the first-year starter.
"I feel like it was an awesome opportunity to get out there today and play," Simpson said after the game. "As a young linebacker, I feel like getting as many reps [as you can] is a blessing. The more you see at this position, the more you learn [and] the faster you can play."
OL Ben Cleveland
Cleveland has been a contender for the starting right guard spot, but he actually got the start at center in place of the injured Tyler Linderbaum on Friday. He did a solid job snapping the job, and while it wasn't flashy, he has put himself in good position to win the backup center job behind Linderbaum. That is if he doesn't win the right guard job.
"I feel really good. All of our communication and everything was good. I felt very comfortable there. I think we were all on the same page all the time, so I felt really good how I did there tonight."
DB Damarion "Pepe" Williams
One of the depth pieces in the secondary, Williams' impressive performance didn't come in the way that one would expect. His best play of the night came when he sacked Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett for a 10-yard loss, one of two Ravens Ravens sacks on the night. He also got some valuable punt return reps with Deonte Harty sidelined.
"Special teams are big for the Ravens, especially the return game," Williams said. "[When] we get that ball and get up field, get some yards [and] change the field position for the offense, it's always a good feeling."
Losers
Backup QBs
The Ravens' quarterback depth behind Lamar Jackson has been questionable the entire offseason, and Friday's game only reinforced that belief.
Josh Johnson started the game and completed just four of 12 passes for 62 yards in a half of action. Devin Leary took over at halftime and completed six of 10 passes for 37 yards, though he did score on a QB sneak to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Finally, Emory Jones appeared on just one play, on which he took a sack and fumbled to set up the Eagles' game-winning field goal.
Head coach John Harbaugh backed Johnson after the game, but it's hard to feel confident about Baltimore's quarterback situation if Jackson happens to go down again. Perhaps this lackluster performance by the backups pushes the Ravens to look at other options.
OL Daniel Faalele
The 6-8, 380-pound behemoth played guard instead of his usual tackle position, and unfortunately, it was quite obvious that he hasn't fully adjusted. Faalele looked slow to react and let up some bad pressures throughout the night. Add in a false start penalty, which the Ravens have cracked down on throughout the offseason, and it's hard to feel good about his performance on Friday.
RB Rasheen Ali
Despite being an undrafted free agent, Ali has garnered quite a bit of attention throughout the offseason as a possible depth option. Friday marked his first chance to prove himself to the public, but underwhelmed with just 26 yards on 10 carries.
Meanwhile, Owen Wright, another undrafted free agent who spent last year on the practice squad, ran for 33 yards on just seven carries and added an additional 17 yards on one reception. With an underwhelming first impression and his competitor having a better showing, Ali's chances to make the roster may have just taken a significant hit.
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