Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 36-35 win over Chiefs | COMMENTARY

Here’s how the Ravens graded out at each position after a 36-35 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night in the home opener at M&T Bank Stadium:

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson played a classic Lamar Jackson game — except he was dominant in crunch time. He did a nice job of recognizing coverages and pushing the ball downfield, even throwing more to his running backs. The 42-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown was Patrick Mahomes-like, with Jackson turning his body to throw a jump pass. Those two interceptions hurt, especially the one in the first half he threw into triple coverage. But without him, the Ravens offense is very average. He was the difference in the game. Grade: B+

Offensive line

After a poor performance last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, tackle Alejandro Villanueva rebounded with a strong effort. This time, he played left tackle, where he showed good explosion coming off the ball and established his position well. He also pulled and ran well. Patrick Mekari, undersized for a tackle, played well on the right side. He is one of the best linemen on the team as far as fundamentals are concerned. Both guards, Kevin Zeitler and Ben Powers, were solid and Bradley Bozeman had no struggles at center. This group was especially strong in the fourth quarter. Grade: B+

Receivers

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown appears to be Jackson’s go-to guy, and he has had a strong season in the first two games. Brown has improved from a year ago, especially his route running. He is better at recognizing coverages and can find the holes in zone defenses. Tight ends Josh Oliver and Mark Andrews were good at the point of attack on the line of scrimmage, and so was fullback Patrick Ricard. Their blocking was a key for the Ravens being able to run off tackle. Grade: B

Running backs

The Ravens used several running backs and all were strong and steady. At times, they wore down the Chiefs. Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman weren’t exceptional, but their downhill, one-cut style fits the Ravens’ blocking scheme. Murray and Freeman appear to be the Ravens’ top rushers inside the red zone. Jackson, though, was the game’s best ball carrier with 16 carries for 107 yards. Grade: C+

Defensive line

The Ravens lost nose tackle Brandon Williams in the third quarter with a neck strain. That hurt, but the Ravens got a big lift from tackle Justin Madubuike, who might have played his best game as a Raven. The Ravens did a nice job of subbing and moving Justin Ellis and Calais Campbell around, and they were decent stopping the run. But as far as putting pressure on the quarterback, that will never be this group’s forte. Grade: C

Linebackers

Inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison both got exposed in pass coverage for the second straight year against the Chiefs, who make it a regular part of their game plan to single them out. Queen often leads the Ravens in tackles, but he often leads them in missed tackles, too. Veteran Justin Houston showed improvement from a week ago and fellow outside linebacker Odafe Oweh was good in run support. Oweh’s hustle and play on the edge kept the Ravens in the game, and the rookie’s game-sealing strip and fumble recovery in the final minute was outstanding. His motor never stops. Grade: D

Secondary

Because of Kansas City’s speed, the Chiefs are a poor matchup for the Ravens, especially with star cornerback Marcus Peters out this season with a knee injury. It’s understandable why the Ravens struggle in coverage against this team, but the tackling was atrocious Sunday night. The Ravens need to break out the tackling dummies this week. Both cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Tavon Young are tentative. Grade: D-

Special teams

Devin Duvernay has to be more decisive on punt returns, because a couple of poor decisions cost the team field position. The Ravens also allowed one pressure up the middle on a punt and gave up a kickoff return of more than 30 yards. It’s hard to beat the Chiefs when you give up too much field position. Fortunately, the Ravens came out on top. Grade: C

Coaching

Coach John Harbaugh deserves credit because he had his team ready to play against one of the best teams in the NFL on a short week. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman almost got away from the running game too early but stayed with it. He did a nice job of playing with power, even putting in an extra offensive lineman at times and using Ricard more often than last week. But the Ravens have to learn how to use timeouts wisely, which they didn’t do in the second half. For the second straight week, the defense played poorly, and the tackling was atrocious. Grade: C+