Ravens snap-count analysis: Ben Cleveland plays important snaps vs. Chiefs as Ravens puzzle together a new offensive line

Ravens offensive snap counts vs. Kansas City Chiefs 9/19/21

Alejandro Villanueva T 76

Kevin Zeitler G 76

Bradley Bozeman C 76

Patrick Mekari T 76

Lamar Jackson QB 76

Sammy Watkins WR 70

Mark Andrews TE 57

Marquise Brown WR 55

Patrick Ricard FB 48

Ben Powers G 44

Devin Duvernay WR 37

Ty’Son Williams RB 37

Ben Cleveland G 32

Latavius Murray RB 27

Eric Tomlinson TE 12

Josh Oliver TE 12

Devonta Freeman RB 10

Trystan Colon OL 9

James Proche WR 5

Tylan Wallace WR 1

Observations: Powers again played the most snaps at left guard, but Cleveland was in for key drives at the end of the game, so perhaps he’s taking over the starting job many fans wanted him to win in training camp. The Ravens spread the ball among their backs, but Williams is their No. 1 option, and he played well enough to hold that spot. Ricard played 63% of offensive snaps, which would have been his second highest percentage of all last season. With tight end Nick Boyle out, he’s a huge part of the offense. Brown said he didn’t know he would play on his sore ankle until he woke up Sunday morning, but he handled his usual load. The Ravens essentially stuck to their receiver rotation from Week 1, with Brown and Watkins on the field most of the time and Duvernay playing the third most snaps. The Ravens turned to Colon as their sixth lineman in heavy blocking sets.

Ravens defensive snap counts vs. Kansas City Chiefs 9/19/21

Chuck Clark SS 51

Marlon Humphrey CB 51

Anthony Averett CB 51

Patrick Queen LB 51

Tavon Young CB 40

Odafe Oweh LB 38

Malik Harrison LB 34

Tyus Bowser LB 31

Calais Campbell DE 29

Justin Houston LB 27

Brandon Stephens FS 25

Justin Madubuike DT 25

DeShon Elliott FS 24

Justin Ellis DT 20

Chris Board LB 19

Brandon Williams NT 19

Geno Stone SS 12

Pernell McPhee LB 12

Ar’Darius Washington FS 1

Jaylon Ferguson LB 1

Observations: Oweh played more snaps than any other edge defender and justified the Ravens’ faith in him by making the two most important defensive plays of the game. With all the injuries in their secondary, the Ravens can’t take Humphrey or Averett off the field against a good passing offense. Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale used almost every player at his disposal as he tried to cover for the absences. Harrison was in for 67% of defensive snaps, which would have been his second highest percentage last season. He struggled in coverage, so it will be interesting to monitor how much the Ravens use him going forward. The Ravens eased off slightly on veteran pass rushers Campbell and Houston, who also benefited from a lighter overall workload for the defense (on the field for 51 plays compared to 85 in Week 1). McPhee will play more against power-oriented teams. The Ravens turned to Stone after Elliott left the game with a concussion.