Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals: Three Things We Learned

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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 13: Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens runs the football upfield against Dre Kirkpatrick and Nick Vigil #59 of the Cincinnati Bengals during their game at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /

Not utilizing Alex Collins early in games will lead to losses for the Ravens

Compared to last year when he got 15-20 carries, Alex Collins is not getting as many carries this year.

All of a sudden just because the Ravens have new weapons around Flacco, they’re throwing the ball a lot more then they should. Throwing 50+ times for any quarterback is not the best idea, especially for Flacco as he has struggled historically against the Bengals. He does not the weapons to throw it that much and Collins is a good enough back to get the carries he got last year.

Collins has not gotten over 10 carries in a game this year and even with the injury to Kenneth Dixon (Injured Reserve), Collins is only out carrying Buck Allen 16 to 10. One would think they would use Collins near the goal line but they have utilized Allen in that role and in the passing game more.

In general, the run game needs to be established early and often if they want to win against tough defenses. Collins had one fumble last week but he is still underutilized regardless and is a playmaker on offense the Ravens need to feature more.

I do get that they were down by 21 early but that is not an excuse to throw that much. The offensive line was getting bullied all night but Collins was still breaking tackles when he got the open field on the outside.

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