The Baltimore Ravens are barreling toward the No. 1 seed in the AFC behind their rushing offense and stout defense.
Baltimore ranks fourth in scoring, first in rushing yards, second in yards per rush and second in overall defense.
Those facets have always been strong for the Ravens, while the passing game has lacked a little firepower in the past.
And that’s why they signed veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a big one-year contract this past offseason.
While Beckham Jr. hasn’t put up crazy stats in his 10th season, he’s come on strong in the past five games as the Ravens make their playoff push.
He ranks No. 1 in the NFL in target percentage over the past five weeks, according to ESPN, and has seen his yards per game go from 27.0 yards per game during his first six games in Baltimore to 68.6 yards per game during his past five games.
Odell Beckham Jr. was worth $18M the day Lamar Jackson signed, so all of this is gravy
Coming alive in Dec. for playoff push
Circus catches on any close ball
Big plays in big moments
Locker room leadershipI bet Mahomes wouldn’t have minded if KC ponied up that money pic.twitter.com/dvLwuaN9hN
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) December 14, 2023
This is what the Ravens wanted when they signed OBJ – a consistent target for Lamar Jackson who can break open games and provide leadership in the locker room.
He’s also been part of the reason why the Ravens have won three consecutive games since Week 11 and have averaged 240.7 passing yards per game and two touchdowns per game over that span.
The veteran pass catcher has also filled in nicely as Jackson’s go-to target after tight end Mark Andrews suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
Now, OBJ and the rest of the offense just need to continue this offensive showing in the final month of the regular season and in the playoffs.
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