John Harbaugh left in awe of Brandon Stephens' dominant performance in coverage vs. Ja'Marr Chase
With Marlon Humphrey ruled out against the Cincinnati Bengals due to his calf injury, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald called on Brandon Stephens to cover Ja’Marr Chase in the divisional contest. Stephens last squared off with Chase in the Ravens’ Week 2 win over the Bengals when he helped hold the wideout to a […]
With Marlon Humphrey ruled out against the Cincinnati Bengals due to his calf injury, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald called on Brandon Stephens to cover Ja’Marr Chase in the divisional contest.
Stephens last squared off with Chase in the Ravens’ Week 2 win over the Bengals when he helped hold the wideout to a mere 31 receiving yards. To the delight of Baltimore's coaching staff, the third-year cornerback managed to put together an encore showing in Week 11.
CB1-like performance
Chase was targeted a total of seven times against the Ravens, and he hauled in two receptions for 12 receiving yards and one touchdown. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Stephens lined up against Chase on 22 out of 35 routes, and he allowed an average target separation of 0.9 yards.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was far from surprised to see Stephens orchestrate a standout performance on the day.
"He did a great job," Harbaugh said during his postgame press conference. "We played a little bit of man coverage out there quite a bit, and I thought everybody did a good job. … He knew the challenge that he was going to be faced with, and he just did a phenomenal job.
"He keeps stepping up. Meets every challenge."
All eyes are now set on whether Humphrey will receive the green light to play in Baltimore’s upcoming road clash with the Los Angeles Chargers. If Humphrey ends up being sidelined for the contest, then Stephens is expected to get the nod to cover Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen.
