What seemed like a fluky trend is evolving into an ordinary role that Gus Edwards plays for the Ravens in punching the ball into the end zone.
I say “fluke” because, throughout Lamar Jackson’s career, the Baltimore backfield has primarily been a carousel of names with varying usages.
Since Jackson’s explosive scrimmage play (when he’s healthy) has always been the engine to the Ravens’ offense, John Harbaugh has never really committed to a feature back.
There was Mark Ingram in 2019, which was Jackson’s first season as the full-time starter.
Ingram posted 10 rushing scores on the year — the most of any Ravens running back during this span.
Edwards is on pace to crush that with eight through 10 games; seven of those have come in the past four weeks.
The 28-year-old Rutgers product is finally getting to become the player the Ravens have wanted him to be.
His career has been hindered by several severe injuries, including missing significant time in the past two seasons.
He’s also pacing himself to a career season in yards — Harbaugh has entrusted him to 12.1 carries through a 44.9 percent snap share.
Edwards’ red zone use is what really merits this conversation: He has 19 carries in scoring territory; six of them are goal-line carries, which is one less than Christian McCaffrey.
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The Ravens began giving looks to Keaton Mitchell against the Browns last week, who proved efficient with 11.3 yards per carry.
But Edwards still out-snapped the rookie 11-to-3 and should retain his goal-line work.
The Bengals cough up exactly two red zone touchdowns a game — allowing just over half of the opposing teams’ opportunities in that territory to result in a score.
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Cincinnati is a well-below-average team against the run, so keep your eyes peeled for more Edwards pay dirt on Thursday.
The play: Gus Edwards anytime touchdown (+106, FanDuel)