Defensive Gem: DT’s Strong Play a Rare Bright Spot for…

After recording 13 sacks last season and earning a massive extension in the offseason, Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike hasn’t had the follow-up act that he would’ve liked. At least that was the case until Thursday night.

Through the first nine games of the season, Madubuike had just two sacks as teams placed far more attention on him. In Thursday night’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, though, he had a career-high three sacks and helped the Ravens pressure Joe Burrow throughout the night.

It’s been a long time coming for the fifth-year pro, but some subtle adjustments helped him get home far more consistently.

“‘Z.O.’ [defensive coordinator Zach Orr] was just telling [me], ‘Just push that pocket.’ [Joe Burrow] tries to find ways to escape through little seams in the A-gap and the B-gap and that’s what I was trying to do,” Madubuike said postgame. “Obviously, when he was trying to escape in the perimeter I was trying to hustle and get him down. I was just trying to just do my job, and it worked out tonight.”

It’s a good thing too, because Madubuike was one of the few bright spots in a miserable defensive performance. The Ravens’ defense has been by far the worst in the league against the pass this season, and that continued as Joe Burrow completed 34 of 56 passes for 426 yards and four touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase also tortured the Baltimore secondary yet again, catching 11 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Simply put, that’s not at all sustainable long-term.

“That’s just not our standard of defense and we know that,” Madubuike said. “We’re going to find ways in practice to improve and get better, and I know that guys in that locker room feel the same way as me and we’re going to get that done. We just got to take it one day at a time and just focus on the right things [and] build the right habits and translate it to the game.”

On a personal level, though, it’s hard for Madubuike not to enjoy his performance, especially against a hated division rival.

“Feels good; feels good,” Madubuike said. “This year is definitely more double teams and stuff like that, and I could easily fall into the frustration bucket, but I chose to just stay poised [and] stay focused and just rely on my teammates to be like, ‘What can I do to get better?’ You’re getting slighted a lot. Don’t be discouraged and just keep fighting. That’s what I chose to do and I’m glad I got three [sacks], but it’s a long season and I’m going to just keep humming [and] just take it one day at a time.”