Dalton was a worthy test case for Ravens coordinator Mike Macdonald. Over Dalton’s first five starts for New Orleans, he’d been pressured on just 24.3% of his drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus, one of the NFL’s lowest rates in that span. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was pressured the least, at 19.4%.) Dalton was sacked just four times over those five games, with opponents converting pressures into sacks 9.8% of the time.
On Monday, the Ravens turned up the heat without ever needing to go nuclear. They pressured Dalton on 15 of his 34 drop-backs (44.