Ravens TE Dennis Pitta was targeted a team-high 15 times in Sunday’s 24-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and he is now listed ahead of fellow third-year tight end Ed Dickson on the team’s official depth chart. But in that game, Pitta, who got 51 offensive snaps, lined up as a wide receiver or slot receiver more than two-thirds of the time.
Pitta lined up next to an offensive tackle as a traditional tight end on 15 plays and was not targeted once by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on any of the plays as he was often run-blocking on either the left or right edge. He lined up as a wide receiver on four plays, and Flacco threw his way on three of them, including two quick completions while Pitta ran slant routes against a safety. Pitta also lined up in the backfield on one play.
But usually, Pitta was lined up in the slot, where he did most of his damage in a game where he led the team with eight catches and with 65 receiving yards. He was targeted eight times on the 16 plays in which he lined up as a slot receiver to Flacco’s left and four times on the 15 plays where he was in the slot to Flacco’s right -- including a third-quarter interception when Flacco tried to squeeze a pass between three Eagles defenders.
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