It definitely wasn’t a pretty game, but the Ravens pulled out a 13-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon.
The offense scored one touchdown on a day where they were below average. Joe Flacco passed for just 125 yards and one interception and the run game produced just 98 yards.
On the other side of the ball, the defense forced five turnovers. The Ravens defense picked off Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer on the first series and never stopped taking the ball away. Baltimore’s defense did have trouble getting off the field at times, but the Ravens were able hold the Bengals to seven points.
We all would have liked to see a more spectacular victory and the Ravens certainly know they could play better. However, the Ravens did start taking some key players out because Pittsburgh bullied their way to a 41-9 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The best part of Sunday afternoon’s game was watching Billy Cundiff tie the NFL record for touchbacks in a season with 40.
Baltimore will play the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday afternoon in the wild-card round of the playoffs. If they expect to win that game, the offense must get better and the penalties have to be reduced.
If by momentum, you mean winning their last four games in a row, then yes the Ravens have momentum. But yesterday’s game was three hours of blecch. Not exactly what the fans were hoping for, but still a win is a win and somehow the Ravens will avoid the Indianapolis Colts in the first round.
That said, the level of play will have to be considerably better if this team is to make a long playoff run.