The Baltimore Ravens (12-4) accomplished their goal Sunday afternoon with a 24-16 victory over the youthful Cincinnati Bengals (9-7).
Baltimore was led by Ray Rice, who gained 191 yards on 24 carries. He added two touchdowns, each on huge plays. Rice’s second touchdown, a 51-yard run, iced the game for Baltimore because it put them up 24-13 with less than six minutes to go in the game.
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What a great day for the Baltimore Ravens (10-3). From the opening whistle, the Ravens dominated the overmatched Indianapolis Colts (0-13).
Running back Ray Rice went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season and gained 100 yards while also scoring a touchdown en route to the Ravens’ 24-10 victory Sunday.
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This game shouldn’t have been a doubt and it wasn’t for the Baltimore Ravens (9-3) Sunday. They got off to a fast start with running back Ray Rice, who gained 204 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. His workhorse-type day yielded a 24-10 Ravens’ victory over the hapless Cleveland Browns (4-8).
Rice wasn’t the only running back to get in to the act. Backup Ricky Williams gained 76 yards on 18 carries and scored a touchdown. Williams gained some tough yards, but found a lot of holes in the Cleveland defense.
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A Thanksgiving showdown between the Harbaugh brothers ended in style for the Baltimore Ravens (8-3). The defense strutted around the field all night long to the tune of nine sacks, tying a team record, en route to a 16-6 Ravens’ victory.
Terrell Suggs led the defense with three sacks and a forced fumble. Suggs just continued to add to his candidacy for Defensive Player of the Year.
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Andy Dalton is one impressive rookie quarter. Sure he had three interceptions, but he threw for 373 yards and one touchdown against the vaunted Ravens’ defense. There were several times the Ravens (7-3) defensive backs were beaten deep by Cincinnati (6-4) receivers.
It didn’t really seem to matter by the end of the day, though. Dalton proved he was a rookie when Terrell Suggs wrapped him up and he threw the ball out of bounds for intentional grounding. That was effectively the end of the game in the Ravens’ 31-24 victory.
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Much-maligned Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco grew up before our eyes Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He led a 92-yard drive to bury the arch-rival Steelers 23-20. Flacco hit Torrey Smith, who had problems holding on to the ball all night, with a 26-yard pass in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Flacco’s pass to Smith wasn’t the only big play of the night. On third down the Ravens went 14-for-21. Several times Flacco found Dennis Pitta for a first down to keep drives going.
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The Ravens (1-1) appeared to be in a malaise fron the opening snap Sunday afternoon against the Tennessee Titans (1-1) as they fell 26-13. Baltimore’s offensive line got handled all day by the Tennessee front four which made Joe Flacco not look very good the entire game.
Flacco struggled making his reads and threw his first two interceptions of the season. Baltimore’s passing offense never really got on track except for their lone touchdown drive.
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The Ravens will be playing their second game in six days on Saturday when they take on the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only are the Steelers their division rival, they’re Baltimore’s arch-rival. Pittsburgh has knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs two times in Baltimore’s history, including the AFC Championship game two seasons ago. I decided, especially since the games have been so close this season, each team has scored 27 points, to look at which team has the advantage on a positional basis.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger v. Joe Flacco
This is Pittsburgh’s biggest advantage. Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback while Flacco has been able to lead the Ravens to the playoffs in his first three seasons, but never able to get Baltimore over the hump. Flacco has made very good strides this season, but he’s still not at Roethlisberger’s level.
Running Backs: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain v. Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman
Advantage Ravens. Rice isn’t as physical a back as Mendenhall, but his all-around game is better than the Steeler rusher. McGahee is a physical back that is a good change-of-pace from Rice. Moore serves the same purpose so this matchup is a wash. McClain is the superior fullback to Redman. Although Redman got in the end zone to beat the Ravens in December, McClain is a two-time Pro Bowler that makes the Ravens’ run game tick.
Wide Receiver: Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and extras v. Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and extras
Just about even. Boldin and Mason are outstanding possession receivers, as is Ward. The difference maker here is Wallace. Wallace is extremely fast and can get up the field in a hurry if the defense doesn’t keep an eye on him. However, each team uses multiple receiver sets and that’s where Baltimore has the advantage. T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Donte’ Stallworth, when he’s used, are superior to Emmanuel Sanders and Antwaan Randle-El because they are they each have the ability to beat nickel and dime defensive backs while Randle-El has lost some of his quickness and Sanders is a rookie. This is the key matchup to watch if the Ravens, or Steelers, are going to win Saturday.
Tight End: Todd Heap v. Heath Miller
Heap has developed into a weapon for Baltimore this season. Aside from his hamstring pull that he suffered, coincidentally, in the last Pittsburgh game, Heap has been mostly healthy. In Sunday’s playoff game, the tight end caught 10 passes for 108 yards. Miller is a solid player, but he isn’t on the same level as Heap, at least right now. Slight advantage for the Ravens.
Offensive line:
Here’s the biggest question for both teams. Neither offensive line has played particularly well this season so this is the area to watch. Both units will step up their game against their biggest rival so it will be interesting to watch. No advantage here.
Defensive line:
The defensive lines, especially in a 3-4 base defense, are the heart of the defense. Brett Keisel is better than Cory Redding. Casey Hampton is better than Kelly Gregg. The large, no pun intended, on the lines is Haloti Ngata against Ziggy Hood. Ngata has been playing at an All-Pro level this season while Hood is a second-year veteran. Look for both defensive lines to dominate this game.
Outside Linebacker: Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson v. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley
Suggs and Harrison are even. There’s no need to write about them except to say that they’re both excellent linebackers which great pass rush skills. The difference here is Woodley’s ability to rush the passer against Johnson’s ability to be a well-rounded linebacker. Woodley has the ability to bull rush tackles and force quick throws out of the quarterback, while Johnson can cover tight ends and running backs in addition to getting a pass rush when he needs to. Due to Woodley’s ability, the Steelers get the slight nod here.
Inside Linebacker: Ray Lewis and Jameel McClain v. James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons
Lewis is better than Farrior by virtue of him being a Hall of Fame player. Lewis has lost a step in pass coverage, however. Timmons is better than McClain, Dannell Ellerbe or Tavares Gooden. Advantage Steelers.
Safety: Dawan Landry and Ed Reed v. Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark
The great debate is Reed against Polamalu, but that’s an incomparable debate because they play different positions. To compare these units let’s match Landry with Polamalu. I think everyone would agree, although Landry is a solid player, Polamalu is the superior strong safety. Same thing at free safety. Clark is a good, hard-hitting player, but he’s not Reed and doesn’t have his playmaking ability. No advantage.
Cornerbacks: Josh Wilson and Chris Carr v. Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden
Neither team is particularly strong in this area. Wilson has shored up the Baltimore secondary and Carr has played well most of the year, but they aren’t what would be deemed cover corners. Taylor and McFadden have both shown flashes of being top corners, but haven’t been good enough to give the Steelers a decisive advantage. In this area, both teams are even.
Special Teams: Billy Cundiff and Sam Koch v. Shaun Suisham and Jeremy Kapinos
Cundiff is having a Pro Bowl season kicking for the Ravens. Koch is nothing short of a weapon flipping the field on almost every occasion. Suisham came to Pittsburgh in the middle of the season and has been good, but he hasn’t been Cundiff. Kapinos came to Pittsburgh late in the year after Daniel Sepulveda tore a knee ligament in the second Ravens game. Advantage Ravens.
Tell me what you think. Which team has an advantage at each position?
Sunday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers was a typical defensive battle. The Ravens, however, were able to strike first. The Steelers, and Troy Polamalu, got the last laugh.
In the fourth quarter with the Ravens up 10-6, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron called for a pass on second-and-five. Polamalu, blitzing from the end, had a clear path to Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and sacked him while forcing a fumble. The fumble was bad enough, but linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered the ball at the Baltimore 10 yard line.
After the recovery Ben Roethlisberger completed a pass to Isaac Redman for Pittsburgh’s only touchdown of the game. The touchdown gave Pittsburgh a 13-10 lead and, eventually, the win.
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It certainly didn’t take long for the Baltimore Ravens to get their first loss of the season. The Cincinnati Bengals intercepted quarterback Joe Flacco four times on their way to a 15-10 victory.
Sunday can be classified as Flacco’s worst day as a professional so far. His mechanics were off, he was forcing passes and looked confused in the pocket at times.
One positive of Flacco’s performance was his touchdown to Derrick Mason in the third quarter which was the only touchdown of the game.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh didn’t help his struggling quarterback much, dropping three passes. Houshmandzadeh has the reputation of being reliable, but he looked anything except reliable Sunday.
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