Flacco, defense, push team to 2-0, but Ravens lose Yanda for the year.
M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE — Like death and taxes, there are certain things on which you can count.
—The Ravens win a September home game. Baltimore did it again on Sunday with a 24-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns before 70,605 fans. It was Baltimore’s 17th win in 19 home games against Cleveland and the eighth victory in ten home openers under head coach John Harbaugh. The Browns lost their 14th straight road game and haven’t won away from home since a 2015 win over the Ravens.
Courtesy: Dawgs By Nature
—Baltimore’s defense wreaks havoc on a rookie quarterback. The Ravens now have 11 straight home wins when a rookie QB is at the helm, and are 14-4 against first-year signal-callers under Harbaugh. A unit that harassed Cincinnati Bengals veteran Andy Dalton last week, forced five turnovers and limited the Browns’ DeShone Kizer (15-for-31, 182 yards, two sacks, three interceptions, 27.3 rating) before he had to leave the game with a migraine headache. He returned in the third quarter.
—The Browns–despite signs of improvement–are off to a 0-2 start, which is what they’ve done four times in the last six years. Meanwhile, the Ravens sport a 2-0 mark for the second straight season. They’ll make their first-ever trip to London’s Wembley Stadium next week to play the Jacksonville Jaguars (9:30 a.m.; WJZ-TV; WIYY-FM).
—On the downside, the injury-plagued Ravens also were hit with two more key ailments along the interior, losing defensive tackle Brandon Williams (foot) and stalwart, six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda (broken ankle) in the second half. Yanda will miss the rest of the season with his injury. Tony Bergstrom, acquired in a trade with Arizona, will take his place. Williams’ status was less clear, but linebacker-special teamer Bam Bradley, will also miss the rest of 2017 with a torn knee ligament.
Cleveland’s annual hopes for improvement usually fade early in the season with games against the Ravens. The two teams have met in September in nine of the last 12 years, and five of the past six.
The Ravens’ propensity for rattling rookie quarterbacks and causing turnovers reared its head early in the game. After two pre-snap penalties were called due to crowd noise, Kizer was dumped by rejuvenated Terrell Suggs on a third-and-long dropback. He fumbled the ball to Suggs’ opposite OL partner, second-year player Matt Judon.
The Ravens were set up at the Browns’ 33 and scored seven plays later on Terrance West’s four-yard run late in the first quarter. The sequence was eerily reminiscent of West’s quick score following Lardarius Webb’s interception at Cincinnati last week.
The drive was short, but it featured imaginative play-calling. There was a TE screen to Nick Boyle and receiver Michael Campanaro lined up in the backfield to present a different look.
Kizer shook off his own nerves and four early penalties by his teammates — matching their total from last week — by driving the Browns inside the Ravens’ 30. But a third-down pass thrown with too much steam was deflected and picked off by diving safety Eric Weddle to stop the drive.
Meanwhile, Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco (25-for-34, 217 yards, two touchdowns, interception, two sacks, 97.3 rating) appeared to move more smoothly as he continues to recover from a preseason back injury. He smartly directed an offense with six completions in his first seven attempts.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
“When we would run play-action in the 10-15-yard range… I had guys with some room,” Flacco said. “There were a couple times when things like that happened.”
But as he attempted a rare deep shot early in the second quarter, Flacco’s lack of communication with wideout Mike Wallace resulted in a deep interception–the eighth straight game in which Flacco has been picked off.
Flacco rebounded to direct a 64-yard, six-play drive, one that featured two passes to 36-year-old tight end Ben Watson, which covered 43 yards. Watson hurt his Achilles last preseason on the same field and has been used mostly as a blocker since his return, but Flacco’s better mobility out of the pocket helped Watson and the rest of the offense function.
The passes to Watson (91 yards, eight catches) set up a nine-yard touchdown pass to Buck Allen (66 yards, 14 carries, 35 yards, five catches, touchdown). That score gave the Ravens a two-touchdown lead and control of the game before it was a quarter and a half old.
On the other side of the ball, the defense’s early takeaways–not to mention the migraine–forced the Browns to take Kizer out of the game and insert veteran Kevin Hogan. Hogan promptly put the visitors on the board with a 23-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end David Njoku. That score cut the Ravens’ lead in half.
The Ravens had held their 2017 opponents scoreless for the season’s first 85 minutes and four seconds. But Hogan, a Washington DC high school product, then directed an 83-yard, five-play drive.
Sep 17, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser (54) intercepts Cleveland Browns quarterback Kevin Hogan (not pictured) pass during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Following the Browns’ second timeout, rookie second-round draft pick Tyus Bowser stepped in front of a Hogan pass and picked it off. That was an important swing play because it kept the visitors off the board before halftime.
The turnover came with a bonus, too, as Allen’s subsequent 37-yard run set up Flacco’s two-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin. Baltimore had a 21-7 halftime lead and effective control of the game.
With the score, Flacco completed a sizzling first half that saw him hit 16 of 21 passes for 153 yards and two scores. But he was more than willing to give credit to the defense. “It’s not going to last forever I don’t think,” Flacco said. “But those guys, you tip your hat to them.”
As in Cincinnati last week, the Ravens then turned to a ground-oriented attack to kill the clock and win the game. For good measure, Webb picked off Kizer in the end zone — his second pickoff of the year and the Ravens’ ninth takeaway — to stop an early-fourth-quarter drive.
Brandon Carr would also notch his second pick a few minutes later to complete the Ravens’ second straight five-takeaway game, a franchise first.
Stout defense and a rejuvenated Flacco combined to produce a blowout September home win over Cleveland.
