The AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens moved to 4-1 overall, with a 31-17 win over the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium.

It was an encouraging game for several reasons, none more than the fact the Ravens were able to dominate a potential play-off team, despite not playing their best.

The Good:

1) Baltimore dominated the Broncos on the ground, running 233 rushing yards. This allowed the Ravens to hold the ball for 36 minutes. The domination of time of possession, allowed the Ravens Defense to only be on the field for 52 plays.

1a) Ray Rice had his best game of the young season, finishing with 133 rushing yards, 27 receiving yards, and two TD’s.

1b) McGahee received 10 carries of his own, and contributed with 67 yards of his own and a score.

1c) After being irritated about not receiving the ball on the goal-line last week, McClain received several short-yardage attempts today.

2) Kyle Orton and the Broncos finished with 314 passing yards today, but the majority of those numbers were obtained when the game was effectively over. While I am sure the Ravens will be spending time addressing their coverage against slant-routes, overall the Baltimore Secondary performed when needed.

2a) Yes, Moreno was out of the game for Denver but the Ravens defense can feel good about limiting the Broncos to 39 yards rushing. After the Broncos scored to end the first-half, they also received the ball to start the 2nd-half. The Ravens defense stepped-up and forced a 3 & out to open the 3rd Quarter and basically eliminated any chance of Denver getting back into the game.

3) Ed Dickson’s 58 yard reception was beautiful. His young legs ran away from the Denver defenders, and when they caught-up to him he was strong enough to drag those defenders forward for several more yards.

4) Another new Raven who contributed today was Cory Redding, who added a sack.

5) If I was writing this from the perspective of a Denver fan, one of my negatives would be their Rookie WR Demariyus Thomas electing to try and run back a kickoff 5-7 yards deep in the end-zone. Since I am writing this from the perspective of the Ravens, that was spectacular hit from Jason Phillips, made all the better by the forced-fumble.

5a) Kudos to Cundiff for his kickoffs today, which were just booming.

6) I liked the decision from the Ravens to go for the TD on 4th & 1 at the Broncos goal-line, on the initial drive of the game.

7) The M&T Bank Stadium crowd helped force Denver into 10 penalties for 90 yards.

8) Was good to see Josh Wilson get some playing-time today.

The Bad:

1) While I liked the decision to go for it on 4th down, I thought the decision to throw was poor. Once it was decided to throw, and Flacco realized he was not going to be able to complete the pass; he should have thrown the ball away and avoided taking the sack and losing yards.

2) The Broncos only had 1 sack, but it did appear that the Ravens were having trouble with their pass-defense. Flacco seemingly had limited time in the pocket. I acknowledge this as nitpicking considering how effective the Ravens O-line was with the running game.

3) Lloyd made a great-catch for his first TD near the end of the 1st-half for Denver. While giving him credit for the play he made; the Ravens either blew an assignment or Landry was just torched.

4) Denver would have probably been one-dimensional even if Moreno had played. As he was not able to go, and the Broncos were quickly down 17-0, you knew their offense was going to be pass-only. It was a bit of a disappointment that the Ravens were not able to get after Orton more effectively. Notably Johnson did have some success pushing the pocket.

4a) Antwan Barnes was released by Philadelphia yesterday, and had zero-sacks with his time with the Eagles. Still, I think he is a better option than currently exists on the Ravens roster to provide some pass-rush opposite of Suggs. I hope he is resigned.

5) When Ngata appeared shaken-up after his series on offense, who else had the 2nd-guess thought that it was a mistake to use him in that capacity?

6) I get that Denver was never going to challenge the Ravens with their run-offense. I get that Terrence Cody’s best attribute is his run-defense. Still, this game was basically over mid-way through the 2nd-quarter. It seems like this would have been a good opportunity to give some extended playing time to the Rookie.

The Ugly:

None. The passing yards Orton obtained were meaningless. The Ravens dominated this game against a team that will still have a chance to win the AFC West.

When the Ravens commit to running the ball, they eventually take away the will of the opposition.

Up-Next:

The 4-1 Baltimore Ravens head north to face the 3-1 New England Patriots. This will be the first meeting between the teams since Baltimore throttled the Pats 33-14 last January in the AFC Playoffs.

Partly due to that beating, and partly due to the recent trade of Randy Moss – I am anticipating a Patriots team looking to make a statement next Sunday. It should also be noted that the Patriots were off this week with their bye, meaning Belichick will have had an extra-week to prepare for Baltimore.

I respect New England, and anticipate a difficult game for the Ravens. That said, I do not fear them. Without Moss running deep, I question the impact of Welker underneath. It seems to me that the Ravens will be able to key on Welker now, unless Brandon Tate shows he can make plays down the field. We just saw Laurence Maroney today with the Broncos, and while he did not do much; I think he was the most capable New England running-back prior to being traded.

I’m interested in seeing how Belichick uses Woodhead, Taylor and Green-Ellis against the Ravens.

This will be the Ravens 3rd trip to Foxboro in a year. That familiarity can only help, and could be the catalyst for some animosity between the teams in a burgeoning rivalry.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

X