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Are the Ravens back on track?
After a 34-17 win over the now 3-9 Dallas Cowboys, only time will tell. We may find out in six days if this was the Ravens get right game, when Baltimore takes on the 9-3 Cleveland Browns who for once, have bigger goals than just trying to beat the hated Ravens, and do Browns type things the rest of the season.
It was quite refreshing to watch a relatively stress-free game. But Dallas is hardly a litmus test. The Ravens did what you should do against a bad defense. Get big chunks of yards, often. Win by two or more scores. Defense was a little soft, but Dallas has offensive weapons. Andy Dalton isn’t your run of the mill backup quarterback and knows the Ravens well. Feel like Dallas was gifted 10 points with short fields thanks to the first drive interception, and a kickoff return deep into Ravens territory.
The Ravens needed this one, badly, to avoid falling to .500 with Cleveland on the horizon. 7-5 with four to go, three that they should be a touchdown or more favorites in.
Dez Bryant. You okay?
Before the game while Dez Bryant was warming up, doctors pulled him from the field to administer a COVID test after a test came back inconclusive from earlier in the day. He tested positive and had to go home. An emotional Bryant took to Twitter (like rational people do when life throws them a curveball) and said, “Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit the rest of the season…I can’t deal with this.”
I can’t say “I get it,” because I’m not in his shoes. I’m sure he was amped up to play his former team. I’m sure getting the news that you tested positive for COVID has to be a shock to your system. Does your mind immediately go to, “Am I in that 2%?” I hope he regains his health as I wouldn’t wish illness or injury on anyone. These guys have families.
Different people handle things different ways. But hinting at quitting after three games when no team was giving you a chance for a few years? Treating Twitter world like real life, later asking strangers, “Since I’m out, do you guys want to hear about my businesses I’ve been working on?”
It begs the question, where is this guy’s head at? I could be biased here because I wasn’t excited one bit about signing him in the first place. Looked like he ended up enjoying himself after all and eventually found a way to tweet some love for his teammates. Hope he gets past this. Purely from a football standpoint, I’m okay without him. Last thing the team needs if they get on a roll by running 75% of the time is him coming back and start begging for passes or something. Not that he has been to this point, but… Get well. Moving on.
Run all night.
After the first drive where the Ravens came out pass happy, went empty backfield a couple times with no success, and ended with an interception off a Marquise Brown drop, I wonder if Greg Roman got the hint. Run. The. Football. A lot.
At the half the Ravens had piled up 161 yards on 16 carries. Lamar Jackson, Gus Edwards, and J.K. Dobbins all had a carry of 30+ yards.
The final tally looked like this:
Gus Edwards – 7 carries, 101 yards (14.4 per) long of 36
Lamar Jackson – 13 carries, 94 yards (7.2 per), TD, long of 37
J.K. Dobbins – 11 carries, 72 yards (6.5 per), TD, long of 30
Mark Ingram – 6 carries, 28 yards (4.7 per), long of 7
Team: 37 carries, 294 yards (7.9 per), 2 TDs.
Establishing the run game needs to be the focus going forward. Lamar Jackson looks like he has more fun when he’s out there running. It has to lead to opening up the passing game.
It was the Ravens 35th straight game with 100+ yards rushing. The 3rd longest streak since 1940.
Rough night for kickers.
Justin Tucker made a valiant effort to try to bring down Tony Pollard running with a full head of steam on a kickoff return. But he ended up being “the other guy” in the proverbial Tony Pollard poster. To pour salt in the wound, he had his streak of 70 straight field goals made under 40 yards snapped when he missed a 36 yarder on the ensuing Ravens drive. There is going to be talk of the announcer’s jinx, blame Bradley Bozeman who false started when Tucker made the first attempt at it.
But let’s be real. I’m okay that Tucker missed one. He misses so few, that it’s better that he does it now rather than when it really matters. I’ll also enjoy the announcer not bringing it up the streak on every field goal, and teasing the jinx, amusing themselves with it.
It was far worse on the Dallas side as Greg Zuerlein was Greg Offlein, missing three field goals on the night, two of them from over 50 yards.
Look ahead to @ Cleveland on Monday Night Football.
The Ravens were supposed to play on a Thursday, ended up playing Wednesday, then played again on a Tuesday, will look ahead to Monday, and if everything stays the course will get back to Sunday after this one.
The Browns are coming into this game hot, destroying the Titans on Sunday, 41-35, in a game that the final score was not indicative of the game itself. Tennessee scored 14 points in-garbage time after trailing 38-7 at the half. I actually like seeing them have their best game, maybe ever, the week before meeting the Ravens. Plenty of room for regression come Monday. Baker Mayfield threw for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’s had a fine season, middle of the road. Not going to repeat that game often at all though.
The Browns are an interesting team as they played three games in a row in atrocious weather conditions and won two of them thanks to their strong ground game and stingy defense. They are definitely a different team than the one that the Ravens embarrassed in week 1, 38-7. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt could be one of the best back field duos in the league. Myles Garrett must be accounted for on every single play. He’s averaging a sack a game and has forced a league best four fumbles along with Aaron Donald.
Playoff implications here as the Browns are the first wildcard team, the #5 seed. With a Ravens win they will have the season sweep of Cleveland earning that tiebreaker and would trail them by one game in the standings with three to play. Losing this game almost wraps up second place in the AFC North for Cleveland.
Bonus: Playoff picture
Still out of the top seven, the Ravens need to keep an eye on the Raiders who are also 7-5 and currently on the outside, and the Colts who are a game up on the Ravens at 8-4, but Baltimore also owns that tiebreaker over Indy who holds the seventh and final spot in the playoffs for now.
[Checks schedule]
The Colts play…the Raiders next. Oh come on!
So, no matter what happens next week, the Ravens will still remain in the “in the hunt” column. A Raiders win moves them into the 7 seed. Even if Miami loses to Kansas City, they will have a tiebreaker over the Ravens via conference win percentage.
Ravens Analyst
Mike was born on the Eastern Shore, raised in Finksburg, and currently resides in Parkville. In 2009, Mike graduated from the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland. Mike became a Baltimore City Fire Fighter in late 2010. Mike has appeared as a guest on Q1370, and FOX45. Now a Sr. Ravens Analyst for BSL, he can be reached at mike.randall@baltimoresportsandlife.com.