Report Card

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 28 Patriots 13

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ricetdne
They didn’t play a perfect game. But when challenged the Baltimore Ravens responded and the New England Patriots did not.  The Ravens outlasted and outclassed the Patriots to come away with a 28-13 win, earning themselves a trip to the Super Bowl for the second time in team history. The Ravens came out of the gate slowly and fell behind 13-7 by halftime.  They could have panicked knowing quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick were 67-0 at home when leading at halftime and they had never lost to … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 38 Broncos 35 (2 OT)

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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jones celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown against the Denver Broncos with teammate Smith in their NFL AFC Divisional playoff football game in Denver
The nightmare of recent playoffs past crept into the Super Bowl dreams of Ravens fans once again. When Jacoby Jones dropped a pass thrown by Joe Flacco on third-and-five with 3:22 left in this AFC Divisional Championship game, with the Ravens trailing the Denver Broncos by a touchdown, it certainly looked like a third consecutive year that the Ravens would get knocked out of the playoffs just as Flacco was driving his offense for a late score to tie or win the game. In each of the last two playoff … Continue reading →

WILDCARD REPORT CARD: Ravens 24, Colts 9

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Wild Card Playoffs - Indianapolis Colts v Baltimore Ravens
BALTIMORE RAVENS VS INDIANAPOLIS COLTS January 6, 2013 It felt like a surreal, nostalgic game of musical chairs.  In the end, when the music stopped, the Baltimore Ravens were still seated, having beaten the Indianapolis Colts 24-9 to advance to the Divisional round of the AFC Playoffs next Saturday at 4:30 Eastern against the Denver Broncos. The game was full of strange story lines.  Most everything that had been, changed, but then in the end it all really seemed to stay the same. The changes kept coming right up until … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Broncos 34, Ravens 17

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REARVIEW MIRROR DENVER BRONCOS 34, BALTIMORE RAVENS 17 December 16, 2012 Coming into this game against the Denver Broncos not many pundits in Baltimore expected a win, even against a team that had never beaten the Ravens in Baltimore.  Despite knowing their Ravens had not lost two consecutive home games under John Harbaugh, Ravens fans had still never seen their team beat Peyton Manning. So the chances of accomplishing it with nearly half the defense sidelined seemed dim. But how they lost this game – a 34-17 blowout – was … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens fall 31-28 in OT

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REARVIEW MIRROR WASHINGTON REDSKINS 31, BALTIMORE RAVENS 28, OT December 9, 2012 What is it with the Ravens and backup quarterbacks? After losing a week ago to Charlie Batch and the Steelers, the Ravens this week faced the Washington Redskins and their vaunted rookie Robert Griffin III. Except when the Ravens knocked Griffin out of the game with a leg injury in the game’s final minute, it was backup Kirk Cousins who engineered a touchdown pass and two-point conversion with 0:29 left to send the game into overtime, then beating … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Steelers 23 Ravens 20

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The Ravens had them right where they wanted them. Joe Flacco had just connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin down the left sideline to take a 13-3 lead over the Steelers, with just three minutes remaining in the first half. For a team riding a 15-game home winning streak, and a three-game streak over their rivals from Pittsburgh, it was looking like the win was in the bag. After all, the Steelers would be relying on Charlie Batch, their ancient, third-string quarterback, to bring them back The … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 16, Chargers 13

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REARVIEW MIRROR RAVENS 16 CHARGERS 13, OT November 25, 2012 The ends justify the means. That may be the only way to explain an ugly performance that resulted in an unlikely 16-13 overtime win for the Ravens in San Diego. In the end a beautiful, hard-fought victory justified a lethargic first-half performance against a Chargers team that had not been playing well. Coming out of the locker room down 10-0,the Ravens could have accepted excuses about traveling across three time zones to play football. They could have accepted the notion … Continue reading →

Ravens Report Card: Ravens 25, Browns 15

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Torrey Smith TD
REARVIEW MIRROR BALTIMORE RAVENS 25, CLEVELAND BROWNS 15 NOVEMBER 4, 2012 The Baltimore Ravens arrived in Cleveland riding an impressive set of statistical streaks that predicted victory.  Under John Harbaugh they had already gone 9-0 against the Browns and had reeled off 14-straight wins following a loss. So it seemed fitting that Baltimore would look very “streaky” in beating the Browns 25-15. The offense at first appeared to be in total rhythm, emphasizing the run and throwing when necessary to move the chains.  Joe Flacco went 8-for-8 to start the … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Texans 43, Ravens 13

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Baltimore Ravens v Houston Texans
HOUSTON TEXANS 43, BALTIMORE RAVENS 13             October 21, 2012 Before we get to the criticism of the Ravens play in this 43-13 shellacking at the hands of the Houston Texans – and there is plenty of criticism to come — let’s assess whatever good news is possible to take from this game, a rare blow-out loss by the Ravens. The Ravens are still 5-2, atop their division, and they are now headed into their bye week, with a winnable division game against the Browns … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 31, Cowboys 29

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Jacoby Jones Kickoff return v Cowboys
The mood was anything but celebratory. The Ravens had just won their fifth game of the season to take a commanding lead in the AFC North. They are one of 2 AFC teams with a winning record. Yet the players seemed agitated while the fans exiting M&T Bank Stadium expressed relief more than they did jubilation. The emotion was on par with barely earning a passing grade after a tough pass/fail exam. Also dampening the mood were injuries to defensive stars Lardarius Webb and Ray Lewis. The losses of these … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 9, Chiefs 6

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Paul Kruger Jamaal Charles
REARVIEW MIRROR BALTIMORE RAVENS 9, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 6 October 7, 2012 The Baltimore Ravens barely survived their trip to Kansas City, coming away with a 9-6 win over the lightly regarded Chiefs. In many ways, it was old-fashioned Ravens football, with goal-line stands and field goals flying. Except it was the Chiefs who resembled those Ravens teams from a decade ago, with a solid-looking defense, and a pounding running attack that was hampered by inept quarterback play. Chiefs running backs carried the ball 46 times for 200 yards against … Continue reading →

REPORT CARD: Ravens 23, Browns 16

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REARVIEW MIRROR BALTIMORE RAVENS 23 CLEVELAND BROWNS 16 September 27, 2012 Gene Steratore and his experienced crew of NFL officials were back on the field Thursday night shortly after the NFL had reached their new, eight-year labor agreement with their union earlier in the day. Also back on the field to face the Cleveland Browns were the Ravens players, the same field where just four nights earlier they slugged their way through to the final whistle and came away with a last-second win over the New England Patriots. The mental … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 31, Patriots 30

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REARVIEW MIRROR BALTIMORE RAVENS 31 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 30 September 23, 2012 This time there was no distracting, last-second chaos after quarterback Joe Flacco had moved the offense down the field in the final two minutes and the Ravens ran their kicker onto the field. This time Patriots head coach Bill Belichick did call time out in an attempt to ice the kicker. This time the kick sailed through the uprights, barely. And this time the Ravens beat the Patriots, barely, 31-30, thanks to a last-second field goal by rookie … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Eagles 24, Ravens 23

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Pollard Hits Celek
REARVIEW MIRROR PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 24, BALTIMORE RAVENS 23 SEPTEMBER 16, 2012 Seeking explanations for a 24-23 loss to the Eagles, the Ravens faithful will surely question the fairness of the officiating in Philadelphia. All afternoon Robert Frazier’s frantic crew of replacement officials failed miserably to keep players from taking shots at one another after the whistle, and they were downright laughable simply trying to correctly spot the ball amidst the ongoing chaos. So when Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones was flagged for a questionable and rare offensive pass interference call in … Continue reading →

Ravens Report Card: Ravens 44 Bengals 13

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ricebengals4413
They did the old man proud.  On a night dedicated to the memory of former owner Art Modell, playing on Monday Night Football, the venue Modell helped pioneer over forty years ago, the Ravens dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals, 44-13. All summer long teammates pronounced Joe Flacco a new, take-charge guy.  Now a home crowd and national audience saw it with their own eyes.  Flacco played brilliantly, well enough to support the growing sense that the Ravens finally have an offense that can outshine their vaunted defense. In fact, it was … Continue reading →

Ravens Report Card: Rams 31 Ravens 17

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ravensrams
Old Ravens nemesis and new Rams head coach Jeff Fisher elected to keep his starters on the field for more than a half of play while Ravens head coach John Harbaugh dressed only a handful of starters. It was a good chance to expose Ravens’ bubble players to top competition before the team is required to cut 22 and get down to their final, 53-man roster on Monday. However, there were very few standout performances in this runaway 31-17 Rams win. The team has been very good at unearthing undrafted … Continue reading →

Ravens Report Card: Ravens 48 Jaguars 17

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flaccojags
On a Monday night last October a national TV audience watched the Ravens embarrass themselves in Jacksonville, losing a 12-7 shocker to a poorly regarded Jaguars team. Revenge certainly was not a factor in this preseason rematch.  The goal for the Ravens was simply to work the starters for more than a half together, and perhaps improve on scoring from inside the red zone, something the starting offense has struggled with in the preseason. They accomplished both, and maybe a bit of revenge nonetheless in piling up the most points … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Lions 27 Ravens 12

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lionsravens
Detroit Lions wideout Calvin Johnson is good – good enough to be an NFL video game cover boy. As we saw Friday night, he’s also good enough to torch Ravens cornerbacks, who for the second straight weeks struggled in coverage. A week ago the Falcons relied on three-step drops and quick slants for easy connections in front of sagging Ravens defenders. This week Johnson simply ran past, through and over Ravens corners Cary Williams and Jimmy Smith while averaging 22 yards on five catches and a touchdown in less than … Continue reading →

Ravens Report Card: Baltimore Ravens 31, Atlanta Falcons 17

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August 9, 2012 A win is a win.  Except when that win is a preseason win.  Yes, the Ravens left Atlanta on the winning end of a 31-17 score.  But the scoreboard hides many truths about where this team stands as it embarks on the 2012 season. The starters looked thoroughly sloppy, falling behind 14-0 early into the second quarter.  Head coach John Harbaugh looked thoroughly disgusted, and a little worn out, as he spectated from the sidelines. His Ravens could have easily found themselves down 21-0 if not for … Continue reading →

RAVENS REPORT CARD: Patriots 23, Ravens 20

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Left Out. REARVIEW MIRROR – AFC CHAMPIONSHIP NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 23, BALTIMORE RAVENS 20 January 22, 2012 And then it was over, just like that.  The Baltimore Ravens battled the New England Patriots back and forth for sixty minutes of football, but came away losers, 23-20, after botching two chances to win or put the game into overtime in the waning moments.  The CBS broadcast crew pointed their cameras to the losing sidelines, slowly panning the faces of disbelieving Ravens players, blinking skyward, stunned, trying to grasp reality. They had … Continue reading →