Reed didn’t aggravate the injury during the Ravens’ 17-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. He recorded three tackles, deflecting one pass to cornerback Chris McAlister for an interception.
Reed said he’s not in danger by continuing to play. He took precautions against the Bengals by only doling out a few hits and generally led with his right shoulder after not having any contact during the preseason.
"They told me that there’s not any catastrophic risk, but you’re always at risk playing football," Reed said. "It’s just about being smart and not getting too caught up in the game and banging too much. You try not to feel it.
"I got contact on both sides. I hit the ground on both shoulders. I was smart not diving on tackles and joining in on gang tackles. I felt good, and we’ll see how it goes going forward."
Reed’s injury will likely continue to be a concern and will be monitored throughout the season.
The Ravens didn’t use Reed in their blitz package. He stayed back deep, remaining away from the line of scrimmage for the majority of the game.
Reed said doctors initially informed him that he was supposed to be out for the first four or five games.
"I’m still talking about it with the doctors about if there’s any soreness or pain," he said. "We’re just being smart about what we’re doing."
McAlister and cornerback Samari Rolle also missed most of the preseason with injuries, but both played well against the Bengals as they shut down wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
McAlister recovered a fumble to go with his interception.
"When they started to call the starting lineup and I saw Ed was behind me, I said, ‘Oh, we good,’" linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "I told him early in the week, ‘You don’t have to hit nobody. You just get us lined up and tell us where we got to go and we’ll be all right.’"
HEAVY-DUTY: The contrasting running styles of fullback Le’Ron McClain and tailback Ray Rice paid dividends against the Bengals.
With starter Willis McGahee sidelined with a knee injury, McClain bashed ahead for a career-high 86 yards and 19 carries as Rice darted around for 64 yards on 22 carries in his first career start.
"We did give them different looks," Rice said. “I think we played well.”
The Ravens rushed for 229 rushing yards on 46 carries to average five yards per attempt.
"We knew there were some holes in the defense that we could take advantage of," said McClain, a 6-foot, 260-pound battering ram. "We’re going to lose games if we give it away on offense, so we just took pride in going hard at practice all week and it paid off on game day."
During the Ravens’ final series, McClain ran the ball seven times for 42 yards to run out the clock. Pro Bowl fullback Lorenzo Neal was a big factor in the running game, too.
"I’m a fullback first, I’m a running back second," McClain said. "I’m just a fullback, but I have confidence I can run the ball."
McClain gave out a lot of hits and took his lumps, too. The Bengals taunted him while he was on the ground at one point in the second half.
"They were just dog-cussing him, talking about his momma and everything," center Jason Brown said. "He laid down there a good while, but he got up and the way he finished running that last drive, I’m so proud of him."
A former
"He was running north and south, and the ball was high and tight," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He’s a load, he’s tough to tackle."
A second-round draft pick out of
He had a dropped pass and fumbled the football in the fourth quarter with cornerback Johnathan Joseph returning it 65 yards for a touchdown to close the Ravens’ lead to 17-10.
"I think if I had to evaluate it, I wouldn’t say that I did great," Rice said. "I’m always going to leave room to get better, but I think I did fairly well."
On the fumble, Rice said he trying to switch hands when linebacker Rashad Jeanty stripped him of the ball.
"I was going to go down and, as I was tucking it, he got a nice grip on it and it popped out," Rice said. "It was a good play on their part. The coaches still gave me the ball again and I got my confidence back."
SIDELINED: The Ravens opted to rest McGahee as a precautionary measure after he tested out his surgically-repaired left knee during warmup drills, but he’s expected to play next week against the Houston Texans.
McGahee missed the entire preseason and skipped the majority of the offseason minicamps.
"We were concerned about the knee and the fact that he didn’t play a lot," coach John Harbaugh said. "We were hopeful to get him into the game at some point in time, but the way the game shook out, we were unable to do it.
“He’ll practice in a more physical manner this week, and then we should have him ready to go next week."
INJURY REPORT: Cornerback Corey Ivy left the game with a sprained right ankle that involves his ligaments and didn’t return. This could wind up being a serious injury.
Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo bruised his leg and didn’t return.
Tight end Todd Heap incurred a back contusion, but returned.
Heap had a rough game with a dropped touchdown pass and a lost fumble after missing the majority of the preseason with a calf injury.
"While the NFL has recognized the legal name change of Chad Johnson to Chad Ocho Cinco, the league informed the Bengals that certain issues remain to be resolved before Ocho Cinco will be permitted to wear his new surname on his jersey," the league said in a statement. "He will wear the name Johnson on his jersey today and will be referred to as Chad Johnson on the official play-by-play sheet."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Associated Press that Johnson has financial obligations to Reebok that have to be resolved before he can change his jersey.
"I ain’t worried about the name, man," Johnson said. "We just lost the game."
INACTIVES: The Ravens deactivated offensive tackle Willie Anderson, linebacker Tavares Gooden, offensive tackle Oniel Cousins, offensive guard David Hale, wide receiver Marcus Smith (separated right shoulder), cornerback Evan Oglesby and nose guard Kelly Gregg (left knee).
Quarterback Troy Smith (illness) was listed as the emergency third quarterback.
"It was stranger for other people than for me, but I understand the business part,"
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