Ravens Cruise in Battle of Birds

The Ravens were clearly the better team but a sloppy second half by the home team kept the game mildly interesting for folks not rooting for the birds in black. Hopefully Eugene Monroe returns next week because Hurst was flat out awful! That said, a big win to take the lead in the AFC North! – Tony Lombardi

For the first time all season, the Ravens are in first place in the AFC North. With the return of Will Hill, and Lardarius Webb back at full strength, the defense has been in attack mode. Dean Pees used an assortment of blitz looks and even mixed in some line stunts to pressure Matt Ryan. The pass-rushing trio of Suggs, McPhee, and Doom is the best combo in the NFL right now. The four-man combo at safety also presents personnel options for Pees and he’s taking advantage. Offensively, there were mistakes mixed in with big plays. In particular, left tackle James Hurst struggled again in pass pro. The offense will need to play a cleaner game in their showdown against the Bengals next week. Special teams was outstanding with Devin Hester being contained by the coverage units all day. – Dev Panchwagh

The pass rush was relentless for the second week in a row. That led to quite a poor performance from the 2008 #3 overall pick. This game was supposed to be a blowout and that’s exactly what it was. – Tyler Lombardi

Another thrashing of an NFC South opponent on a day despite Joe Flacco’s two interceptions to improve to 5-2 for the fourth time under John Harbaugh. The day belonged to the defense which was firing on all cylinders allowing Atlanta just seven points. The Ravens, for the second straight week did what they needed to do by simply putting away a bad team. Next up the first place Ravens will have their rematch against the Bengals. – Brian Bower

An uneven second-half effort from the offense and several drops of should-have-been interceptions (“Matty Icepicks”) throughout the day kept the scoreboard from reflecting the blowout this should have been (as I type this, a long TD to Torrey makes it 28-7, so…). Still you have to love what the defense has shown over the past couple weeks. The now first-place Ravens have two consecutive division road games on deck. Here’s hoping that division lead only grows. – Derek Arnold

The Ravens moved to 5-2, and are in good position going into their rematch next week in Cincinnati. Seven different Ravens caught passes. Forsett had another productive day. McPhee, Dumervil, and Suggs combined for five sacks. Was nice to see Hill get game action right away. On the negative side, there were points left on the board today. Jacoby Jones’ 2012 post-season seems like a long-time ago. Monroe is needed back at LT. Overall, Baltimore looks to be rounding into shape as a legitimate AFC contender. – Chris Stoner

Atlanta stinks.  And so does Matt Ryan. What a roll-over effort from Mike Smith’s team today.  Then again, it’s not a surprise that Baltimore dominated on Sunday.  They toy with the NFC at M&T Bank Stadium (now 13-1 under Harbaugh/Flacco) and the Falcons couldn’t beat Ole Miss on the road, let alone a capable squad like the Ravens.  This was a good way to go into Cincinnati, full of confidence on both sides of the ball.  If McPhee, Tyson, Ngata, Suggs and Dumervil get after the Bengals like they got after it today, Baltimore wins next Sunday. – Drew Forrester

The Ravens defense has really played well for most of the season. They continue to show they are a top 10 defense who continues to shut down teams, but not shut them out. This D is known for letting teams have one real long drive but that has been it. The front 7 are getting real good pressure and secondary is playing well. Offensively, the Ravens need to catch the ball with more consistency… simply too many drops. And Flacco played well but also inconsistently, which is what keeps him from being respected nationally. The Ravens take their division lead into Cincy next week. – Joe Polek

Offensive consistency and slow starts have haunted the Ravens in the past, but it seems like a problem Gary Kubiak and Joe Flacco have figured out. The defense is rounding into the elite form John Harbaugh envisioned in the preseason. They need to show up next week and show they can beat another AFC playoff team after beating up on weaker competition recently. – Ryan Jones

The Ravens beat the Falcons thoroughly in every aspect. Besides the Jacoby Jones fumble and Flacco’s 2nd INT, Baltimore played as good of a game as you could’ve asked for. The Baltimore secondary played well and made Atlanta earn everything they got. We saw impressive game plans from the coaches, too. Now at 5-2 and in 1st place, the Ravens are clicking as they prepare for two road games within the division. – Mike Fast