The Ravens escaped Cleveland with a win in Week 15, 27-10. RSR Staff react here…
Todd Karpovich
— Just like most of us predicted, the Browns were competitive for about a half.
— The Ravens had a workmanlike performance and quarterback Joe Flacco knows how to manage this type of game, despite his criticisms. Flacco was 26 of 42 for 288 yards with a touchdown. He also ran for a score that gave Baltimore the momentum.
— The Ravens defense still paves the way for victories and finished with four more takeaways.
— The Bills also had an impressive victory over Miami. So, the Ravens and Buffalo face must-win games in Week 15. The Bills play the Patriots. The Ravens get Indianapolis.
— John Harbaugh’s decision to forgo a chip-shot field goal on a 4th and goal was ill-advised. The Ravens’ offense is too inconsistent to take those types of gambles. Leaving Flacco in the game late in the fourth quarter was also not smart.
— The ratio between pass attempts (42) and runs (31) was efficient. The Ravens attacked Cleveland’s biggest defensive weakness, which is its secondary.
— I erred in predicting the crowd would get into the game if the Ravens let the Browns hang around. The stadium appeared to be at 50 percent capacity. There was a report that tickets were selling for $6.
Derek Arnold
Am I glad that the Ravens won? Yes! Let’s get that out of the way. I’m very glad that they won over an 0-13 team rather convincingly. I say that knowing that folks are sure to get on me for nitpicking, which is exactly what I’m going to do, as I saw some concerning things, despite the win.
— The Ravens still struggle to get pressure with a four-man rush. For all the investment they’ve made in the DL, far too often it’s the 35-year-old (Terrell Suggs) or nothing. Matt Judon and Za’Darius Smith flash, but disappear for long stretches. When you have a DC who is hesitant to bring pressure with numbers, that could be a bugaboo going forward.
— WTF is Marty doing? After calling a couple great games, on several instances today he got too cute for his own good. From sending Ronnie Stanley out as a WR (which cost the team his presence on the very next play when he needed a drink) to emptying the backfield on first down from the 5-yard line, to still throwing the ball during kill-the-clock time inside the final five minutes, MM’s odd “cuteness” was too much to handle today.
Alright, now that that’s out of the way, I’m off to watch 0 minutes of this Steelers-Pats game, and enjoy yet another victory cigar/bourbon at the expense of those poor Cleveland Browns.
(Man…DeShone Kizer is so bad! He may have one-upped his awful OT pick from last week with the one he threw in the end zone to the Ravens today. Just horrible.)
Ryan Jones
The Ravens go into Cleveland and get a much-needed win. There were a few anxious moments early on but this game was never really in question as the Browns are flat out bad. Kizer made too many mistakes to ever really give his team a chance.
While getting the win is really all that matters, the Ravens continue to do some things that make you scratch your head. A designed QB run for a quarterback who missed the whole preseason with a bad back? And going for it on 4th and goal from the one-yard line was the wrong call. Not because of the risk you run by not getting it, but because you don’t want to give a team like the Browns any momentum or hope. The Ravens coaching staff had a mini meltdown for that seven-minute stretch. The offensive play calling was shaky as well.
The Ravens got the win and that’s all that matters. But boneheaded coaching mistakes will bite the Ravens in the ass against better competition. We saw it last week and hopefully we don’t see it again if the Ravens make the playoffs.
We’ll have more knee-jerk reactions as they roll in…
