The Baltimore Ravens have moved to 13-2 on the back of their 11th consecutive win, this time over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. With the season potentially over for many of Baltimore’s starters, the lessons learned from this game could have a major impact on how the Ravens fare in the postseason.
Let’s dive into the four takeaways from Baltimore’s Week 16 win over Cleveland.
Injuries:
The one thing the Ravens couldn’t afford to happen in this game was leaving with injuries. They’re the best team in the league but all it takes is one serious injury to a key player and suddenly Baltimore’s chances at Super Bowl LIV slip away. And that nearly happened a few times in the matter of one series.
Running back Mark Ingram went down with a calf injury and didn’t return to the game. Tight end Mark Andrews was seen limping after a catch. Quarterback Lamar Jackson got shoved to the ground late and came up a little hobbled. While Ingram’s injury doesn’t appear very serious, and Andrews and Jackson returned to the game, all three players are paramount to the Ravens’ offensive success and can’t afford to miss extended time. Seeing them limp around the field was a punch to the gut to what has been a storybook season.
If there was any doubt about what Baltimore should do with those players in Week 17, it should have been quickly sorted out seeing them in discomfort.
Need to tighten up
Last week it was special teams giving up long kickoff and punt returns as well as a blocked punt and missed extra point. This week, it was stupid penalties at the worst possible time and an offensive gameplan that was needlessly aggressive.
Against Cleveland, Baltimore gave up three penalties that negated three fourth-down stops. Had they not committed those penalties, they would have stopped the Browns on both of their touchdown drives, allowing just three points in this entire game. It seems pretty obvious, but spotting an opponent two touchdowns doesn’t help a team win games.
Regardless of what it’s been, the Ravens are beating themselves a little too often against bad teams. Though they’ve been able to overcome those problems to thoroughly beat their opponents, those types of errors will kill them in the postseason against a good team.
I fully expect John Harbaugh and this team to sort them out by the time the playoffs roll around but it should be a clear point of emphasis in the meantime.
Quick hitting offense:
Baltimore’s offense was able to move the ball to start this game but just weren’t their usual selves. Their first two drives ended in turnovers (downs and a fumble) and the next two ended with punts. It took nearly two full quarters for the Ravens to get much going offensively.
But down 6-0 with less than two minutes remaining and no timeouts, Baltimore kicked it into overdrive. It took just two plays to find the end zone, going up 7-6 on a 39-yard pass to Andrews. The defense took care of business and gave the offense the ball back with less than a minute on the clock . . . seven plays later, the Ravens got back into the end zone on a 14-yard pass to Andrews.
In spite of their sluggish start, Baltimore put up points seemingly at will. Given how quickly they turned things around with those two touchdowns and their smothering drives in the second half, it almost looked like the Ravens were toying with the Browns early on.
Backups and newcomers boost this team:
While much of this season has felt like Lamar Jackson’s arrival party, the Ravens don’t get to 13-2 without the full team. From Week 5 on, that’s included several newcomers and reserve players playing at a very high level to patch up some holes we saw earlier in the season.
Guys like Josh Bynes, L.J. Fort, Jihad Ward, Marcus Peters and Domata Peko were major contributors on this team over the last 11 weeks and they came in handy yet again in this game. So did young players like Jaylon Ferguson, Tyus Bowser and Justice Hill — the latter scoring his first NFL touchdown.
It’s easy to forget those guys in a season like this one but there’s no doubt Baltimore wouldn’t be in the same position if they weren’t on the roster.
