BALTIMORE _ The Ravens had gone 17 possessions without an offensive touchdown, a span of more than 77 minutes in football time that felt far longer to the fans who booed the home team at different points of an ugly first half. But the second the Ravens' offense got on the field in the third quarter, everything changed.
It started with a Joe Flacco's 20-yard completion to Mike Wallace on the Ravens' first offensive play of the third quarter, and continued with Flacco capping the drive by finding Darren Waller for a touchdown. Two drives later, Steve Smith Sr. caught a touchdown pass. Then, it was Breshad Perriman's turn as he got the first score of his career.
Flacco had only one touchdown pass in three previous games coming into the Thursday night matchup against the lowly Cleveland Browns. In a span of 18 minutes, 20 seconds Thursday night, he threw three of them. In front of an announced 70,921 and a prime-time television audience, the Ravens overcame a one-point halftime deficit to throttle the winless Cleveland Browns, 28-7, behind a dominant second half.
It was their first win by more than seven points since beating the Steelers 30-17 in the wild-card round game following the 2014 season.
By the end of the game, the Ravens (5-4) looked like a team now in sole possession of first place of the AFC North, and the Browns resembled an outfit that will flirt with a winless season. They are 0-10 for the first time in franchise history.
The Ravens forced three second-half turnovers, picking off Josh McCown twice and Terrell Suggs registering a strip sack after beating standout left tackle Joe Thomas off the edge. McCown relieved rookie starter Cody Kessler in the third quarter.
Continually getting opportunities because of another dominant defensive effort, Flacco went 13-of-17 for 163 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the second half. The interception, his second of the night, was an ill-advised toss in the end zone. But the veteran quarterback made up for it by hitting Waller for a 4-yard score to give the Ravens a 13-7 lead. It was Waller's first career touchdown.
Following the interception, Flacco hit Smith for an 11-yard touchdown and the Ravens made it 21-7 when Kyle Juszczyk hauled in a two-point conversion. Flacco then hit Perriman for a 27-yard score about midway through the fourth quarter, culminating a 12-play, 90-yard drive that finished the Browns.
It was only the Browns who came into the game ranked at or near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories. But after struggling offensively coming in and playing another poor first half, the Ravens' offense badly needed some positive results.
