BALTIMORE — A stunning fourth-quarter meltdown at Buffalo last week left the Ravens’ defense humbled and hurting. Players spoke of a lack of maturity, and across the locker room, they insisted they are better than they showed in that fourth quarter.
Facing a much different offense and opponent in the home opener in Week 2, the defense delivered game-changing plays as the Ravens rolled past Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns, 41-17, in the home opener at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 13.
Cornerback Nate Wiggins set up one touchdown with a 61-yard interception return, and Roquan Smith returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown as the Ravens (1-1) pulled away after a sluggish first half.
Head coach John Harbaugh called it a “great bounce-back win” after “a really challenging week.”
Handed short fields several times, quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 19 of 29 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns, including two to second-year receiver Devontez Walker. Zay Flowers led the way with 75 receiving yards on seven catches.
Four plays after Wiggins’ interception return to the 5-yard line, Jackson found Walker in the back of the end zone for a 20-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Ravens’ history of fourth-quarter blown leads was a common theme this week after the Ravens squandered a 15-point late lead in the 41-40 loss at Buffalo. But there would be no such problem in this game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Jackson lofted a beautiful pass to Walker for a 24-yard score and a 27-10 lead. That was the third career catch for the second-year receiver — all of them for touchdowns.
On the Browns’ next possession, Tavius Robinson sacked Flacco and forced the ball loose. Smith scooped it up and raced 61 yards down the left sideline for his second career touchdown. (He had an interception return score with Chicago in 2021.)
“It took me back to my high school days playing running back,” Smith said.
On a day that the Ravens celebrated the 30th anniversary of their founding — drawing the considerable ire of Browns fans and media of a certain age who still view the Ravens as the team stolen from Cleveland — the two franchises slogged through a first half in which the Ravens edged ahead 10-3.
Facing a stingy Browns defense led by former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, the Ravens totaled eight rushing yards and four first downs in the first half.
The Ravens’ only touchdown in the first half came courtesy of a short field after special teams linebacker Jake Hummel burst up the middle and blocked a Browns punt. It was the first blocked punt by the Ravens since 2016. Two plays later, Jackson floated a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tylan Wallace in the right side of the end zone.
Here are five quick impressions of the win, which improves the Ravens to 14-3 in home openers under Harbaugh:
1. The defense showed maturity with “bounce-back” domination.
Roquan Smith said he watched the loss to the Bills four times by last Tuesday and then “flushed it.” The Ravens knew the importance of turning the page, and making sure that loss didn’t cost them more than one game.
“Last week is last week,” Smith said. “It’s in the past for a reason.”
Then the Ravens’ defense went out and imposed its will on an overmatched Cleveland offense. A defense that was humbled in Buffalo returned with a vengeance, albeit against a decidedly different level of competition.
The only obvious change from last week was that cornerback Jaire Alexander was inactive. He had struggled in the loss at Buffalo, and after this game Harbaugh acknowledged that Alexander, who had missed three weeks of practice leading up to the Bills game, probably wasn’t in game-shape for the Bills game. Harbaugh said he still expects big things from Alexander once he ramps up physically.
Smith led the charge against Cleveland with a game-high 15 tackles, including three for losses. He frequently sniffed out and blew up passes that Flacco sent into the flat as he tried to get rid of the ball quickly. Nnamdi Madubuike and Tavius Robinson recorded sacks. Nate Wiggins finished with three passes defensed, and T.J. Tampa had a nifty diving breakup on a fourth-down pass.
The Ravens held Cleveland to three points and five first downs in the first half, and then, most importantly, according to Robinson, they “finished.”
Last week, Marlon Humphrey had been among those who said the Ravens’ defense had showed a lack of maturity in the loss at Buffalo. Rebounding as they did against the Browns might have been the first step toward developing it.
The defense, Jackson said, “looked extremely mature today. … They did what they’re supposed to do today.”
2. Joe Flacco’s return to Baltimore was rough on him.
Long before the game, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco walked across the field in an empty stadium where for years he had been a star. He greeted former teammates Dennis Pitta, Todd Heap and Torrey Smith, among others.
But once the game began, Flacco, playing in Baltimore for the first time since being traded away after the 2018 season, was nothing more than the opposing quarterback, and the Ravens made his life miserable.
Directing an offense short on skill players and missing the starting right tackle, Flacco struggled to get into any rhythm. He very much looked a like a player who will turn 41 in January. Flacco was sacked twice and hit nine times, and on several other occasions, he had to rush to unload a pass as a free runner was bearing down on him.
Flacco finished 25-for-45 for 199 yards and one touchdown, which came on a deflected, 18-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman that glanced off Marlon Humphrey’s hands and cut the Ravens’ lead to 20-10 midway through the third quarter. It marked the second straight game in which the Ravens’ opponent scored on a deflected pass.
At the end of the game, Flacco was warmly greeted by Harbaugh, Jackson and left tackle Ronnie Stanley, among others. But during the game, he was harassed and hassled. Which is exactly what the Ravens wanted.
Flacco said he did his best to block out any emotion on returning to the field where he starred for a decade.
“We’re professionals, and you have to be able to go out there and play the game without really having that be a part of it,” Flacco said after the game. “Yes, it was cool to see some ex-teammates, but you get to do that here and there, depending on where you go anyway. … The fans here are unbelievable, but beyond that, it’s a football game. When you go out there and strap it up, there is no mistaking what football is, and you’ve got to be ready to go. So, I felt like I was today.”
3. Short fields will always be a game-changer.
The Cleveland defense is formidable and played up to the reputation. Browns safety Grant Delpit had made headlines this week when he said that tackling Derrick Henry isn’t all that hard, but then he and the Browns backed up the talk. Henry finished with 11 carries for just 24 yards, his lowest total in two years with the Ravens.
Jackson was off-target early and was sacked three times. In the first half, the Ravens totaled eight rushing yards and four first downs, and every yard seemed hard to come by.
In games like that, the Ravens need to rely on what Harbaugh likes to call “complementary football,” and they did that as the defense and the special teams set up the offense with prime scoring chances. Long, sustained drives aren’t necessary when you can start in the opposing territory, and the Ravens did that four times.
Jake Hummel provided the first game-changing play when he shot up the middle, reached an arm out and blocked a Cleveland punt. The Ravens took over at the Cleveland 24-yard line, and two plays later, Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Tylan Wallace for a 10-0 lead.
Nate Wiggins’ interception return to the 5-yard line set up another touchdown, as did a nifty, diving fourth-down pass breakup by T.J. Tampa that gave the Ravens the ball at the Cleveland 36-yard line.
Even with the short fields, though, the Browns’ defense challenged. The Ravens at one point had first-and-goal inside the 1-yard line, but after two incompletions, a penalty and a sack, the Ravens had to settle for a 33-yard field goal.
It won’t always be smooth sailing for the Ravens’ offense. They won’t always effortlessly put up 40 points. Sometimes, as in this game, they’ll get a big assist from the so-called other side of the ball.
4. Every team needs a Tylan Wallace.
Tylan Wallace will never be the guy circled on the opposing scouting report. He never commands the pregame headlines, and often he isn’t even mentioned when people discuss the Ravens’ receiver room. But for five years now, the Ravens have leaned on Wallace in multiple phases of the game, and he’s stepped in wherever asked.
“He’s a football player, and he does football things,” Harbaugh said. “He blocks people. He catches passes when you throw it to him. He returns punts, breaks tackles and runs for touchdowns.”
In this game, Wallace got his reward, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson for the game’s opening score. It was the second career touchdown catch for Wallace. He was a deserving target, too; a play earlier, he had recovered a fumble by Derrick Henry to maintain possession for the Ravens.
“I just saw the ball come out between his legs,” Wallace said. “I thought, ‘The ball’s right there,’ so I just dove on it. I realized nobody else saw it. I was like, ‘I probably need to pick that up. Yeah, let me get that.'”
True to form, Wallace also took over kick return duties after Rasheen Ali left with a concussion, and he averaged 26.3 yards on three returns.
“Wherever the team needs me to be, is what I’m going to do,” Wallace said. “They need me to return kicks, I’ll return kicks. They need me to return punts, I’ll return punts. They need me go block on offense, I’ll block. They need me to score touchdowns, I’ll do it. Wherever the team needs me is what I’m going to do.”
Every team needs a glue guy like that.
5. The Ravens are already a step ahead of last season.
After losing a tough season-opener at Kansas City last season, the Ravens came home and stumbled through a 26-23 loss to a Las Vegas Raiders team that finished 4-13. After starting 0-2, the Ravens rebounded to finish 12-5 and win the division, but those early losses were one factor in the Ravens shipping off to Buffalo for a playoff game instead of the other way around.
All summer, the Ravens have stressed the importance of avoiding a slow start, especially with a gauntlet of playoff teams over the first six weeks of the season. After losing a heartbreaker of a season-opener last week at Buffalo on a walkoff field goal, the onus was on the Ravens to avoid last year’s Week 2 stumble and 0-2 hole. They have at least achieved that.
Now they prepare for a rugged two-week stretch that includes Detroit at home next Monday night followed by a trip to Kansas City. The Lions thumped the Chicago Bears, 52-21, on Sunday.
This indeed was a “bounce-back” win for the Ravens, and one they badly needed.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox