Five thoughts on the Ravens’ 41-7 victory over the Houston Texans Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium:
The Ravens have sent plenty of messages recently with their soaring offense and their big wins over contenders such as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. But more than any other, this decisive win sends the clearest signal yet that something big, possibly very big, is happening in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson and the offense have led the Ravens all season while the defense has ridden a roller coaster and been rebuilt on the fly. But on Sunday, the defense was just as dominant as the offense. The Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson came in with such gaudy statistics that some people (blush) predicted a shootout, but the Ravens’ defense shut that idea down, conjuring the heyday of Ray Lewis with a suffocating performance that included seven sacks. You could almost hear the response of the AFC’s other contenders: “Wait, now they’ve got the defense figured out, too? On top of that offense?” It’s the inevitable conclusion, and it suggests a second straight AFC North title, now all but assured, might be where the expectations need to start for this team.
We’ve been talking about the pass rush since Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith departed. How would the Ravens get a decent rush going without them? Possible solutions such as Shane Ray and Tim Williams didn’t pan out. Pernell McPhee helped, but then he was lost for the season with an injury. Somehow, the rush showed enough life to rank high in quarterback hits, but it still wasn’t finishing plays, i.e., generating sacks. The players and coaches insisted those sacks would come, and now it can be told: They were right. The Ravens’ plan for handling Watson started with the pass rushers holding their lanes to keep Watson from escaping, and then pursuing like crazy wherever he went. It was a disciplined approach and it worked perfectly. There was push from the edges, push from the middle, blitzes from everywhere. Steadily harassed, Watson spent the day backpedaling, instead of scrambling, as he searched for open receivers and eventually was swallowed up. Strong pass coverage and a mix of looks also obviously helped, but the rush was on fire. I’m hesitant to single anyone out on a day when six guys contributed quarterback hits and five had sacks, but no doubt, Matthew Judon led the way with an outing reminiscent of, I’ll say it, Suggs in his prime – seven tackles, four quarterback hits, two sacks.
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November 17, 2019 at 03:03PM
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The Breakdown: Eisenberg's Five Thoughts on Ravens vs. Texans - BaltimoreRavens.com
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