Ravens Smother Joe Flacco And The Browns After A Sluggish Start

Rob Carr. Getty Images.

What a weird blowout that can be perceived a bajillion different ways. 

On one hand, the Ravens played embarrassingly poor offensively in the first half, got literally nothing going on the ground all day, and mixed in a bit more of the same type of tomfuckery that has cost them big games they should have otherwise won.

Yet on the other hand, there were numerous bright spots including D-Hop showing yet again that he's still got it, Dez Walker notching not one, but two tuddies… a defensive touchdown and nearly another, and a blocked punt. Zay Flowers continues to show he's a bona fide #1 and Lamar Jackson played a very strong 2nd half without really having to use his legs. The ultimate result is a 24 point victory at home against a divisional rival, which you can't get too too upset about.

What do we make of this kind of game? There was never going to be a version of a win today that was going to totally put us fans at ease after such a frustrating loss last week. The doctor could not possibly order a blowout win that would undo that in any way. But I think as we look at the total body of work here, we're still looking at a team that is every bit of the Super Bowl contender we thought they were heading into the season.

This team is incredibly versatile - it became clear pretty quickly that the Browns were throwing the kitchen sink at stopping the run. It took a couple drives to adjust and get our footing, but they opened it up with the aerial attack and were able to take more and more of whatever they wanted that way. You may stump this offense for period of time, but they're going to get theirs one way or another.

Defense also flew to the ball today - Roquan was a man possessed. 15 tackles and a cherry on top touchdown. Flacco was constantly put under duress despite the Ravens only notching 2 sacks… but both turnovers forced were directly related to the guys up front breathing down Flacco's neck and nearly both those turnovers became house calls. The big dogs that we'll ultimately have to beat in January tend to have mobile QB's, but I think you can depend on the Ravens teeing off on QB's who aren't very fleet of foot.

On Flacco - I was pretty surprised at how little his existence was even acknowledged by the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on a day where anyone and everyone who has ever worn purple and black were celebrated for the team's 30th anniversary. This is his first start back in Baltimore and this had all the makings of a first quarter jumbotron shot of Flacco on the bench during a TV timeout where the stadium all gets on their feet and give the man his proper respect. Should've been something they did early and got it out of the way, and then it was back to business…. but they did literally nothing. When the Ravens took their knees and he jogged out to greet Harbaugh and Lamar, he was all over the jumbotron, but 90% of the stadium had left at that point. That's not fitting for Joe. I know he was the enemy today, but it would've been so easy to take a moment to acknowledge the guy. Sad.

Anywho… this was the quote unquote easy one in a tough early slate for the Ravens and they took care of business. Fun one on MNF next week against the Lions at home. Keep the mo rollin.