Baltimore Ravens force five turnovers in 24-10 beatdown of Cleveland Browns
There’s only so much worth taking away from a home victory against the Cleveland Browns. That might be the hardest part about hosting them. As long as the outcome results in a “W,” like in the case of the Baltimore Ravens‘ 24-10 victory on Sunday, you have to nitpick to find the highlights worth celebrating.
Fortunately for the Ravens, that won’t be too difficult this time. Baltimore’s defense made certain of that.
With five forced turnovers against the Browns, three sacks and an 84 percent success rate on third down, head coach John Harbaugh has found himself at the helm of another wrecking crew unit that can power Baltimore through the AFC North by itself.
You can live stream the Ravens’ defense attempt to continue bullying NFL offenses when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in London next Sunday via Yahoo Sports.
When the Ravens do try to nitpick just what went so right against the Browns they’ll notice two players almost immediately: linebacker Terrell Suggs and safety Lardarius Webb.
[Watch on Yahoo: Ravens vs. Jaguars live from London Sept. 24]
Suggs gave Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer a typical welcome to Baltimore with a brutal sack and a forced fumble early on. Webb added three solo tackles, two pass deflections and an interception in the red zone when it seemed like the Browns found momentum late in the third quarter.
That gave Baltimore’s defense 10 forced turnovers in two games. It doesn’t matter that it has faced only Cleveland and Cincinnati. It doesn’t matter that Andy Dalton hasn’t looked like himself or that the Browns continue to do what they’re known for. The Ravens are forcing teams into mistakes large enough to mask their own.
Keep in mind this was no perfect day for Joe Flacco either. Baltimore’s quarterback finished 25-for-34 with 217 yards, two touchdowns and an interception that tied him for a dubious NFL record. That would be a respectable performance if the Ravens weren’t at home against the Browns.
And it would’ve mattered quite a bit more had Baltimore’s defense not stolen the show for the second consecutive week, a trend fans should get used to with three of its next six games coming against the Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
Whether or not the Ravens can take down the Steelers, Raiders and Vikings between those matchups will let us know how far this team is capable of going.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
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