The Ravens on Thursday night face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who surrendered only 71 yards rushing to the Rams on Sunday.
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In an era when teams can have a tough time keeping key players together, the Bengals have built a philosophy of keeping guys in town and playing with one another well into their prime years.
Ever the proud warrior, Smith gave props to his Bengals counterpart on Twitter on Monday, calling Green “a bad boy”. Their early issues running the ball have been the most surprising aspect of their struggles, and have affected the entire team. I don’t think the Bengals are quite as good as they seem.
I also like the Colts to beat up on the lowly Jaguars, and I think they discovered the secret to success last week against Tennessee – pound Frank Gore. The Denver Broncos did it in Week 1 and the Ravens’ offense had no answers.
The Ravens’ first-round pick, wide receiver Breshad Perriman, finally returned to practice last week. Very efficient, not turning the ball over. Defensively, Kansas City is allowing 29.7 points and 381 yards per game. It’s on Flacco to spread the ball around.
Anchored by Green, the Bengals aerial attack ranks sixth in the league, averaging 285 yards per game.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) against the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium.
After a disappointing result in Week 2 I’m back in the green this week, albeit only barely. The six-play, 80-yard drive in particular showed the type of mettle that has been absent in Cincinnati for quite a long time.
Cincinnati was penalized nine times for 67 yards, and the Ravens were cited for 13 infractions totaling 116 yards.
“The bottom line is that there’s way too many of them, and they have to be cleaned up”, Harbaugh said.
The Ravens lost Terrell Suggs to an Achilles tear that week, and the defense felt the blow in Week 2 against an inexperienced Oakland Raiders team.
Woodson has at least one interception in each of his 18 seasons. Jeremy Maclin has caught 17 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown, ending a lengthy streak of games without a KC receiver catching a TD pass last week against Green Bay.
This year, the Ravens can’t use injuries as an excuse.
– Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith was signed to a huge four-year, $40 million contract before the season.
“That’s part of his job description”, Lewis said. The difference, the feel and buzz about this team is on another level.
It forces the defense to respect the run look with bigger bodies, and then they’re able to split those guys out at times and find mismatches out in space with the athleticism they have at the position, namely Travis Kelce.
The coaching staff has a few options.
Everything this team wanted to accomplish is still very much within reach, but we’ll find out on Sunday if the lessons hopefully learned over the past two weeks translate into a better performance on the field. But the fight they have, it’s what really touches you. “It’s really too bad”, he said, referring to the now 0-3 Ravens. However, they may have caught a break by running into the vaunted Pittsburgh Steeler offense without Big Ben Roethlisberger.
While the defense is a worthy target, nobody should be exempt from criticism in this area.
He’s never boring and nearly always productive, and Smith caught 13 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
ABOUT THE BENGALS (3-0): Dalton’s maturity as a quarterback has stabilized Cincinnati’s offense, as the fifth-year signal-caller leads the AFC with a 121 rating, and A.J. Green had a game for the ages last week with 10 receptions for 227 yards and two touchdowns – including the game-winner. But the former Notre Dame tight end has looked outstanding so far in 2015, with three touchdowns in three games (and a fourth overturned on a questionable call on review).
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Even with that change, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of his players have a good idea of what to expect in this heated rivalry – a hard-hitting clash that could come down to the game’s final play.
