While no game in the National Football League is automatic, there are some easier games for the Ravens.
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After that game, Baltimore must prepare for a trip to Pittsburgh on a short week for a Thursday night game. The one sack was Derek Carr running out of bounds just before the line of scrimmage, not a crushing hit in the pocket.
The Oakland Raiders looked to start the Jack Del Rio era off with a bang when they hosted the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at the O.Co Coliseum.
“Before the snap, (Carr) gave them a cadence and it kind of showed their coverage, so I just slipped inside and caught the ball”, Roberts said.
“That was big juice for our team really”.
The Ravens know where they want to go, just not how they are going to get there.
The good news for the Raiders is the quarterback situations in Cleveland and Chicago aren’t what they are in Cincinnati and Baltimore, but included in future games is a roll call that includes Peyton Manning (twice), Philip Rivers (twice), Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers.
Baltimore receiver Steve Smith told reporters during training camp that 2015 would be the final season of his illustrious 15-year career.
With the game on the line, Carr threw it to Roberts, who was on the practice squad this time previous year. “We have to get ready for Arizona”. We have a tough road ahead and we have to take it one week at a time. While the answer is probably somewhere between, we should get a clear picture of both teams by the end of Week 4.
Said Carr, “We’re heading the right way, and this is proof of it”. But this was exactly what some of us thought we would see from them this season: A new energetic attitude and the ball in the hands of the offensive skill players, who might score enough points to overcome a defense that still has some issues.
The Ravens hope newly-signed Jason Babin can make some type of impact at outside linebacker, but he was a healthy scratch against Oakland.
“We know what we can do, and what we need to stay away from doing”, Howard said. He wasn’t throwing off his back foot unnecessarily.
It last happened in 2005, when coach Brian Billick juggled between Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright under center for a squad that fizzled out at 6-10. “I just said, ‘Hey man, I better not screw it up”. “It makes you feel like you have a relentless team“. “What are we, really?”
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 32 of 45 passes for 384 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He did underthrow a couple of passes that could have turned into big plays. “We didn’t stop them from running the ball”. Furthermore, I can’t complain about the decision for the offense to go for the game ending / winning touchdown, as opposed to looking for the game tying field goal. Instead, the Ravens made Oakland second year-quarterback Derek Carr look like former Raiders great Daryle Lamonica and Michael Crabtree like Fred Biletnikoff. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree, a free agent pickup from San Francisco, caught nine passes for 111 yards and a 29-yard touchdown. Sunday, the Raiders secondary gave up multiple pass plays of 30 yards plus.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-plus – Kicker Justin Tucker was his usually reliable self and converted all four of his field-goal attempts, with the longest from 37 yards.
“They had us off-balance the whole game”. Sam Koch had two punts for 92 yards.
“Very disappointing“, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. The result was two losses. But a pair of field goals from both kickers tied the game again 20-20 to end the half.
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The Ravens are painfully close to being 2-0, and perhaps no play illustrates that more than the third-down pass to Smith Sr.in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
