Baltimore vs. Cleveland
Ravens Rally from 20 Down to Beat Browns, Improve to 2-0
Disastrous. It wouldn’t be overly hyperbolic to describe the beginning of Sunday’s showdown at Cleveland as such for the Ravens. Two touchdown tosses to Corey Coleman, an 80-plus yard scoring scamper from Isaiah Crowell, and a Joe Flacco interception in a span of 10 minutes had this matchup looking like it was finished before the smoke from the pregame fireworks cleared.
A special teams playmaker and a solid effort from their franchise quarterback turned the tide, as Baltimore turned a 20-point deficit into a 25-20 victory.
Tavon Young returned a blocked extra point that would’ve made it 21-0 the other way for two points, and then the recovering QB went to work.
Flacco threw two touchdowns to Mike Wallace and finished with 302 yards passing in just his second game back after undergoing knee surgery that brought his 2015 season to an early conclusion.
“It says a lot about the resilience,” said John Harbaugh, Baltimore head coach. “Nobody cracked, nobody panicked, or pointed the finger. Guys got mad, but we started playing football.”
Self-inflicted wounds hurt the Browns’ ability to put up points in the game’s final 50 minutes. An overthrown ball by Josh McCown was picked off by Eric Weddle just before halftime, which gave the Ravens enough time to set up Justin Tucker for the first of his three field goals. Late in the game with a chance to retake the lead, a completed pass play at the Ravens’ 10-yard line was negated after referees flagged receiver Terrelle Pryor for taunting. The penalty pushed the Browns back to the 30 and the ensuing throw was picked off by C.J. Mosley to ice the ballgame.
“We started off like a house of fire in the first half, and then we weren’t able to maintain it and finish it that way,” Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson told reporters. “That is what happens in the National Football League. You have to keep scoring. We didn’t do that in the second half.”
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Baltimore (2-0) kept pace with Pittsburgh (2-0), who squeezed by Kansas City, 18-16, for first place in the AFC North.
“It’s a division game,” said running back Terrance West. “That counts as two wins, so it’s always good. Like Joe (Flacco) said in the huddle, in the locker room, when it comes December there are going to be games like this and we have to get wins.”
The victory capped a tough weekend for the organization. On Saturday, defensive line coach Clarence Brooks passed away from cancer at the age of 65. Brooks had been a part of the coaching staff for more than a decade, helping to consistently craft one of the league’s top units.
“We said something before the game, about what he would want for us,” nodded linebacker Terrell Suggs. “He didn’t let what he was going through affect the team. He still showed up to the building, cussed us out, and he was still a great coach. He wanted us to go out there and win. We got it done for him.”
GAME RECAP
Cleveland wasted little time getting on the board, marching 75 yards on nine plays. Josh McCown found Corey Coleman, whose toe-tapping effort over cornerback Shareece Wright helped secure a 31-yard touchdown reception for an early 7-0 lead.
Following a Sam Koch punt, the Browns wasted little time in doubling their advantage. Isaiah Crowell high-stepped over a pair of Ravens defenders and raced 85 yards for a score to make it 14-0 with just under seven minutes to play in the first quarter.
Baltimore would turn it over two plays later when Joe Haden jumped a route on an intended Joe Flacco pass for Steve Smith Sr. and returned it to the visitors’ 27-yard line. McCown needed merely four plays to convert the takeaway into a touchdown. Coleman caught a quick-out, stiff-armed Jimmy Smith, and stretched across the pylon.
Lawrence Guy would get a hand on the ensuing point after try and Tavon Young recovered and returned the kick for two points which made it 20-2.
Baltimore’s following series would result in no points after a failed 4th down attempt at Cleveland’s 28. Justin Forsett came up a yard short of converting, turning the ball over on downs.
The Ravens would cash in twice in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the first half. Flacco and Dennis Pitta connected for a 30-yard gain on 3rd down and Mike Wallace would haul in a 7-yard touchdown pass on a post route to make it 20-9 with 1:19 remaining. The offense would be back on the field 30 seconds later after Eric Weddle intercepted an overthrown McCown offering to Coleman. A 14-yard reception by Smith Sr. helped set-up a 52-yard successful field goal by Justin Tucker to cut the deficit to 20-12 at the break.
The offense immediately picked up where it left off following halftime. Receptions of 19 and 31 yards by Smith Sr. paved the way for a second Flacco-to-Wallace touchdown and a 20-19 score.
A Timmy Jernigan sack of McCown forced a Browns punt, but Baltimore’s ensuing series abruptly ended with Haden’s second interception of Flacco on the afternoon, this one in the endzone.
The score remained the same into the fourth quarter with Cleveland poised to extend its advantage before a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Coleman resulted in a lengthier field goal attempt by kicker Patrick Murray. His 52-yarder was unsuccessful. Baltimore made good on the short field, taking the lead on a 49-yard field goal by Tucker with 11:19 left in regulation.
He would add a third, a 41-yarder, with just under three minutes remaining to push Baltimore’s lead to 25-20.
The Browns threatened late, taking it inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line before a taunting penalty on Terrelle Pryor pushed the offense back to the 30. C.J. Mosley sealed the game on the next play, intercepting a pass intended for Pryor at the goal line.
UP NEXT
Baltimore (2-0) travels to EverBank Field to face the winless Jaguars. Jacksonville (0-2) put up little resistance in its Week 2 matchup against San Diego. The Chargers raced out to a 35-0 lead behind four Philip Rivers touchdown tosses, two to Travis Benjamin, before going on cruise control for a 38-14 win.
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