Baltimore Ravens report card versus Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback– Joe Flacco got off to a slow start but played well most of the game. Flacco had the support of a strong running game that eased the pressure. His only blatant mistake was the bad interception near the end of the first half. Still, he threw a couple of beautiful passes to Torrey Smith. Flacco’s numbers were good, finishing with a 105.5 qb rating while throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Grade B
Running back– A Ray Rice sighting? What a pleasant surprise. Rice had a huge game rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Rice was also good in the passing game with 43 receiving yards on five receptions. Ricky Williams was ineffective as a backup. Grade B+
Receivers– Torrey Smith had a monster game with six receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown. Anquan Boldin was relatively silent but had a 35-yard touchdown reception. Grade B
Offensive line– The Ravens offensive line had one of its better games of the season. The only sack on Flacco was on a missed assignment. They opened up some huge holes for Rice against a tough run defense. Grade B+
Defensive line– Cedric Benson has crushed the Ravens in the past, but not this game. The Ravens held Benson to only 41 yards rushing. He did have two short yardage touchdowns. Pernell McPhee continues to play well, contributing to one of the Ravens two sacks. Grade B
Linebackers– Missing Ray Lewis and Jameel McClain playing banged up, this unit still preformed solidly. McClain had nine tackles and read plays very well. Terrell Suggs provided pressure on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton which caused him to intentionally ground the ball late in the game. Grade B
Secondary– This unit played well despite giving up some gaudy passing numbers. Jimmy Smith had his first career interception and played well with the exception of blowing one coverage. Lardarius Webb and Ed Reed also had interceptions. Grade B+
Special teams– Nothing special, nothing bad either. Billy Cundiff had a short field goal and did not allow the Bengals to return a kick. Sam Koch was good except for one bad punt. Nothing special on the kick returns as they played conservatively. Grade B
Coaching staff– The Ravens started out slow but came back. Cam Cameron had an old school Ravens offensive game plan with the addition of threatening the Bengals deep with Torrey Smith. The Ravens should have put the Bengals away earlier and let them come back. Part of the blame goes on Cam Cameron for running the ball three straight times instead of trying to put the Bengals away for good. Grade B
