Can the Ravens Defense Post Back to Back Shutouts?
All throughout the preseason the Baltimore Ravens first team defense looked as dominant as any teams could in the fifteen or so minutes they played during.
Coming into week one multiple Ravens players expressed that they believed this defense could be special. Defensive tackle Brandon Williams said that this years unit could be legendary. Safety Tony Jefferson said the main reason he joined the Ravens was because of the great defensive background the Ravens franchise has on their resume.
The chemistry displayed by the defensive unit throughout training camp and the preseason gave the fans a reason to believe in these earnest statements.
Week one against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens may have proved that this defense is the real deal. Five turnovers, four interceptions and a forced fumble. The four interceptions for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was a career high and Dalton also lost the lone fumble inside the Ravens twenty yard line. The Ravens defense also piled up five sacks as they tortured Dalton and the Bengals’ entire offensive line all game long.
Maybe the most impressive stat from Sunday’s game however is the fact that the Ravens defense did not surrender a single point. In today’s NFL offenses are almost guaranteed to score someway, somehow. But the Ravens did not care. The Bengals could not get anything flowing. Dalton did not look like himself. AJ Green was practically obsolete, being held to only five receptions for seventy-four yards. The three headed monster at running back made up of Joe Mixon, Giovani Bernard, and Jeremy Hill were held to only seventy-seven yards rushing and tight end Tyler Eifert was stifled only hauling in one catch for four yards.
The question now arises, what will the Ravens defense do for an encore in week two?
The Browns do not have as many threatening weapons as the Bengals. There is no AJ Green, no Tyler Eifert, and no Joe Mixon. Just to add to the fire there is a rookie under center. DeShone Keizer will be making his first career road start and there may not be a tougher place to play on the road then at M and T Bank Stadium. Not to mention under the John Harbaugh era, the Ravens have won all eight games played against rookie quarterbacks. The Ravens have allowed a combined three touchdowns and piled up ten interceptions against rookie starters. That compiles to just under a grim sixty passer rating.
Everything is in the Ravens’ favor. Home field advantage, playing a rookie quarterback, opening home game. The defense is as excited as ever to hear the twelfth man roaring come kickoff. That may be enough to propel them to replicate or even surpass what they did just a week ago.
