Reaction to Ravens Win in Cleveland
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns 27-10, in what turned out to be a dominating performance. All three phases of the ball played exceptional, albeit against the lowly Browns. Here are some of my initial reactions to today’s win.
Sam Koch is the greatest punter I have ever witnessed
Sam Koch just continues to amaze me with his right leg. Koch had five punts today, with four going inside the 20 and three of those four inside the five. Koch’s longest punt on the day was 58 yards and averaged 43 yards per punt.
Koch is in his 12th season and is somehow still one of the top punters in the game. What amazed me the most is the tree punts that landed inside the five did not roll. Instead, Koch somehow put backspin on the ball. The three balls all looked to bounce at the two and then land at either the three or four yard line.
I know punters almost never make it into the Hall of Fame, but Koch deserves to be one of the select few.
Marlon Humphrey is proving his worth
Many were critical of the Ravens selecting Humphrey in the first round instead of players like OJ Howard, but Humphrey is showing it was worth it.
Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer did not even look Humphrey’s way until late in the second quarter.
Humphrey was only targeted twice all game, one was a catch for 16 yards and the other was a great deflection. Both happened on that final drive in the first half.
With Jimmy Smith out, Humphrey has stepped up and shown he will be great lockdown corner in the future.
January Joe is back and is here to stay
Joe Flacco’s last three games have all been season highs. He threw for 269 yards against both the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, and three for 288 yards today. In the three games, Flacco has been responsible for six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing.)
It could be that Flacco’s finally healthy, his ability to step up late in the season, or even the added motivation with Smith going down, but there’s no denying the offense has finally come alive.
Entering today’s matchup, the Ravens had the second highest scoring offense since week 11, behind only the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Ravens are in prime position to make the playoffs. All they need to do beat the Indianapolis Colts (3-11) and Cincinnati Bengals (5-9) the next two weeks and they will be in.
Get ready Ravens fans, the team is in the midst of making a deep run for the playoffs.
