Though it wasn’t a perfect game for the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, they did just about everything you could want to see from a team on the rise. It was the type of performance that has Baltimore rising up the power rankings.
After Week 14’s dust settled, the Ravens went from No. 14 to No. 12, a jump of two spots, in Touchdown Wire’s power rankings. Writer Mark Schofield was among the many calling this the “game of the year” but he also noted how soft Baltimore’s remaining schedule and hinted that they could win a “whole lot more” than those games too.
It was essentially a must-win game for the Ravens that would have either put them back in serious contention for the playoffs or all but eliminate them. And in such an important game against a very tough Browns team, Baltimore regularly picked up chunks of yards on the ground, found some success late through the air, and even had some solid moments on defense. Despite their issues — penalties were rampant again, the offensive gameplan kept going away from what was working, and the defense was gassed far too quickly — the Ravens proved they can hang with the better teams in the NFL and when hit with a haymaker, are capable of firing their own back out.
As Schofield hinted at and I dare to say, that was the type of performance everyone remembers when a team is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February: Far from perfect but getting the job done and improving at exactly the right time.
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