Ravens’ best defensive plays of 2019

The Ravens continued their legacy of great defensive play in 2019, finishing with another top-5 defensive performance and tons of highlights

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The Baltimore Ravens’ defense lived up to their legacy in 2019, finishing fourth in yards allowed and third in points allowed. Though the group struggled early in the season, they were able to gel together and add a few key players to turn into one of the most dominant units in football for the final half of the season.

Some of the best plays came from the Ravens’ newest additions and young stars. These few created some of the biggest highlights for Baltimore’s defense.

In Thomas’ first game with the Ravens, he notched an interception, proving Baltimore’s decision to sign him in the offseason a worthy one. He undercut a poorly thrown ball by Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, returning the ball into Dolphins territory.

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had a load of highlights, some of his biggest including his forced fumble on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver J.J. Smith-Schuster and his two fumble recoveries for touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

After being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, Peters quickly proved the move to be genius. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns, including one in his first game with Baltimore.

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Reggie Bush says the Ravens were the toughest defense he’s ever played

When recalling the toughest defense in his career former New Orleans Saints running back remembered a 2006 game against the Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens have been well known for their defenses over the years — hard-hitting, smack-talking, aggressive defenses. When asked which defense was the toughest to go against in his career, former New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush not only pointed to the Ravens but a specific game.

“When Baltimore came to New Orleans, they beat the breaks off us,” Bush said in an interview on Fox Sports.

It was October in 2006 and New Orleans was hosting Baltimore in a Week 8 game. The Ravens ran up the score quickly on the Saints, getting out to a 21-0 lead with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. It didn’t take long for Bush to realize they had no chance against the type of energy Baltimore had that day.

“They just scored a touchdown and the DJ was playing Mystikal, ‘Here I go’ and I looked on the other sideline and their whole defense was lined up rocking side-to-side to the beat of the song while we were kicking off. I was like ‘Hey man, we don’t have it today. They’re going to beat us, nothing we can do'”

Who was the toughest defense you had to face while playing with the Saints?@ReggieBush: I look back to that game against the @Ravens, and there was nothing we could do. It didn't matter what we tried." pic.twitter.com/pzJ5JNt21Z

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) April 9, 2020

Where Bush and fellow running back Deuce McAllister were held to just 27 combined yards on 10 attempts, Ravens running back Jamal Lewis crushed New Orleans’ defense into the ground, rushing for 109 yards on 31 attempts. Baltimore would force five turnovers in the game, including three interceptions from quarterback Drew Brees and another on a terrible pass from Bush.

“I remember Sean [Peyton] called a halfback pass that I threw up in the air to [Marques] Colston, they intercepted it.”

The Ravens would go on to win that game 35-22 but Bush wouldn’t have any more success against Baltimore throughout the rest of his career either. Bush lost three other meetups against the Ravens’ defense while playing for the Saints, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills. Over four games, Bush ran 29 times for 94 yards and one touchdown while catching 13 passes for 56 yards but threw one interception and had two games where he finished with negative rushing yards.

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5 reasons the Ravens will win in Week 16

Let’s take a quick look at all the reasons the Ravens won’t let the Browns sweep the series in 2019.

In week 16, the Baltimore Ravens get a chance to avenge one of their two losses this season (arguably the worse of those two). Way back in week 4, Baltimore was all but humiliated in front of their hometown fans against what looked like a far superior Browns team.

How times have changed. Since that loss, the Ravens have regrouped, found their footing, won 10 straight games, clinched a playoff spot, successfully defended their AFC North crown, and are now one victory away from locking up home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The Browns on the other hand . . . are still the Browns; the perennial disappointment, who sit one loss away from their twelfth consecutive losing season and another early elimination from playoff contention (fun fact: the Browns have only had two winning seasons this century).

Unless they win this week.

Let’s take a quick look at all the reasons Baltimore won’t let that happen in week 16.

The Ravens’ Defense

What was Baltimore’s Achilles heel in the last meeting has become nearly a perfect counterpoint to this seasons’ electric offense. The additions of linebackers L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes, coupled with the acquisition of cornerback Marcus Peters, has completely turned around a defensive unit that looked like a catastrophe in Week 4. Not only have they catapulted themselves from 27th to 6th in terms of overall defense, but they have scored five touchdowns during their winning streak while generating more turnovers (18) than opponent touchdowns (15).

Sure, the Ravens’ offense has been putting up a record number of points, but their defense can wear down anyone and the Browns offense just doesn’t seem to match up.

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