Ravens Break Out Big Guns, Win Second Preseason Game

Flacco plays one sharp series vs. depleted Rams.

M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE – Playing an extra preseason game (last week’s HOF Game) meant that this month is not a normal August for the Ravens.

But winning–no matter who is on the field–is rather ordinary.

But in the long run, the streak – the second-longest in team history (12 straight, 1998-2000) – is ultimately meaningless. Creating a winning environment, on the other hand, is important to this franchise.

The Ravens now get an extended break before playing their third of five preseason games–at Indianapolis–on August 20  at 8 p.m (ESPN, WBAL-TV, WIYY-FM).

Even though this was Baltimore’s second game, head coach John Harbaugh and his staff treated it as an opener. Because of that, a weird imbalance showed on the field. The Rams, who looked like the contenders they are in the joint practices, played just two starters–right guard Jamon Brown and outside linebacker Samson Ekuban.

That meant quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley, a Baltimore native, sat out. On defense, free-agent pickup Ndamukong Suh, holdout Aaron Donald, and other stars, including cornerbacks Aquib Talib and Marcus Peters, did not suit up.

Meanwhile, the Ravens deployed many of the players who sat out the Hall of Fame Game. Only two starters, guard Marshal Yanda (offseason surgery) and safety Tony Jefferson (hamstring), didn’t dress.

A mostly-healthy roster meant that 78 of the 90 active Ravens were available.

Aug 9, 2018; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) throws before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The boatload of returning Ravens included quarterback Joe Flacco. He not only played in his first preseason game since 2016 (a back injury sidelined him last August) but came out to throw in pregame warmups (something he didn’t do last week).

Flacco (5-for-7, 71 yards, touchdown. 143.5 rating) looked sharp and much more mobile than in the past.

After the Ravens received the opening kickoff, Flacco directed a ten-play, 70-yard drive that took just under five minutes.

“Listen, guys are really showing up,” Flacco said. “We’ve had a great camp, and it was good to come out here and see it carry over into a game.”

Flacco’s improved mobility could be chalked up to a new knee brace that doesn’t hamper his ability to slide to a stop.

“I’m wearing a new brace,” Flacco said. “So, I don’t know if it would get caught anyway, because it’s a little bit different. I made sure I got on my butt.”

Showing a Ben Roethlisberger-like manner of extending plays, Flacco rolled out of the pocket twice and used play- action on the drive, which included a 30-yard strike to Michael Crabtree, and ended with a six-yard pass to converted defensive tackle Patrick Ricard.

After Flacco left the game, first-round pick Lamar Jackson (7-for-16, 119, one rushing touchdown, two sacks, 69.5 rating) took over for Flacco.

The move paid off. Alex Collins (26 yards, two carries) ripped off a 23-yard gain and Chris Moore hauled in a 36-yard back-shoulder to the Rams’ 14. Jackson then capped the 73-yard, five-play drive with a scrambling nine-yard scoring run, which included two beautiful fake-outs to give the Ravens an early 14-0 lead.

The lead grew with a 71-yard, six-play possession that culminated in Justin Tucker’s 29-yard field goal. The drive was helped by two Rams’ penalties via the new helmet rule. That gaffe was part of the Rams’ sloppy, nine-penalty first half.

But with a disparity in player quality, the Ravens led 197-5 in total offense by the end of the first quarter. One reason: the defense forced four straight three-and-outs. At halftime, that offense disparity rose to a whopping 301-45.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Sean Mannion (14) is sacked by Baltimore Ravens linebackers Za’Darius Smith, left, and linebacker Matt Judon in the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

LA’s fourth-year veteran quarterback Sean Mannion (3-for-13, 16 yards, interception, two sacks, 7.5 rating)–a 2015 third-round pick from Oregon State–was harassed throughout the first half by the Ravens’ first two defensive corps. Mannion was filling in for starter Jared Goff, a player who emerged last year as one of the league’s best young signal-callers.

But in this game, the Rams’ offensive ineptitude enabled the Ravens to keep rolling.

Tucker, who came up short on a 60-yard effort (one yard short of his career long), came back with a 43-yarder to cap a 13-play drive and make it 20-0. That was it for Tucker, who was supplanted by Kaare Vedvik, whose 43-yarder extended the lead.

Early in the third quarter, Vedvik added a 41-yarder to boost the margin to 26-0. That score was set up by Tim Williams’ first sack of the preseason. The sack was a richly deserved reward after a game-and-a-half of exerting pressure from the rush linebacker spot. Williams forced a strip-sack and fumble that rookie draftee DeShon Elliott recovered. The turnover gave the Ravens a short field.

“This was our first game with all of us playing together,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said of the defense. “It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t terrible. It was a good starting point.”

But until the Rams got an eight-yard touchdown pass with 6:59 to go, the Ravens’ effort nearly resulted in the team’s fourth preseason shutout in team history–the second at home and first since 2009, when they blanked Washington, 20-0. On the other hand, Baltimore has been shut out just once in exhibition play.

With the shutout gone, the Ravens answered back with Robert Griffin III’s 32-yard touchdown pass to under-fire 2015 first-round pick Breshad Perriman (71 yards, three catches, TD). That score accounted for the final margin.

Next season, when the Ravens travel to play the Rams, Baltimore hopes to be in the same spot. And if that happens, then a previously mediocre Ravens team will have transferred a winning habit from August to the regular season.