Ravens ride dominant defense in 20-0 win over Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens absolutely dominated the Cincinnati Bengals in their regular season opener. It was an all-round solid performance from the Black and Purple.

What a game. Not many of us saw this coming. In what was one of the most impressive team performances we’ve seen under John Harbaugh, the Baltimore Ravens came out and absolutely dominated the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-0.

Offense not pretty, but enough

It wasn’t a pretty performance for the offense, but enough to get the job done. It all started with commitment to the ground game.

The Ravens followed through with their offseason promises and ran the ball down the Bengals’ throat. Led by Terrance West and Buck Allen, the duo combined for 151 rushing yards on the day. Both ran tough against a Bengals front-seven that was without their captain Vontaze Burfict because of suspension. West and Allen picked up crucial third down conversions, sustaining drives for the Ravens offense. There weren’t many big plays, but the two muscled their way to 80 and 71 yards respectfully.

Aside from a 48-yard touchdown catch by Jeremy Maclin, the Ravens passing game was limited. This was expected with Joe Flacco playing on just a full week of practice. Flacco finished the day 9 of 17 for 121 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. It certainly wasn’t MVP numbers, but it didn’t matter. The Ravens asked Flacco to be a game manager and he did just that. The offense could have only put up three points and it would have been enough because of the dominant defensive performance.

Defensive Dominance

Wow, just wow. This Ravens defense looks as good as advertised. They were all over the field against the Bengals, sacking Andy Dalton five times. On top of that, they forced four interceptions and a fumble on the starting quarterback. The Bengals scraped up just 221 total yards as the Ravens pitched their first shutout since 2009.

It’s just one game, but this defense looks scary. From the front-seven to the secondary, the Ravens have one of the most complete units in the NFL. They will rival the Seahawks and others as a top defense this season. Dean Pees has to be laughing with the amount of weapons he has to work with.

The most impressive stat we saw was 5 catches for 74 yards and 0 touchdowns. That was A.J. Green’s numbers on the day. Green, who’s had some of his best games against the Ravens, was no where to be found on the field. If you take away his 27-yard catch in garbage time, Green finished the day with just a measly 47 receiving yards. Three active cornerbacks were all the Ravens need to dominate the passing game.

The Bottom Line

It’s just one game, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the performance the Ravens put together. If they continue this kind of defensive dominance, they’ll be a forced to be reckoned with this season.

While there were plenty of positives, the Ravens also suffered two injuries. Danny Woodhead and Za’Darius Smith were both carted to the locker room in the first half. Hopefully those two will be able to return in the coming weeks. Both were key to the Ravens success early in the game.

Next: 3 reasons the Baltimore Ravens will have the best defense in football

With the win, the Ravens head back to Baltimore for their season opener next Sunday. They host the Cleveland Browns, who are coming off 21-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens have a chance to start off the season 2-0 for the second straight year. This is one of those games where they can’t drop. And with a tough schedule ahead, every game is going to matter.