Ebony Bird
FanSided

Baltimore Ravens: 5 things we learned against Bengals

By Jake McDonnell

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: C.J. Mosley
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: C.J. Mosley /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 10: Michael Pierce #97 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after recovering a fumble during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 10: Michael Pierce #97 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after recovering a fumble during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

#2 – The defense is legit

All offseason, the Ravens made significant improvements to their defense. With the additions came high expectations, and the defense impressed in the preseason. With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the offense, the Ravens defenders needed a strong showing on Sunday.

Boy did they deliver. As a unit, the defense restricted the Bengals to four third down conversions in 13 attempts. Cincinnati averaged 3.8 yards-per-play, and never reached the end zone. The Ravens notched just 268 yards of total offense, but the Bengals only got 221. Andy Dalton only threw for 170 yards, which, aside from a 78-yard partial performance in 2012, is Dalton’s lowest career total against the Ravens.

It was not a perfect day, but the effort put forward by Baltimore’s defense on Sunday came close to it. Every time the Bengals seemed to get some momentum, Baltimore found a way to turn the ball over. Sunday’s game brought back great memories of the Ravens’ defenses of old. With the Browns coming to Baltimore next week, another dominant outing could occur.

Home/Ravens News