5. A Strong start in the rain:
The Baltimore Ravens won their first game of the 2018 regular season 47-3. The Buffalo Bills proved to be no contest for the purple and black. On a rainy and windy day in Baltimore, Joe Flacco shredded the Bills apart. Flacco would eventually be replaced by the end of the season, however there was no indication of that to kick off the season. Flacco had 236 yards and three touchdowns in the game. The Ravens had a new look offense with Michael Crabtree, John Brown and Willie Snead having strong opening performances.
Baltimore saw Nathan Peterman to start with as the Bills quarterback. Peterman didn’t do well and that’s the polite way of saying it. He went 5-18 passing for 24 yards and two interceptions. Buffalo had no choice but to put in their rookie, Josh Allen. Allen went 6-15 for 74 yards. Don Martindale saw some very impressive numbers in his first game as the defensive coordinator. Baltimore had six sacks to go along with their two picks.
The game was so lopsided that M&T Bank Stadium got their first glimpse of Lamar Jackson in regular season action. Jackson led a scoring drive well into garbage time. He only completed one of his four passes, but it was valuable experience for the rookie. 1-0 came easy. If it wasn’t for what amounts to a symbolic field goal for Buffalo, this would have been a shutout.
4. Crushing Marcus Mariota on a loop:
The Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans 21-0. It was exactly what the Ravens needed at that point of the season. It was a good week after a dismal showing against the Browns and it preceded three straight losses. John Harbaugh may not have known it at the time, but this game was about as much of a must win as it gets in October. Baltimore dominated the game in every single way. The standout statistic was the 11 sacks the Ravens got defensively. It was one of the best defensive performances of the season for the number one defense in the NFL. It was the kind of game that let’s the 2018 defense stand with the great defenses of this franchise’s past.