Ravens off to a fast start

If you would have told me Friday the Ravens would shutout Cincinnati in Cincinnati, I would have said you are nuts. Considering the Ravens have not won in Cincinnati since January 1st, 2012.

With their back up against the wall, no one was giving the Ravens a chance on Sunday. Only one thing, the games are not won on history and paper, you still have to play the game. On paper the Bengals has a high powered offense and a fast defense. Ravens did not want to hear any of that. The Ravens proved on Sunday they have the best defense. Not only did the defense pitch a shutout, they forced 5 turnovers ( 4 interceptions ), forced fumble, 5 sacks, and 8 tackles for losses. I think a few other notable stats, that no one is talking about is, 77- rushing yards and 26:00 time of possession. A few reason's why the 26 minutes is pretty critical in this game. For starters you keep the ball out of Andy Dalton hands. Everyone knows the Bengals can have a pretty dangerous offense, keeping them off the field is a huge win for the Ravens. Second reason why the 26 minutes was crucial in this game. The Ravens offense was able to sustain long drives chewing up minutes on the clock. The new Ravens running attack, keep the Ravens defense will rested and the ball out of Dalton hands. That is a huge win for Dean Pees.

While the Ravens defense will get all of the credit, we also need to give the Ravens offense credit also. There was one drive right before the half, that set the tone for the game. After a Bengals turnover, the Ravens put together a 81- yard 9:38. 16 run plays versus 3 passing plays. Believe it or not, that shows you how important it is to run the ball in the NFL. People were complaining this offseason, we need a running back. Our two headed monster did great against a stellar defense. 157-yards on the ground between, Danny Woodhead, Terrance West, Michael Campanaro, and Jarvouis Allen. Pretty impressive for not having an explosive back. If anyone can remember back to the 2000 season, our offense did enough not to lose the game and that is exactly what they did on Sunday.

Overall this is an impressive start to the 2017 season, let's just hope they do not get gassed and can make it deep into January of 2018. I personally am impressed with what I saw on Sunday.