On the last play of the Ravens’ bruising 23-7 triumph implicit the Broncos connected Sunday, Baltimore manager John Harbaugh elected to tally the shot alternatively of taking a genu to drain the clock.
With Lamar Jackson’s five-yard unreserved to headdress the enactment astatine Empower Field, the Ravens finished with 102 yards connected the crushed and tied the NFL grounds for consecutive games with astatine slightest 100 yards rushing astatine 43. Harbaugh made nary apologies for the play that epitomized however the Ravens pushed the Broncos physically and tactically out-maneuvered Denver to crook what was expected to beryllium a adjacent crippled into a rout.
“(The streak) is 1 of those things that’s meaningful,” Harbaugh said. “As the caput coach, you’ve got to beryllium mindful of your squad and your players and your coaches and what the grounds means to them… It’s a very, precise pugnacious grounds to execute and it’s a semipermanent record.”
After rushing for 73 yards successful the archetypal quarter, the Broncos had conscionable 33 yards rushing the remainder of the mode and finished with 254 full yards. Baltimore had 406 yards and 5 sacks connected defense. The Ravens pressured backmost Teddy Bridgewater for overmuch of the archetypal fractional earlier helium near the crippled with a concussion connected a deed by linebacker Odafe Owehon precocious successful the 2nd quarter.
While the Broncos viewed the showdown against backmost Lamar Jackson and the Ravens arsenic a litmus trial pursuing a brushed September schedule, the Ravens saw their travel to Denver arsenic a mode to solidify their individuality pursuing a rash of important early-season injuries and 3 adjacent games to statesman the season.
“These are the benignant of wins you person to stack successful bid to bash thing (in this league),” Harbaugh said.
Baltimore antiaircraft lineman Calais Campbell had 5 tackles, a rewarding homecoming for the Denver South graduate.
“There’s precise fewer of those moments erstwhile you get to beryllium sentimental (as a player),” Campbell said. “To beryllium capable to play successful this stadium, I kept reasoning astir erstwhile I was a kid and dreaming astir playing successful this stadium… And it was large to spell retired determination and get a win.”
Campbell said Baltimore’s defence took vantage of the Broncos’ injuries up front. Second-year pro Netane Muti and rookie Quinn Meinerz filled successful for Graham Glasgow and Dalton Risner astatine near defender and close guard, respectively, arsenic some starters were inactive.
“You decidedly privation to effort to instrumentality vantage of the youth, and we had a bully crippled program due to the fact that we knew earlier successful the week determination was a accidental (Glasgow and Risner wouldn’t play),” Campbell said.
Harbaugh said the Ravens’ pass-rush was teed up by coagulated sum from a secondary that ranked 30th successful the NFL successful mean passing yards fixed up heading into the game. Neither Bridgewater oregon backup Drew Lock was capable to find an extended bushed successful the pocket.
“The pass-rush was truly good, disconnected the edges and inside, and we were capable to get the quarterbacks down, and that’s a large deal,” Harbaugh said. “The pass-rush was relentless, and it astir apt started with (good) coverage.”
On the different side, Jackson said the Broncos’ antiaircraft crippled program was to instrumentality distant the Ravens’ stout tally crippled by stacking the box. Jackson responded by throwing for 316 yards connected 22-of-37 passing, with a 49-yard touchdown onslaught to Marquise Brown successful the 2nd 4th the play that turned the momentum successful Baltimore’s favor.
“They were moving a batch of screen zero,” Jackson said. “I conjecture their crippled program worked, due to the fact that I didn’t truly tally it that overmuch (with 28 yards total). But we were capable to walk for a lot.”