Strategy:
orchestrated the offense out of no-huddle mode and the shotgun formation, frequently audibling at the line. Halfback draws to
out of the shotgun kept the Bengals honest along with waggles, play-action and reverses. It was primarily fast-break football, but the Ravens didn't completely abandon their smash-mouth roots with
bulldozing pathways for Rice with isolation plays out of the I-formation. Remaining true to their 3-4 base defense, they were hardly vanilla as Dean Pees dialed up blitzes and stunts to create a pass rush for a defense bereft of
.
Personnel:
The Ravens went no-huddle on 21 of 58 snaps, an indicator it's no passing fancy. They were in the shotgun 15 times. Tight end
, who had a career-high 73 receiving yards, was on the field for 44 plays while
played 39 snaps. Often in double-tight-end formations and three-wide-receiver looks. Left guard
and rookie right tackle
never left the field and held up solidly in starting debuts.
What went right:
Flacco collaborated with Ravens offensive coordinator
for a crisp tempo, keeping the defense off guard with unpredictable playcalling. Respect was paid to Rice on a play-action fake sold adeptly by Flacco, who connected with
in stride for a 52-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Rice generated 93 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, but could handle a bigger workload.
was an ironman on defense, playing 62 snaps and recording seven tackles and a fumble recovery .
exploited a mismatch over center
for two sacks.
delivered some punishing hits, and a lighter
was extremely active.
What went wrong:
Interior defensive linemen
and
didn't build an adequate wall inside as
had 91 yards and a touchdown.
surrendered ground far too easily, getting manhandled by Bengals tackle
. Although Kruger played 61 plays, he had just one tackle and fellow linebacker
only had two tackles in 48 plays. The Bengals racked up 4.6 yards per carry.
Turning point:
After Webb's touchdown-saving tackle on a scrambling
held Cincinnati to a field goal in the third quarter when
declined to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the Ravens' 1-yard line, Flacco marched the offense 89 yards on nine plays capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Pitta for a 24-13 lead. The game was never close again.
X-factor:
The Ravens look vulnerable on the perimeter defensively because the outside linebackers aren't setting the edge physically enough. That could be a major problem against the Eagles because of the multi-dimensional athleticism of quarterback
and the elusiveness of speedy running back
.
¿