It’s Consecutive Shutouts for the Ravens

While plenty of fans kept an eye on the baseball game next door, the Baltimore Ravens pitched another shutout.

The Ravens became the first NFL team in 15 years to shut out consecutive opponents while kicker Matt Stover supplied what offense there was in a 12-0 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Some of the biggest cheers of the day came when updates were flashed on the scoreboard from the Indians’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays at nearby Jacobs Field. They won, 11-4, to maintain their flickering playoff hopes.

The Ravens didn’t give Cleveland’s football fans much to shout about.

The shutout was Baltimore’s third of the season. The Ravens (4-1), 37-0 winners over the Cincinnati Bengals last week, became the first NFL team to string together shutouts since the 1985 Chicago Bears beat the Dallas Cowboys, 44-0, and Atlanta Falcons, 36-0, in consecutive games.

The Ravens discussed another shutout in their workouts last week.

“We threw that out to our guys as a challenge and that is no disrespect to the Browns. It didn’t matter who we were coming in against,” Raven Coach Brian Billick said.

Stover converted field goals of 45, 30, 44 and 22 yards as the Ravens’ offense continually faltered close to the end zone.

The Browns are 2-3.