RAVENS 101

The Baltimore Ravens have now lost three in a row for the first time since 2009, and have lost two in a row at home after a 15 game home winning streak was snapped, courtesy of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers three weeks ago. Although the Ravens were embarrassed at home on Sunday by the Denver Broncos, believe it or not, there were a couple bright spots for Baltimore.

Normally on Tuesday's, I dive deeper into the numbers to really break down analytically how and why the game turned out the way it did, but the embarrassment provided by the Broncos for the Ravens led me to not even want to do that because it would be useless because we all saw the game and that Baltimore was purely overmatched.

I am a firm believer in finding something positive out of a negative situation, but even I will admit it was very tough Sunday to find a bright spot while at the game, but in going back and watching the game a couple more times to really analyze the Ravens, I did notice some guys that deserve a little recognition for their play.

• Tandon Doss – He saw a lot more playing time than normal once Torrey Smith left the game with a concussion, and played very nicely. His route running impressed me with the attention to detail he provided on the cuts and was not afraid to block if the situation called for it. He had his first career multi-catch game Sunday, and really showed himself to be a viable option. He also threw in a very nice 40 yard punt return as well.
• Dennis Pitta – He is probably the most obvious Raven that had a good game on Sunday, but let's be realistic, most of his performance came when the game was out of hand and Denver's defense went into prevent mode; however, his play does deserve some recognition for two main reasons, first the obvious he reeled in seven grabs for 125 yards and two touchdowns, but second, and most importantly he showed heart out there and looked to be one of the few Ravens to still be putting forth 100% effort, and that was evident in his 61 yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter when Baltimore was trailing by 24 points, as Pitta broke several tackles and was determined to score.

• Albert McClellan – The Ravens came into the game with a very depleted inside linebacker core, but McClellan had, in my opinion, the best game of his career as he recorded five tackles, one sack, and he forced a fumble as well. Hard to imagine how this defense would have looked if not for his play.
• James Ihedigbo – He came into Sunday's game with just ten tackles, playing behind Bernard Pollard mostly, but got the start with Pollard inactive and he made the most of the opportunity. Ihedigbo recorded five tackles and two assists against the Broncos, and was all over the football field.
• Sam Koch – Koch honestly,was the best player on the field Sunday for the Ravens as he was one of the main reasons Baltimore was still in the game before Flacco's pick six at the end of the first half, due to him constantly flipping field position in favor of Baltimore. Koch averaged 50.4 yards per punt and dropped two of them inside the 20 yard line.

It was unquestionably a disaster of a game for the Ravens, but there were a few guys that deserve a job well done. Baltimore will need to find a way to look inside themselves to come back from this and perform better when they host the New York Giants this Sunday in their final regular season home game at M&T Bank Stadium. With a win, Baltimore will clinch the AFC North division, thus insuring themselves of a home playoff game.

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Tags: Albert McClellan, Baltimore, Baltimore Ravens, Dennis Pitta, Denver Broncos, Football, James Ihedigbo, NFL, Sam Koch, Tandon Doss

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