[ad_1]
NASHVILLE – The record defeat started late in the Baltimore Ravens' 21-0 win over the Titans of Tennessee on Sunday, with a play that, at this time of the afternoon, must have sounded like a record: another bag . The Ravens had shot Marcus Mariota again. This time, for the ninth time.
"I think it was [at] nine, said outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith. The historical significance of this figure was therefore evident only for a select few on the team sideline.
The defensive line coach, Joe Cullen, knew that it was a franchise record. The same was true of assistant linebacker Drew Wilkins. At the beginning of the fourth quarter of a game in which the Ravens gave nothing to the Titans, they were just a record to take.
The word has fled. The eyes have become big. The rush continued.
"It's time to go hunting," said defensive tackle Willie Henry. "We heard that, it was time to pin our ears."
"They said if we had one more, we're going to break a record," Smith said. "So we went to have two more, right?"
[Summary: Ravens 21, Titans 0]
They went to have two more. The Titans (3-3) entered their match of week 6 after allocating nine sacks in five games. The Ravens (4-2) had spent almost seven years without playing nine sacks. But at sunset in Nashville, they had a performance as worthy of one of the country's country music classics: 11 sacks, one less than the NFL record. No other team this season has had more than seven in a game.
With 66 yards lost on the Titans' s bags, the Ravens easily beat them 361-106. Tennessee have never been closer to the end zone and their match ended in an undesirable place in the history of the Nissan Stadium. Never before, for almost two decades, the Titans had been excluded at home.
Smith finished with three high bags in career. Linebacker Patrick Onwuasor had a pair. Linebackers Matthew Judon and Terrell Suggs, linebacker Kenny Young, safety teams Tony Jefferson, defensive end Chris Wormley and back defender Anthony Levine Sr. each added one. In total, the Ravens finished with more Mariota sacks than the Titans quarterback (10 assists in 15 for a 117-yard gain and no touchdowns or interceptions).
"It was a team effort," said coach John Harbaugh. "You just felt the pocket shatter. I think he's been out two or three times. . . . I do not think you can really say who got the bags as much as it could have been, because we rushed so fast that we filled our gaps so well. We are very disciplined and the bags eventually go where Marcus tried to escape more than anything. "
After a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns in the 12-9 overtime loss to the Browns, a show that looked like a comeback in his passing days and desperate orders, quarterback Joe Flacco was back to his original state .
Against one of the best defenses of the NFL, he made 25 assists in 37 attempts, totaling 238 yards and a touchdown with an interception that, at least during the restart, seemed to hit the ground under the protection of Titans, Kevin Byard. The opening possessions of the Ravens in both halves were long long journeys that ended in the end zone.
The first: a 17-run, 94-yard, over nine-minute drive from Flacco's 4-yard pass to forward Michael Crabtree in the end zone. The last: a possession of 12 games, 78 yards and more than seven minutes that culminated with running back Alex Collins up to the goal line. Between the two, Collins scored 13 yards early in the second quarter.
But all that the Ravens really had to do on Sunday was to end their series of assists with seven wins and more. In fact, everything they needed was a goal on the ground. Their defense did the rest.
"We had the feeling of dropping the team" against Cleveland, said Eric Weddle to safety, but the Browns offense was no better than the Ravens for much of the day. "We did not have the stops at the end and we wanted to take it to the next level. . . . We felt we could have played better and we need to play better. Everyone had this goal all week, and better and better, and just dominate a match and become an excellent defense. "
After the amazing defensive performance of the Ravens, Mariota remained almost speechless. At the start of his post-game press conference, he was asked if he had ever played a game like that. "No, it was a first," he said. He was then asked about the post-game feeling after a match like this. "Not very well."
[ad_2]
Source link
