BALTIMORE — If Peyton Manning was playing football this season, the Baltimore Ravens would be talking about the importance of ending an eight-game losing streak against the Indianapolis Colts and their esteemed quarterback.

The Colts don’t have Manning, or even a single victory. So the Ravens are approaching Sunday’s game with caution, because they know all about the danger of facing a winless team this late in the season.

In 2007, the Miami Dolphins were 0-13 before Cleo Lemon connected with Greg Camarillo on a 64-yard touchdown pass in overtime for a 22-16 victory. It turned out to be Miami’s only win of the season.

This Baltimore team is far superior to that one, but the memory of that embarrassing defeat still lingers among those Ravens who played that day.

Asked if there was concern about playing the winless Colts, linebacker Terrell Suggs replied, “Yeah, because I lost to an O-fer team. A little slant route got us. This is the NFL, and (the Colts) are professionals. We expect them to line up and come up in here and play. They are just as big a threat to us as if we were playing anybody else.”

That loss to Miami was the lowlight of a season during which the Ravens finished 5-11. Head coach Brian Billick was fired soon after the final game, and owner Steve Bisciotti hired John Harbaugh to bring the team back into prominence.

Harbaugh has done exactly that. Baltimore reached the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, and this year the Ravens (9-3) are poised to capture the AFC North title and perhaps the top seed in the conference.

The absolute last thing the Ravens need is to lose at home against the struggling Colts (0-12).

“We have to win the football game to achieve what we want to do,” Suggs said.

What the Colts want to do is avoid becoming the second team in NFL history to finish 0-16. Playing without Manning, who’s missed the entire season with a neck injury, has been far too big an obstacle to overcome.

“Obviously, you don’t want to ever have a season like this,” Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “Us especially, we are not used to this at all. We are used to making the playoffs nine years straight and all that. Winning records, and all of that. This is definitely a different feeling.”

Making up for the loss of Manning was tough enough, but the Colts also have been without linebacker Gary Brackett (shoulder) since the first week of the season, and safety Melvin Bullitt (shoulder) played in only the first two games.

“We’ve lost a lot of key guys at a lot of key positions,” Freeney said.

If the Colts are to pull off a monumental upset, they must duplicate some of their previous performances against the Ravens. Although Manning was certainly a factor in helping Indy go 8-0 against Baltimore since 2001, the defense was most responsible. The Colts haven’t given up a touchdown to the Ravens in three straight games, the last one a 20-3 win in the 2009 playoffs.

With Freeney on one end and Robert Mathis on the other, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco knows he won’t have the luxury of dropping back into the pocket and casually surveying the field.

“They have a lot of pursuit,” Flacco said. “They react to the ball quickly, and they’ve kept us out of the end zone because of that.” The Colts have also been tough against the run. Baltimore running back Ray Rice got 23 yards rushing in 2008, 71 in a regular-season game in 2009 and 67 in that aforementioned postseason defeat.

“That defense is very fast. We have not fared well against them,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve turned the ball over, we didn’t run the ball on them, we’ve gotten sacked, we’ve had plays for negative yards. It’s been a theme against that defense. So we’ve got our work cut out for us. We understand that.”

The biggest thing the Ravens have going for them is playing at home, where they’re 6-0 this season and have won 16 of 17. Baltimore will probably play a fourth straight game without injured middle linebacker Ray Lewis (right toe), but the league’s third-ranked defense is still plenty good enough to contain Dan Orlovsky, the Colts’ third different starting quarterback this season.

Most of all, the Ravens know they have to win to stay on course for the postseason.

“We know what we’re playing for. We know what they’re playing for,” Suggs said. “They are trying to get their first win; we are trying to pile these wins up and go on a playoff run. That’s what is most important to us. Here they come. Let’s do it.”

 

OWINGS MILLS – The weather is cold, the ground is hard and unforgiving and harsh elements tend to fall from the sky.

It’s December, the time of year when football teams with brute strength, unrelenting will and a capacity to run the football and play stingy defense tend to thrive.

The Baltimore Ravens are one of those teams as they demonstrated again during a 24-10 road victory Sunday where they stomped all over the last-place Cleveland Browns as running back Ray Rice rushed for a career-high 204 yards and the defense sacked quarterback Colt McCoy three times.

“That’s December football,” center Matt Birk said. “You have to run the ball well in order to win and we were able to do that. It was that kind of game.”

Since coach John Harbaugh’s arrival in 2008, the Ravens have won 9 of 13 December games.

And the Ravens have been the kings of the later portion of the season with a 24-9 combined mark in November, December and January for a .727 winning percentage that ranks above the New England Patriots (.719) and the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts, who both own a .697 mark.

With a physical running game, the third-ranked defense overall and the second-best run defense in the NFL, the Ravens are well-suited for this time of year.

“I think we have always just had good teams,” Harbaugh said. “We play good defense. We have been able to run the ball. We’d believe that everything we do is built for December. We are trying to be our best in December and January.

“The whole program is organized that way. I think our players understand that, and they begin to think that way. So, we try to improve throughout the course of the season in every area and be at our best this time of year.”

By design on a sloppy field on a cold, rainy day, the Ravens set a franchise record with 55 rushing attempts against the Browns.

As the Ravens (9-3) compete with the Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans for the top seed in the AFC, their late-season push has them on track for home-field playoff advantage provided they win their remaining four games.

“We’ve always played good December football,” Rice said. “We’re a December, January team. It would be great to play a playoff game in Baltimore. We just got to win football games from here on out. It’s clear-cut.”

While the Ravens dominated on offense with the running game, they shut down Browns star running back Peyton Hillis.

He rushed for only 45 yards on a dozen carries with a long run of nine yards.

“We believe in running the football, absolutely,” Harbaugh said. “We think you have to run the ball and stop the run to be the kind of physical football team we want to be.”

The Ravens only had quarterback Joe Flacco attempt 23 passes against the Seahawks.

After getting pass-happy and abandoning the run in losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Seattle Seahawks, the Ravens are tilted more toward running the football now.

For the season, the Ravens have thrown 435 passes for 2,762 yards and 339 runs for 1,378 yards.

The Ravens aren’t necessarily done throwing the ball, though.

“The teams that are scoring the most points are the teams that are throwing the ball the most,” Harbaugh said. “But our objective here is not to score the most points, per se. It’s to score more points than our opponent on any given Sunday. That’s why we’re really not willing to sit here and say that we are a run-first outfit.”

The Ravens have never earned the top seed before in franchise history.

Due to their sweep of the Steelers, a win over the Texans an edge in common opponents over the Patriots, the Ravens are primed for a first-round bye and home playoff games throughout the postseason should they beat the winless Colts, the San Diego Chargers, Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“In the month of December, it’s all about positioning ourselves for a playoff run,” fullback Vonta Leach said. “That’s all we talked about. We didn’t talk about letdowns. Obviously, we have had letdowns in the past after we came off big wins. We just know that it’s December and we wanted to come in here and establish ourselves and continue our winning streak.”

NOTE: Rice has been nominated for FedExGround NFL Player of the Week.

---

Aaron Wilson is Ravens beat reporter for the Carroll County Times: sports@carrollcountytimes.com.

The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t face each other on the field for the rest of the regular season, but the AFC North rivals are engaged in the NFL’s best battle over the next four weeks.

Both teams boast 9-3 records, the best marks in the division as well as the AFC. Both teams realize they can’t afford another loss. And both teams know what’s at stake.

The winner takes the AFC North title, a home playoff game and likely a first-round bye. The loser gets to pack its bags and head on the road for the postseason.

So, the Ravens and Steelers aren’t fighting over supremacy of the division. They’re fighting for a trip to the Super Bowl, based on recent history in the AFC and between the franchises.

The past four AFC champions have either been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. The last fifth or sixth seed in the AFC to reach the Super Bowl was the 2005 Steelers.

The Ravens began talking about their quest for a top seed before the season began. Getting home field in this rivalry isn’t only an advantage, it’s a necessity. Baltimore is 7-2 against the Steelers at home since 2003, while two of the Ravens’ past three seasons have ended in Pittsburgh.

Players on both teams anticipate Baltimore and Pittsburgh meeting in the playoffs once again.

“We’re going to have to see this team in January,” Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said after the Ravens won in Pittsburgh last month. “We just positioned ourselves for them to have to come to M&T [Bank Stadium] so we can do it.”

The Ravens and Steelers are the class of the AFC, even though they have the same record as New England and Houston. It’s just difficult to think of the Patriots and Texans as serious contenders when New England has the NFL’s worst defense and Houston has a third-string rookie starting at quarterback.

It’s also difficult to think the Ravens or the Steelers will go to the stadium of their fiercest rival and leave with a victory. That’s not to say it’s impossible. Joe Flacco has led the Ravens on last-minute, game-winning touchdown drives on his last two regular-season trips to Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field. And Ben Roethlisberger has thrown two winning, fourth-quarter touchdown passes in Baltimore in 2008 and 2010.

Still, both teams and their defenses are playing at a different level when they’re in front of their home crowd. The Ravens have won eight straight games at M&T Bank Stadium, the second-longest current streak in the NFL (behind the Green Bay Packers). Baltimore has outscored opponents at home 175-95, beating the likes of Pittsburgh, Houston, San Francisco, Cincinnati and the New York Jets.

The Steelers are 29-9 (.763) at Heinz Field under coach Mike Tomlin, including 5-1 this season. Pittsburgh has outscored teams at home 159-77, defeating the likes of New England, Tennessee and Cincinnati.

What makes it so tough to beat these teams at their own place is Ray Lewis, Suggs, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison. Since 2008, the Ravens have given up the fewest points at home (13.4) and the Steelers have allowed the second fewest (15.7). Over that same span, Pittsburgh has given up the fewest yards at home (268.6) and Baltimore has allowed the second fewest (272.2).

The difference is the Ravens can decide their playoff future. If Baltimore wins the final four games, the Ravens will host their first playoff game since 2006.

“We know we control our own destiny,” Ravens running back Ray Rice said. “Regardless of who we play, we’ve got to take care of business.”

The reason the Ravens control their destiny is because they swept Pittsburgh in the regular season for only the second time in their history. Giving up that 92-yard drive to Flacco in the final minutes represents the difference between the Steelers leading the Ravens and trailing them.

Now, in order for the Steelers to win their sixth AFC North title, they have to finish one game ahead of Baltimore. That means Pittsburgh needs to win its last four games (home against Cleveland, at San Francisco, home against St. Louis and at Cleveland) and the Ravens need to lose at least one of their remaining games (home against winless Indianapolis, at San Diego, home against Cleveland and at Cincinnati).

“Coach Tomlin always talks about just playing,” Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said. “Don’t look at Baltimore. We just have to worry about what we can do [and] take it one game at a time.”

Ward added: “We just have to keep playing. We can’t control what Baltimore does. If we do what we do, at the end, we might be there in the hunt of things.”

For the Ravens and Steelers, the end of this season has a different feel because the teams aren’t playing each other in December for the first time in five years. Instead of delivering knockout blows to one another, the Ravens and Steelers know that beating the other teams could hurt their rival just as much.

If Baltimore wins out, it likely will earn the top seed in the AFC based on a better strength of victory over New England and Houston. That would mean the road to the Super Bowl would go through Baltimore for the first time in the Ravens’ 16-year existence.

“Our guys understand the importance of where we’re at,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “because if you’re going to be at this level, you’re not just competing against the team you have to play on Sunday.”

The Baltimore Ravens held on to the top slot when it comes to the best NFL defenses in fantasy football this season. Through the games of Week 13, the Ravens are the toast of the fantasy football world, adding to those totals with a game against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 4. Maybe more remarkable was how the Kansas City Chiefs moved from worst fantasy football defense up to No. 24 on the list. They aren’t near the top for the full season though.

Best Fantasy Football Defenses

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens now have 41 sacks to lead the entire NFL through 12 games. That’s a pretty good way to lead the world of fantasy football, but the team also has 13 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and 5 return touchdowns (combining defensive and kick). That’s good enough for 146 total points through just 12 games.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are just behind the Ravens when it comes to fantasy football points, and the team has posted 145 points through 12 games. Those points have come in part because of a defense that has allowed just 159 points and a return team that also has 2 touchdowns. The defense sports 29 sacks, 16 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, a safety and a defensive touchdown.

Chicago Bears

The Bears already have three return touchdowns from Devin Hester(notes) to combine with 4 defensive touchdowns and a safety. That is a lot of points not coming from the offense, and a big reason the Bears have won so many games. The team also has 24 sacks, 16 interceptions, 9 fumble recoveries and a blocked kick.

Houston Texans

Houston has had an exceptionally good season on defense, and with 35 sacks, 17 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries has made a mark in fantasy football. The team also has 2 blocked kicks, a defensive touchdown and a return touchdown to its credit in 2011.

New York Jets

The Jets are holding on to the No. 5 spot in fantasy football by just one point over the Green Bay Packers. New York spreads it around to, with 24 sacks, 14 interceptions and 9 fumble recoveries. The team also has 2 safeties, a blocked kick, 3 defensive touchdowns and a return touchdown through the first 12 games.

More From YCN :

5 Best Fantasy Players of 2011

Week 12 Top Defenses

5_Frustrating_Players

5_Great_Fantasy_Players

Tim_Tebow_Rewards_Owners

Sources:

Week 13 NFL Scores

Defensive Team Leaders

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Baltimore (9-3) set a franchise record with 55 rushing attempts against the Browns in a 24-10 victory. Ray Rice led the way with a career-best 204 yards rushing on 29 carries, and Ricky Williams chipped in with 76 yards on 16 attempts.

The Ravens won their only Super Bowl in 2001 with an offense dominated by running back Jamal Lewis and a defense centered around middle linebacker Ray Lewis. Jamal Lewis is retired and Ray Lewis has missed three straight games with a toe injury, but the formula for success hasn’t changed.

“We believe in running the football, absolutely,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “We think you have to run the ball and stop the run to be the kind of physical football team we want to be.”

Flacco threw only 23 passes against the Browns, but Harbaugh attributed the run-pass imbalance in part to the muddy field in Cleveland.

“We felt like we could run the ball, possibly. We wanted to be able to do that,” the coach said. “On the same token, it was rainy and it was windy and the field was real sloppy. The conditions for throwing the ball weren’t really ideal. … We try to be built for all weather conditions, but I think the way the game played out, the type of game it was, the best approach was to run the ball and keep running the ball because we were having some success doing it.”

In losses to Jacksonville and Seattle, the Ravens abandoned the run and attempted to win through the air. Baltimore has won its share of games on the strength of Flacco’s throwing arm, but this team seems to be at its best when it uses the run to set up the pass.

Against the Browns, the offensive line was only too happy to surge forward instead of drop back into pass protection.

“The guys up front did a great job,” fullback Vonta Leach said. “Ray did a good job of hitting those holes. Obviously with the weather the way it was and the field the way it was, you got to run the ball. We established the run and we kept with it.”

Center Matt Birk said, “That’s what we need to do. It was that kind of game. As an offense, we were able to run the ball.”

The Ravens have thrown 412 passes this season and have 284 rushes. That is, in part, because the NFL has become a passing league and Baltimore has a host of capable receivers, including Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.

So Harbaugh isn’t about to commit entirely to the run as the Ravens seek to stay on course to capture the AFC North title — and perhaps the top seed in the conference.

“The teams that are scoring the most points are the teams that are throwing the ball the most,” Harbaugh said. “But our objective here is not to score the most points, per se. It’s to score more points than our opponent on any given Sunday. That’s why we’re really not willing to sit here and say that we are a run-first outfit.”

But to win in December, when the weather gets cold and the pressure to win intensifies, the Ravens have found that smashmouth football is far more effective than finesse.

“We’ve always had good teams. We play good defense. We’ve been able to run the ball,” Harbaugh said. “Some years we’ve been better running the ball. We’d like to believe that we’re built for December. Everything we do is built for December. We’re trying to be our best in December and January.”

The Ravens have four games left, the next three against losing teams. The winless Indianapolis Colts (0-12) come to Baltimore on Sunday, and although it seems as if the Ravens could afford to let Lewis rest his ailing right toe another week, Harbaugh doesn’t see it that way.

“We’re going to try to win the game against the Colts,” Harbaugh said. “We want to go in there full strength. Obviously a healthy Ray Lewis, playing at the caliber he’s capable of playing at, helps us beat the Colts. Is he going to be ready to do that? We don’t know. He says he’s going to be ready to do it. He’s got some orthotics that may give him a chance.”

Baltimore has won three straight without Lewis, who has watched from the sideline in each instance.

“We have, probably, been somewhat cautious,” Harbaugh acknowledged. “We want to make sure that he doesn’t re-injure it. So, we’ll just have to see how it goes again this week.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(Sports Network) – The Baltimore Ravens have had trouble this season following up big victories when they face a team below .500. They have a chance to buck that trend this Sunday with a matchup with the last-place Cleveland Browns.

The Ravens look to win a sixth straight divisional game and seventh in a row over the Browns this weekend at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

With an 8-3 record, Baltimore is not only tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North, but for the best record in the conference along with New England and Houston. The Ravens could be in an even better position, but all three of its losses this year have come against teams that were under .500 at the time.

Baltimore followed up a big Week 1 win over Pittsburgh with a loss in Tennessee, knocked off first-place Houston on Oct. 16 one week before an ugly defeat in Jacksonville and then followed up a road win over the Steelers with a setback in Seattle.

The Ravens hope those woes, which seem to creep up on the road, don’t follow them to Cleveland after they knocked off San Francisco by a 16-6 score in the “Harbaugh Bowl” on Thanksgiving. Baltimore used a club record-tying nine sacks and a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta to give head coach John Harbaugh a victory over the Niners and their sideline general, little brother Jim Harbaugh.

“It’s just a big win for us,” said John Harbaugh afterward. “It’s an opportunity going forward. It positions us really well. Now we have to conquer a game in Cleveland, one that’s been plaguing us all year.”‘

Harbaugh was referring to the Ravens’ issues against losing teams following big wins. Baltimore needs to shake the trend quickly, as its next four games are all against teams under .500, a stretch that is book-marked with games versus the Browns.

Baltimore’s head coach shook off the notion that his team just wasn’t ready for those games, saying that the Ravens just didn’t play well. He also stressed the challenge of this game given that the Browns are in the same division and are coming off a solid showing.

“We’ve got to turn over every stone,” Harbaugh said. “We certainly acknowledge that those three losses, coming off of big wins, against teams with sub-.500 records, were not good performances. They are team losses the way we look at it — coaches, players, all of us.”

The Browns certainly seem capable of pulling off the upset considering their performance last weekend in a 23-20 loss to Cincinnati. Cleveland, though, failed to hold leads of 17-7 and 20-10 as the Bengals’ Mike Nugent hit a 26- yard game-winning field with 38 ticks left.

That came after Cleveland’s Phil Dawson missed a 55-yard attempt at the other end following a bad snap. He had already hit a season-long 54-yarder earlier in the game, but long snapper Ryan Pontbriand’s toss back to the holder was low.

Pontbriand fell on the sword Tuesday, getting released.

“We didn’t finish it off,” said Browns head coach Pat Shurmur. “The Bengals did a good job of coming back on us. Just like if we had won the game it’d be a team victory, we lost the game and it was a team loss.”

Cleveland has lost four of its last five games and does not have an easy road to the end of its season. Four of its final five tests are against AFC North co-leaders Baltimore and Pittsburgh, including a meeting at the Ravens on Dec. 24.

The Ravens, meanwhile, have won two in a row despite playing both games without linebacker Ray Lewis, whom Harbaugh said has a chance of returning for this game.

Baltimore, which has won seven of its last eight versus AFC North opponents, can reach 9-3 for the second time in team history with a victory over Cleveland, joining the 2006 club.

SERIES HISTORY

The Ravens own a commanding 17-7 lead in their all-time series with the Browns, whose first edition of the franchise moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens prior to the 1996 season before re-entering the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, and have won each of the last six bouts between the rivals. Baltimore recorded its third straight home-and-home sweep of the Browns by following up a 24-17 home victory during Week 3 of the 2010 season with a 20-10 triumph in Cleveland last December, and also left Ohio with wins in both 2008 (37-27) and 2009 (16-0). The Browns last bested the Ravens via a 33-30 overtime decision at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 18, 2007 and topped Baltimore at home by a 27-13 count that same year as well.

Harbaugh is 6-0 lifetime against the Browns as a head coach, while Shurmur will be facing both the Ravens and Harbaugh in his current position. The two sideline bosses previously worked together on the staff of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2007, with Shurmur then the team’s quarterback coach and Harbaugh the special teams coordinator and later in charge of defensive backs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Pregame scribbles before today’s Ravens-Browns matchup.

1. I keep trying to figure out how the Browns can beat Baltimore — I can’t find a way. There is one possibility: The Out of Nowhere Game. That’s the game most teams win each year that makes no sense. Last season, the Browns won at New Orleans. In 2009, they beat Pittsburgh. In 2008, they embarrassed the New York Jets. Chris Palmer was 2-2 vs. Pittsburgh and 3-25 vs. the rest of the NFL in the 1999-2000 expansion seasons.

2. I still don’t see it happening.

3. At the start of the season, the lack of depth at linebacker worried me. They were counting on D’Qwell Jackson, Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong. Jackson had played only six games in the previous two seasons. Fujita had missed 12 games in the previous two years. Gocong had stayed healthy. Now, Fujita is done for the year with a broken hand, missing the final five games. The Browns are down to Kaluka Maiava and Titus Brown, who has battled high ankle sprains the last two years.

4. Jackson is having a season worthy of Pro Bowl consideration, as he’s played 100 percent of the snaps. Fujita had played 95 percent, Gocong 76 percent. When Gocong left the game, the Browns usually went with five defensive backs and two linebackers. Maiava (76 total snaps) and Brown (22 snaps) had played little this season.

5. This a big day for long snapper Christian Yount, who takes over for the waived Ryan Pontbriand. Yount was considered one of the best snappers in college football last year at UCLA. Draft and college football expert Phil Steele rated him the fourth-best snapper in college football. He was picked up by Tampa Bay (it seems only the Browns actually draft a snapper), and played seven games before being cut. He was filling in for veteran Andrew Economos, who had been injured and has been the Bucs’ snapper since 2007. Yount being dropped from the roster apparently had nothing to do with his performance.

6. Pontribriand will be paid his $825,000 salary this season. It’s the final year of a 5-year, $4.5 million contract that he had signed. He made about $7 million snapping for the Browns since 2003.

7. This from Ken Moll of Scouts Inc. as he wrote about the game with Baltimore: “The Browns’ Colt McCoy is a talented young quarterback who has size limitations. He has adequate arm strength but can be inconsistent when sitting in the pocket and trying to power the ball into tight spaces. To deliver the ball efficiently, McCoy is best on the edges while scrambling, in bootlegs or dash schemes. Look for (the Ravens) to play more base-combination zone coverages with disciplined four-man rush packages to force McCoy to move the chains from the pocket.”

8. While McCoy has made some good throws rolling out, he also has thrown six of his eight interceptions on the right sideline. The coaches have been telling him to either run out of bounds or throw the ball away when on one of those desperate sprints.

9. As Pat Shurmur prepares to face Pittsburgh and Baltimore for the first time, here’s a look back at the record of some recent Browns coaches: Eric Mangini (1-3, beat Pittsburgh); Romeo Crennel (3-13, he was 3-5 vs., Baltimore, 0-8 vs. Pittsburgh); Butch Davis (6-11, he beat Baltimore five times!); Chris Palmer was 2-2 vs. the Steelers, 0-4 vs. Baltimore.

10. Finally, I am curious to see if Peyton Hillis can have a big game. I’d love to see him finish strong just so the Browns have a viable option at running back next season, especially if Hillis continues with his good attitude that has returned the last few weeks.

CLEVELAND — Because they played on Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a long holiday weekend and got to rest last Sunday.

They can’t afford to take another one off.

Baltimore’s three losses this season have followed the same pattern. All of them have come on the road, all of them have come against a weaker opponent and all of them have come the week after an impressive win.

So don’t think for a second that a trip to Cleveland has the Ravens (8-3) feeling overconfident. They know the Browns (4-7) are always ready to brawl.

“If you were a fighter, this is the fighter you avoid at all costs because he is always going to fight you hard, and he is always going to fight you for the 12 rounds,” Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs said. “If you look at just the matchups between the two teams in the past, they have always brought it against us. They have always had a special thing to play us.

“They are going to bring it. Our work is cut out for us.”

Tied atop the AFC North with Pittsburgh, the Ravens can’t afford any letdown against the Browns, who despite losing four of their past five games and falling back to their familiar spot at the bottom of the division, have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense and are showing signs of improvement.

Cleveland doesn’t have playoff hopes, but nothing would ease the pain more than beating the Ravens, who have already shown a tendency to ease up against lesser teams.

Baltimore opened the season by blowing out Pittsburgh 35-7 and followed it with a loss in Week 2 at Tennessee. After thrashing Houston on Oct. 16, the Ravens were shocked in a Monday night game the next week by Jacksonville. Then, after Baltimore completed a season sweep by winning at Pittsburgh, the Ravens were beaten at Seattle the following week.

Coach John Harbaugh is confident his team knows better than to take anyone lightly. They’ve lived the “any given Sunday” — or Monday — cliché this season.

“Our guys, even in the games we haven’t played well and lost on the road, I don’t believe we had an emotional letdown,” he said. “We just have to play well. Every single team in this league is really good and I think the Browns are exceptionally good — much better than their record would indicate. We’ve always had tough games against them. Our guys understand the Browns, they understand the division rivalry and they understand what they’re getting into, so I don’t think there’s any possibility of any kind of emotional letdown.

“We respect everybody and we really respect the Browns.”

Baltimore may again be without linebacker Ray Lewis, the heart, soul and conscience of the Ravens’ nasty defense. Lewis missed practice this week with a toe injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. If Lewis can’t play, Jameel McClain will fill in for the third week in a row.

McClain had eight tackles in Baltimore’s recent win over San Francisco, but he’s not about to call himself Lewis’ replacement.

“Nobody can be Ray Lewis’ replacement,” he said. “Ray Lewis is someone phenomenal.”

But just because Lewis could be out, that doesn’t make things any easier for Cleveland. Browns coach Pat Shurmur must design a game plan that accounts for all of the Ravens’ defensive stars.

“You’ll go into the game knowing this is a certain guy you need to block, this is a certain guy that you don’t want to wreck the game,” he said. “The challenge for them is they’ve got about three or four of them up front.”

For the Browns to pull an upset, they’ll need to be able to run the ball and stay out of obvious passing situations. It’s on those 2nd- and 3rd-and-long plays when the Ravens turn their pass rush loose with Suggs and Co. playing a diabolical game of “meet me at the quarterback.”

By TOM WITHERS,

Associated Press

Updated 12:12 AM Sunday, December 4, 2011

CLEVELAND — Because they played on Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a long holiday weekend and got to rest last Sunday.

They can’t afford to take another one off.

Baltimore’s three losses this season have followed the same pattern. All of them have come on the road, all of them have come against a weaker opponent and all of them have come the week after an impressive win.

So don’t think for a second that a trip to Cleveland has the Ravens (8-3) feeling overconfident. They know the Browns (4-7) are always ready to brawl.

“If you were a fighter, this is the fighter you avoid at all costs because he is always going to fight you hard, and he is always going to fight you for the 12 rounds,” Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs said. “If you look at just the matchups between the two teams in the past, they have always brought it against us. They have always had a special thing to play us.

“They are going to bring it. Our work is cut out for us.”

Tied atop the AFC North with Pittsburgh, the Ravens can’t afford any letdown against the Browns, who despite losing four of their past five games and falling back to their familiar spot at the bottom of the division, have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense and are showing signs of improvement.

Cleveland doesn’t have playoff hopes, but nothing would ease the pain more than beating the Ravens, who have already shown a tendency to ease up against lesser teams.

Baltimore opened the season by blowing out Pittsburgh 35-7, and followed it with a loss in Week 2 at Tennessee. After thrashing Houston on Oct. 16, the Ravens were shocked in a Monday night game the next week by Jacksonville. Then, after Baltimore completed a season sweep by winning at Pittsburgh, the Ravens were beaten at Seattle the following week.

Coach John Harbaugh is confident his team knows better than to take anyone lightly. They’ve lived the “any given Sunday” — or Monday — cliche this season.

“Our guys, even in the games we haven’t played well and lost on the road, I don’t believe we had an emotional letdown,” he said. “We just have to play well. Every single team in this league is really good and I think the Browns are exceptionally good — much better than their record would indicate. We’ve always had tough games against them. Our guys understand the Browns, they understand the division rivalry and they understand what they’re getting into, so I don’t think there’s any possibility of any kind of emotional letdown.

“We respect everybody and we really respect the Browns.”

Baltimore may again be without linebacker Ray Lewis, the heart, soul and conscience of the Ravens’ nasty defense. Lewis missed practice this week with a toe injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. If Lewis can’t play, Jameel McClain will fill in for the third week in a row.

McClain had eight tackles in Baltimore’s recent win over San Francisco, but he’s not about to call himself Lewis’ replacement.

“Nobody can be Ray Lewis’ replacement,” he said. “Ray Lewis is someone phenomenal.”

But just because Lewis could be out, that doesn’t make things any easier for Cleveland. Browns coach Pat Shurmur must design a game plan that accounts for all of the Ravens’ defensive stars.

“You’ll go into the game knowing this is a certain guy you need to block, this is a certain guy that you don’t want to wreck the game,” he said. “The challenge for them is they’ve got about three or four of them up front.”

For the Browns to pull an upset, they’ll need to be able to run the ball and stay out of obvious passing situations. It’s on those 2nd- and 3rd-and-long plays when the Ravens turn their pass rush loose with Suggs and Co. playing a diabolical game of “meet me at the quarterback.”

Baltimore leads the league with 38 sacks, including nine to tie a franchise record in the Ravens’ 16-6 win over the 49ers on Thanksgiving.

Browns quarterback Colt McCoy expects to be under pressure from the first snap until the last. He’s counting on Cleveland’s line to protect his back, front, side and whatever other direction the Ravens might be flying at him from.

“You have to trust your guys,” said McCoy, who threw three interceptions last season in his first matchup with Baltimore. “You have to trust your running backs. You have to trust your offensive line to pick up the protection and you have to trust your guys to get open. That’s how it is week to week. This week they are really good up front. They’ve pressured more than anybody we’ve seen. We’ve got a lot on our plate, a lot to handle, but we’re excited about the challenge.”

Peyton Hillis may be the one who can help the Browns most.

After missing five straight games with a hamstring injury, Hillis came back and gained 65 yards last week in a loss to Cincinnati. Hillis ran hard and with purpose, a positive sign that’s he’s trying to finish strong after being hurt and becoming a distraction this season.

Hillis had a breakout performance the first time he played Baltimore last year. He gashed the Ravens for 144 yards, the most by a back against their defense since 2005. However, the second time he faced them, Hillis, playing with broken ribs, gained just 35 yards.

“They’re a good defense,” Hillis said. “They’re big up front, their front seven is great and you really have to prepare well for ‘em if you’re going to run the ball on ‘em.”

The Ravens are expecting the Browns to feed them a heaping portion of Hillis.

“He’s a really aggressive runner,” Suggs said. “Everybody knows he is Peyton Hillis; he has the Madden cover. He likes to have good games against good defenses. I expect for the juggernaut to be up in there and try to run down some walls.”

CLEVELAND – Because they played on Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a long holiday weekend and got to rest last Sunday.

They can’t afford to take another one off.

Baltimore’s three losses this season have followed the same pattern. All of them have come on the road, all of them have come against a weaker opponent and all of them have come the week after an impressive win.

So don’t think for a second that a trip to Cleveland has the Ravens (8-3) feeling overconfident. They know the Browns (4-7) are always ready to brawl.

“If you were a fighter, this is the fighter you avoid at all costs because he is always going to fight you hard, and he is always going to fight you for the 12 rounds,” Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs said. “If you look at just the matchups between the two teams in the past, they have always brought it against us. They have always had a special thing to play us.

“They are going to bring it. Our work is cut out for us.”

Tied atop the AFC North with Pittsburgh, the Ravens can’t afford any letdown against the Browns, who despite losing four of their past five games and falling back to their familiar spot at the bottom of the division, have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defence and are showing signs of improvement.

Cleveland doesn’t have playoff hopes, but nothing would ease the pain more than beating the Ravens, who have already shown a tendency to ease up against lesser teams.

Baltimore opened the season by blowing out Pittsburgh 35-7, and followed it with a loss in Week 2 at Tennessee. After thrashing Houston on Oct. 16, the Ravens were shocked in a Monday night game the next week by Jacksonville. Then, after Baltimore completed a season sweep by winning at Pittsburgh, the Ravens were beaten at Seattle the following week.

Coach John Harbaugh is confident his team knows better than to take anyone lightly. They’ve lived the “any given Sunday” — or Monday — cliché this season.

“Our guys, even in the games we haven’t played well and lost on the road, I don’t believe we had an emotional letdown,” he said. “We just have to play well. Every single team in this league is really good and I think the Browns are exceptionally good — much better than their record would indicate. We’ve always had tough games against them. Our guys understand the Browns, they understand the division rivalry and they understand what they’re getting into, so I don’t think there’s any possibility of any kind of emotional letdown.

“We respect everybody and we really respect the Browns.”

Baltimore may again be without linebacker Ray Lewis, the heart, soul and conscience of the Ravens’ nasty defence. Lewis missed practice this week with a toe injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. If Lewis can’t play, Jameel McClain will fill in for the third week in a row.

McClain had eight tackles in Baltimore’s recent win over San Francisco, but he’s not about to call himself Lewis’ replacement.

“Nobody can be Ray Lewis’ replacement,” he said. “Ray Lewis is someone phenomenal.”

But just because Lewis could be out, that doesn’t make things any easier for Cleveland. Browns coach Pat Shurmur must design a game plan that accounts for all of the Ravens’ defensive stars.

“You’ll go into the game knowing this is a certain guy you need to block, this is a certain guy that you don’t want to wreck the game,” he said. “The challenge for them is they’ve got about three or four of them up front.”

For the Browns to pull an upset, they’ll need to be able to run the ball and stay out of obvious passing situations. It’s on those 2nd- and 3rd-and-long plays when the Ravens turn their pass rush loose with Suggs and Co. playing a diabolical game of “meet me at the quarterback.”

Baltimore leads the league with 38 sacks, including nine to tie a franchise record in the Ravens’ 16-6 win over the 49ers on Thanksgiving.

Browns quarterback Colt McCoy expects to be under pressure from the first snap until the last. He’s counting on Cleveland’s line to protect his back, front, side and whatever other direction the Ravens might be flying at him from.

“You have to trust your guys,” said McCoy, who threw three interceptions last season in his first matchup with Baltimore. “You have to trust your running backs. You have to trust your offensive line to pick up the protection and you have to trust your guys to get open. That’s how it is week to week. This week they are really good up front. They’ve pressured more than anybody we’ve seen. We’ve got a lot on our plate, a lot to handle, but we’re excited about the challenge.”

Peyton Hillis may be the one who can help the Browns most.

After missing five straight games with a hamstring injury, Hillis came back and gained 65 yards last week in a loss to Cincinnati. Hillis ran hard and with purpose, a positive sign that’s he’s trying to finish strong after being hurt and becoming a distraction this season.

Hillis had a breakout performance the first time he played Baltimore last year. He gashed the Ravens for 144 yards, the most by a back against their defence since 2005. However, the second time he faced them, Hillis, playing with broken ribs, gained just 35 yards.

“They’re a good defence,” Hillis said. “They’re big up front, their front seven is great and you really have to prepare well for ‘em if you’re going to run the ball on ‘em.”

The Ravens are expecting the Browns to feed them a heaping portion of Hillis.

“He’s a really aggressive runner,” Suggs said. “Everybody knows he is Peyton Hillis; he has the Madden cover. He likes to have good games against good defences. I expect for the juggernaut to be up in there and try to run down some walls.”

By AARON WILSON, Landmark News Service

OWINGS MILLS – Baltimore Ravens All-Pro middle linebacker Ray Lewis didn’t practice yesterday because of a right turf toe injury that has sidelined him for the past two games.

The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year was the lone player to not practice after being extremely limited in practice last week. He was listed as questionable on the injury report heading into the Ravens’ 16-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

The Ravens have won both of their games without Lewis, 36, in the lineup while he provides his teammates with advice. With Lewis out against the 49ers, Jameel McClain started at middle linebacker with Albert McClellan lining up at inside linebacker next to him.

“Ray is still pretty much out there,” outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “He’s not playing, but we are still getting the calls. We are still getting adjustments on what he sees when we come to the sidelines. So, he’s still there. It’s still standard operating procedure.”

Added defensive end Cory Redding: “Without Ray in the huddle, we still have to go about same business as scheduled. When one of your brothers goes down with an injury or a family issue or anything like that, you just have to rally around them. We are still going to go out there and do our thing. Nothing is going to change. We’re fighting for the mission at hand.”

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, coach John Harbaugh gave no update yesterday on whether Lewis would play. On Monday, Harbaugh said that Lewis was the furthest away from returning of all of the Ravens’ injured players.

However, Browns coach Pat Shurmur expects to see No. 52 back on the field and is preparing with the Ravens’ leading tackler in mind.

“I’m thinking he’s going to play,” Shurmur said during a conference call with Baltimore reporters. “There’s been 10 days since the last game where he almost played. I know he’s a competitor and he wants to get out there and help his team. So, my guess is he’ll play.”

McClain tied with strong safety Bernard Pollard for the team lead in tackles against the 49ers, also calling the defensive signals.

“I’ve always trusted Jameel,” Suggs said. “I think he’s getting an opportunity to show you all exactly who he is and what he can do, but we always knew what he can do.”

EVANS RETURN: The Ravens envisioned having a dangerous receiving tandem when they traded for veteran wide receiver Lee Evans, hoping to pair him opposite speedy rookie Torrey Smith.

A left ankle injury that sidelined Evans for seven games prevented that from becoming a reality for most of this season.

Now, the prospects for Evans are beginning to change.

Although Evans hasn’t played a lot and Smith and Anquan Boldin are established as the starters, Evans did catch his first pass since coming back during a 16-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers. And the third-down conversion led to the Ravens’ game-winning touchdown.

It was his first catch since the second game of the season.,

“It felt good, it had been a long time,” Evans said. “It was a good start and a good way to contribute.”

And Evans’ ankle held up despite playing two games in five days. He’s no longer listed on the injury report.

“It was as tough as it gets, but it came out fine,” Evans said. “I’m feeling good.”

The Ravens are hoping to expand Evans’ role going forward.

“Lee is a guy we want to work in more and more,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I think we can continue to work him into the two-receiver packages and rotate him with Torrey and Anquan, give those guys a break.”

Smith has emerged as a threat while Evans was out, catching 31 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns.

Both Smith and Evans have the speed to stretch the defense.

“When you can do that, the defense always has to keep that in mind,” Evans said. “It puts players who can make plays out onto the field.

“Everyone on the field has proven they can make plays. It presents challenges for the defense. Everybody can run and make plays. When you have that, it works well for the offense.”

Evans still has ground to make up as far as regaining his timing with quarterback Joe Flacco, though.

JONES CLEARED: Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones has been cleared to play following a concussion suffered against the Seattle Seahawks that sidelined him for two games.

Jones said he no longer has post-concussion symptoms, including a sensitivity to light that prompted him to wear sunglasses indoors.

He participated fully in practice yesterday.

“They did a really good job,” Jones said of the Ravens’ trainers. “They had me in the Bat Cave, in a dark room, doing the things that were necessary to get me back to where I was at. It’s the little things, getting balance and everything together.

“It was frustrating at times, but I’m happy to be back.”

---

Aaron Wilson is the Ravens beat reporter with the Carroll County Times.

The Baltimore Ravens are well aware of their letdowns suffered against
weaker foes on the road following quality victories.

A dominating season-opening win over Pittsburgh was followed by a loss at
Tennessee in Week 2.

A victory over Houston in Week 6 preceded a defeat at lowly Jacksonville the
following Monday night, and completing a season sweep of the Steelers on Nov. 6
quickly was forgotten with a loss in Seattle the next week.

Enter the 4-7 Cleveland Browns, who await the visiting Ravens (8-3) on
Sunday after Baltimore’s 16-6 win over NFC West-leading San Francisco on
Thanksgiving.

“We certainly acknowledge that those three losses coming off big wins were
not good performances. They’re there. They’re on the record,” coach John
Harbaugh said. “Now we face a similar challenge this week, but a tougher
challenge, because now we’ve got to go play a team in our division.”

That may not be cause for worry, however, as Browns quarterback Colt McCoy(notes)
is 0-6 with a 66.6 passer rating lifetime against the AFC North, and division
co-leading Baltimore (8-3) has won six consecutive meetings.

McCoy, who has passed for more than 300 yards only once this season, threw
two interceptions to Ed Reed(notes) and three overall in the most recent meeting – a
20-10 Baltimore victory Dec. 26.

“Two things – their front seven is really good. They just are,” McCoy said.
“They rotate in and out. They’re fresh. They’re playing really well. … And,
you have to know where Ed Reed is. He’s a playmaker. He’s a ball hawk. He can be
here one time and there the next.”

Despite McCoy’s struggles, the Ravens are anticipating a tough challenge.

“It doesn’t matter how many wins and losses they have,” linebacker Jarret
Johnson(notes) said. “They always play good against us. It’s going to be a dogfight, so
we better bring it.”

Johnson is part of a Baltimore defense that held San Francisco to only 170
yards while tying a franchise record with nine sacks. It ranks third in the
league allowing an average of 292.3 yards, and the Ravens have held the Browns
to 280 yards or less in five of the last six matchups, with the lone exception
being Cleveland’s 304-yard performance Sept. 26, 2010.

Peyton Hillis(notes) accounted for 180 of that amount in that contest, including
144 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Hillis, though, has exceeded that
rushing total once since and has averaged only 47.9 yards on the ground over his
last eight games dating to last season.

Hillis has missed six games this year while battling illness and a nagging
hamstring injury, and while he is aware of his struggles, he maintains a
positive attitude.

“It’s probably been my worst season so far from a mental standpoint and
physical one,” Hillis said. “All I can do from here on out is just go forward
and hope the best happens.”

In his first game since Oct. 16, Hillis rushed 19 times for 65 yards in last
week’s 23-20 loss to Cincinnati – the Browns’ fourth defeat in five games.

The Ravens, No. 3 versus the run allowing 91.5 yards per game, believe
Hillis will present a challenge no matter his struggles.

“He’s a really aggressive runner,” Terrell Suggs(notes) said. “Everybody knows he’s
Peyton Hillis, and he likes to have good games against good defenses. I expect
for the juggernaut to be in there and try to run down some walls.”

Baltimore’s defense may be without Ray Lewis(notes) for a third straight game as he
nurses an injured right toe. The veteran linebacker was held out of practice
Wednesday, but he is still hoping to suit up against the Browns.

“I’m doing everything I can to get back and help this team get where we want
to go,” Lewis said.

Joe Flacco(notes) has provided enough leadership on the offensive side to help
Baltimore to the top of the division. The often-criticized quarterback threw for
161 yards and a touchdown against San Francisco while completing 15 of 23 passes
for a season-high 65.2 percent.

Flacco has never lost to Cleveland, throwing eight touchdowns and three
interceptions in six victories.

He’s gotten some help from Ray Rice(notes), who is averaging 5.0 yards per carry in
his career versus the Browns.

The Ravens will face a Cleveland defense that ranks sixth in the NFL, though
it will be without veteran linebacker Scott Fujita(notes) for the rest of the season.

Fujita will have surgery on his broken right hand suffered last week.

“It’s a big loss for us,” linebacker D’Qwell Jackson(notes) said. “It’s a great
confidence having him out there. But other guys have to step up.”

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has missed two straight games and he probably won’t play against the Browns on Sunday.

That’s good news for the Browns.

“Ray has a sprained toe, turf toe kind of thing, so those are a little more unpredictable,” Harbaugh said. “I’m hopeful. I’ve used that word before. I think he’s got a real good chance but we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Matt Vensel, reporter for the Baltimore Sun, writes how Lewis should not rush back from this type of injury. Ravens legend Jonathan Ogden, whose career was shortened by a toe injury, has some advice for Lewis.

“I made it through the game,” he said. “But I really ended up aggravating it to death and I really never recovered.”

And for those who don’t believe turf toe is that serious of an injury. Just ask Ogden.

 “I like to tell people, ‘Why don’t you just let me step on your toe real quick and see how it feels trying to walk around?’ It’s one of those things you don’t think about until you actually hurt it,” Ogden said Tuesday. “It’s hard because you are out there competing at the highest athletic level. You’re not out there doing intramurals.”

 

More Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens defense is ready to hunt again (Baltimore Sun).

Pernell McPhee proves he can play in the NFL (Baltimore Sun).