
| Flacco’s two TD passes lead Ravens past Browns | |
CBSSports.com wire reports
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens achieved perfection at home for the first time, and now they’re looking to add to that ledger in the playoffs. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat the bumbling Cleveland Browns 20-14 on Saturday to move one step closer to winning the AFC North. Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on. “I have never been perfect at home in 16 years of football. That’s amazing,” Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said. “As good of teams we’ve had here, we’ve always found [a way] to lose one or two here or there. I think this year we really made a focus on taking care at home. This is the result, us being able to go 8-0 and being able to be sitting where you want to sit at the end of the day.” The Ravens would win the AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give Baltimore a first-round bye and a home playoff game – two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo. “It’s big, man,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We are at our best when we are at (home) and our fans are rocking. So we definitely need a home playoff game, by any means necessary.” Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run. Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offense and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss. Cleveland saved the worst for last. Having already burned their three timeouts, the Browns lined up on defense after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 37. It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down. “It was the first hard count and we stayed onside,” Taylor said. “The second time, I just jumped. Of course you feel bad, but you just got to move on.” Said Flacco: “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in position for that to happen. It’s never worked.” The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month. “We knew this would be quite a challenge for us,” Cleveland quarterback Seneca Wallace said. “We’re playing the Ravens at home, and they’re playing for everything. I should have played better, and I should have made better decisions.” Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112 yards, but Cleveland’s offense mounted only one decent drive. The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26 to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards on six carries. But on a third-and-1, Cleveland inexplicably went to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallace’s pass for Mohamed Massaquoi. Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a 60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dickson. Later, a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard field goal by newcomer Shayne Graham, signed in the middle of the week to take over for the injured Billy Cundiff. After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on the right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play. That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on third down. Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns without a timeout left, Wallace handed off to Hillis instead of spiking the ball, and Hillis went nowhere. Wallace took the blame, and so did Browns coach Pat Shurmur. “I need to communicate it better, OK?” Shurmur said. Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season. The other time it happened was also against Baltimore. Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-0. The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the center of the field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the end zone late in the third quarter. “I was wondering where all the defenders were,” Cribbs said. “I saw all the great blocking around me. From there, it was easy. It was just a walk in.” Cribbs also contributed to Cleveland’s next touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard TD throw to Evan Moore midway through the fourth quarter. The Browns forced a punt, but on a fourth-and-4 from the Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left, a pass to Hillis did not produce the necessary yardage. Taylor’s jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed. Notes
That’s all for today. Posted in 1, baltimore-ravens, Cary Williams, Cleveland Browns, David Reed, Joe Flacco, Josh Cribbs, Lardarius Webb, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice | Comments Off
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| NFL: Baltimore Ravens finish perfect home season | |
Baltimore (11-4) finished its home schedule 8-0 and moved a step closer to winning the AFC North with a victory over Cleveland (4-11). “I have never been perfect at home in 16 years of football. That’s amazing,” linebacker Ray Lewis said. “As good of teams we’ve had here, we’ve always found (a way) to lose one or two here or there. I think this year we really made a focus on taking care at home. This is the result, us being able to go 8-0 and being able to be sitting where you want to sit at the end of the day.” The Ravens would win the AFC North by defeating Cincinnati next week. That would also give Baltimore a first-round bye and a home playoff game — two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo. “It’s big, man,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We are at our best when we are at (home) and our fans are rocking. So we definitely need a home playoff game, by any means necessary.” Cleveland 0 0 7 7–14 Baltimore 10 7 3 0–20 FIRST QUARTER Bal — Dickson 5 pass from Flacco (Graham kick), 9:12. Bal — FG Graham 48, :58. SECOND QUARTER Bal — Rice 42 pass from Flacco (Graham kick), 8:57. THIRD QUARTER Bal — FG Graham 43, 5:50. Cle — Cribbs 84 punt return (Dawson kick), 3:07. FOURTH QUARTER Cle — Moore 6 pass from Wallace (Dawson kick), 8:22. Cle Bal First downs 18 15 Total Net Yards 256 284 Rushes-yards 25-117 37-162 Passing 139 122 Punt Returns 1-84 2-0 Kickoff Returns 5-113 2-54 Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-4 Comp-Att-Int 19-33-1 11-24-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 2-8 1-10 Punts 6-41.8 5-44.6 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 6-95 5-51 Time of Possession 27:42 32:18 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Cleveland rushing — Hillis 24-112, Wallace 1-5. Baltimore rushing — Rice 23-87, R.Williams 10-45, Flacco 4-30. Cleveland passing — Wallace 19-33-1-147. Baltimore passing — Flacco 11-24-1-132. Cleveland receiving — Moore 5-35, Little 4-40, Cribbs 2-28, Massaquoi 2-17, C.Mitchell 2-12, Hillis 2-0, Ogbonnaya 1-12, Cameron 1-3. Baltimore receiving — Rice 3-48, T.Smith 2-38, R.Williams 2-21, Dickson 2-14, Leach 2-11. Missed field goals — None. A — 71,083. That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow. |
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| Joe Flacco leads Baltimore Ravens to a 20-14 win… | |
BALTIMORE—After the Baltimore Ravens completed their first unbeaten season at home, all that’s left to accomplish during the regular season is securing at least one playoff game on their own turf.
Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat the bumbling Cleveland Browns 20-14 on Saturday to move one step closer to winning the AFC North. Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on to wrap up an 8-0 season at home. Baltimore would win AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give the Ravens a first-round bye and a home playoff game—two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo. Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run. Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offense and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss. Cleveland saved the worst for last. With no timeouts left, the Browns lined up on defense after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 37. It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down. The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month. Seneca Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112 yards, but Cleveland’s offense mounted only one decent drive. The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26 to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards on six carries. But on a third-and-1, Cleveland inexplicably went to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallace’s pass for Mohamed Massaquoi. Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a 60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dickson. Cleveland then punted, and a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard field goal by newcomer Shayne Graham, signed in the middle of the week to take over for the injured Billy Cundiff. After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on the right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play. That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on third down. Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns without a timeout left, Hillis ran the ball and was stopped at the 3. Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season. The other time it happened was earlier this month—against Baltimore. Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-0. The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the center of the field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the end zone late in the third quarter. Cribbs also contributed to Cleveland’s next touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard TD throw to Evan Moore with 8:22 remaining. The Browns forced a punt, but Wallace used their last timeout on a fourth-and-4 from the Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left. A pass to Hillis came up short, and Baltimore took over. Taylor’s jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed. Subscribe to our feed!. Posted in 1, baltimore-ravens, Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Ed Dickson, Joe Flacco, Josh Cribbs, Lardarius Webb, Peyton Hillis, Ray Rice | Comments Off
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| Flacco leads Ravens to 20-14 win over Browns | |
BALTIMORE (AP) — Eight games, eight wins. The Baltimore Ravens achieved perfection at home for the first time, and now they’re looking to add to that ledger in the playoffs. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat the bumbling Cleveland Browns 20-14 on Saturday to move one step closer to winning the AFC North. Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on. “I have never been perfect at home in 16 years of football. That’s amazing,” Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said. “As good of teams we’ve had here, we’ve always found (a way) to lose one or two here or there. I think this year we really made a focus on taking care at home. This is the result, us being able to go 8-0 and being able to be sitting where you want to sit at the end of the day.” The Ravens would win the AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give Baltimore a first-round bye and a home playoff game — two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo. “It’s big, man,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We are at our best when we are at (home) and our fans are rocking. So we definitely need a home playoff game, by any means necessary.” Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run. Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offense and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss. Cleveland saved the worst for last. Having already burned their three timeouts, the Browns lined up on defense after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 37. It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down. “It was the first hard count and we stayed onside,” Taylor said. “The second time, I just jumped. Of course you feel bad, but you just got to move on.” Said Flacco: “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in position for that to happen. It’s never worked.” The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month. “We knew this would be quite a challenge for us,” Cleveland quarterback Seneca Wallace said. “We’re playing the Ravens at home, and they’re playing for everything. I should have played better, and I should have made better decisions.” Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112 yards, but Cleveland’s offense mounted only one decent drive. The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26 to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards on six carries. But on a third-and-1, Cleveland inexplicably went to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallace’s pass for Mohamed Massaquoi. Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a 60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dickson. Later, a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard field goal by newcomer Shayne Graham, signed in the middle of the week to take over for the injured Billy Cundiff. After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on the right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play. That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on third down. Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns without a timeout left, Wallace handed off to Hillis instead of spiking the ball, and Hillis went nowhere. Wallace took the blame, and so did Browns coach Pat Shurmur. “I need to communicate it better, OK?” Shurmur said. Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season. The other time it happened was also against Baltimore. Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-0. The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the center of the field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the end zone late in the third quarter. “I was wondering where all the defenders were,” Cribbs said. “I saw all the great blocking around me. From there, it was easy. It was just a walk in.” Cribbs also contributed to Cleveland‘s next touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard TD throw to Evan Moore midway through the fourth quarter. The Browns forced a punt, but on a fourth-and-4 from the Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left, a pass to Hillis did not produce the necessary yardage. Taylor’s jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed. NOTES: Ravens KR David Reed hurt his left knee and declared himself out for the season. Also, Baltimore OT Marshal Yanda (chest) and CB Cary Williams (concussion) did not play in the second half. … Shurmur said the Browns sustained no serious injuries. Cleveland closes the season next Sunday against Pittsburgh. What are your opinions. Posted in 1, baltimore-ravens, Cary Williams, Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, David Reed, Ed Dickson, Joe Flacco, Josh Cribbs, Lardarius Webb, Peyton Hillis, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice | Comments Off
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| Browns-Ravens Preview | |
The Baltimore Ravens are in control of their destiny in the AFC North and A matchup with the ailing Cleveland Browns on Saturday would appear to give The Ravens (10-4) have put themselves in control with a sweep of division Baltimore, though, missed out last week on a chance to move ahead of the Pittsburgh fell 20-3 to San Francisco on Monday night, and Houston was upset “It’s a gift, but we wish we didn’t have to get it that way,” Ravens Baltimore, winner of nine in a row at home dating to last December, appears Baltimore’s latest victory in the series came Dec. 4 as Ray Rice ran for a Cleveland has made adjustments as it looks to slow down Rice. The Browns “The goal (is) to make sure we minimize his effect on the game,” coach Pat At 3-4 on the road, winning this game might prove vital to Baltimore’s “We’re playing two teams that know us very well, two division foes, so it’s Suggs, who has a career-high 13 sacks, chased down Colt McCoy for one of The controversy surrounding Cleveland’s failure to check McCoy for a “Like anybody that wants to play, he’s anxious to get back out there,” With McCoy out, Seneca Wallace is expected to start again after he threw for Wallace’s one start against the Ravens came in the team’s most recent trip Flacco has eight TDs and one interception over his last six matchups with In his fourth game since returning from an injured hamstring, Hillis ran for The Ravens might have a new kicker for this game as Billy Cundiff is dealing That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow. Posted in 1, baltimore-ravens, Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Joe Flacco, New York Jets, Peyton Hillis, Ray Rice | Comments Off
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