CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

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

• 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.

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.

The Baltimore Ravens are in control of their destiny in the AFC North and
the race for a first-round bye. Maintaining that edge, though, will likely be
difficult if they turn in another lackluster performance.

A matchup with the ailing Cleveland Browns on Saturday would appear to give
the Ravens a good chance to stay on track for the division crown and the No. 2
seed, with Baltimore having dominated the series of late.

The Ravens (10-4) have put themselves in control with a sweep of division
rival Pittsburgh and a victory over Houston on Oct. 16, giving them a leg up on
those 10-4 teams.

Baltimore, though, missed out last week on a chance to move ahead of the
Steelers and Texans, both of whom lost. With a playoff berth already wrapped up,
the Ravens were blown out 34-14 in San Diego.

Pittsburgh fell 20-3 to San Francisco on Monday night, and Houston was upset
28-13 at home by Carolina.

“It’s a gift, but we wish we didn’t have to get it that way,” Ravens
linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We’ve just got to take care of business.”

Baltimore, winner of nine in a row at home dating to last December, appears
to have a good chance to do that with Cleveland (4-10) visiting M&T Bank
Stadium. The Ravens have won seven straight over the Browns, tied for the
longest win streak against an opponent in team history. They’ve also won seven
consecutive games over the New York Jets.

Baltimore’s latest victory in the series came Dec. 4 as Ray Rice ran for a
career-high 204 yards in a 24-10 win. Ricky Williams added 76 yards rushing as
the Ravens piled up 290 on the ground.

Cleveland has made adjustments as it looks to slow down Rice. The Browns
allowed 147 rushing yards in a 14-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 8, but limited
Arizona to 74 in a 20-17 overtime defeat last week.

“The goal (is) to make sure we minimize his effect on the game,” coach Pat
Shurmur told the team’s website. “We’ve done some things schematically to help
us, and we just keep emphasizing that everyone has to play better. I’ve seen
that.”

At 3-4 on the road, winning this game might prove vital to Baltimore’s
chances of accomplishing its regular-season goals. The Ravens close out their
schedule at Cincinnati on Jan. 1.

“We’re playing two teams that know us very well, two division foes, so it’s
going to be interesting,” Suggs said. “We’ve got to get back to doing what we do
best, and that’s playing Ravens football.”

Suggs, who has a career-high 13 sacks, chased down Colt McCoy for one of
those, but the Browns quarterback likely won’t play this week. McCoy has been
out since taking a hit to the head against Pittsburgh earlier this month.

The controversy surrounding Cleveland’s failure to check McCoy for a
concussion has led the NFL to put certified trainer in every press box. McCoy
still had symptoms of a concussion Wednesday and has yet to be cleared to return
to the field.

“Like anybody that wants to play, he’s anxious to get back out there,”
Shurmur said. “But he understands there is a process that you have to go through
before he will be able to play again.”

With McCoy out, Seneca Wallace is expected to start again after he threw for
226 yards and a touchdown versus the Cardinals. His 76-yard scoring pass to Greg
Little gave the Browns a 17-7 third-quarter lead, but they couldn’t hold it and
suffered a season-high fourth consecutive defeat and sixth in a row on the road.

Wallace’s one start against the Ravens came in the team’s most recent trip
to Baltimore on Sept. 26, 2010. He threw for 141 yards and a TD in a 24-17
defeat, while counterpart Joe Flacco passed for three touchdowns.

Flacco has eight TDs and one interception over his last six matchups with
the Browns, who might need a strong performance from Peyton Hillis to help snap
their losing streak.

In his fourth game since returning from an injured hamstring, Hillis ran for
a season-high 99 yards and a touchdown last week. He rushed for a then-career
high 144 yards in Baltimore last September but has been held to a combined 80
over the past two matchups.

The Ravens might have a new kicker for this game as Billy Cundiff is dealing
with a sore left calf. On Wednesday, the team signed Shayne Graham, an 11-year
veteran who has played for six other teams.