Miscues on offense and special teams held the Ravens back throughout their Week 11 matchup with the Browns, but a dominant defensive performance and a ‘Hurricane’ carried Baltimore to a 23-16 win.
Lamar Jackson was sacked five times and threw two batted-ball interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The Ravens’ special teams gave the Browns the ball back twice via a muffed punt and an offsides penalty. Baltimore’s offense scored only once on four trips to the red zone and three goal-to-go
situations. But time and time again, their defense stiffened up, battened down the hatches, and kept their team in the game.
Aside from a series of missed tackles in the first quarter, the Ravens defense kept the Browns in a stranglehold for much of the game. They stuffed Cleveland on their first eight third downs and allowed just two conversions on 14 total attempts. A diverse array of blitz packages by Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr delivered 10 quarterback hits, three sacks, and a drive-ending intentional grounding penalty. Cornerback Nate Wiggins caught his third interception of the season and safety Kyle Hamilton, as always, was doing everything, everywhere, all at once. He finished with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, two passes defended, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Baltimore needed every bit of that effort, plus a fake tush-push bootleg by Mark Andrews on 4th-and-1 that turned into a game-winning 35-yard touchdown with 2:30 left in the game.
That play, aptly termed ‘Hurricane’ for Andrews’ spin-and-run at the line of scrimmage, was one of few bright spots for Batimore’s offense. Another was an early reception from the veteran tight end that made him the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards.
But aside from Andrews’ moments, a few key catches from Zay Flowers, and a 59-yard rumble from Derrick Henry, the Ravens offense struggled to get anything going for much of the afternoon. In the face of constant pressure, Lamar Jackson completed just 14 of his 25 passes for 193 yards, zero touchdowns, and the two aforementioned interceptions. Keaton Mitchell racked up 54 yards on eight touches but didn’t break off a gain longer than 17 yards. Outside of his long run, Henry was stuffed several times, including in multiple short-yardage and goal-to-go situations, though he did eventually punch in a short touchdown.
After a few excellent weeks on special teams, the Ravens’ punt return unit blew two defensive stops, first with a muffed punt by LaJohntay Wester and later via an offsides penalty by Jake Hummel. Jordan Stout was good, but not great, on his punts, but rookie kicker Tyler Loop did make all five of his kicks, including a 45-yard field goal in the wind.
But despite the mistakes and missed opportunities, the Ravens defense played with intention and intensity all game. After the muffed punt, which gave the Browns a 1st-and-goal, they stood firm and forced a field goal. They quickly cleaned up their tackling after the first quarter and stuffed the run for the rest of the game. The pass rush pressured Dillon Gabriel throughout the first half, and when he left due to a concussion, they continued the heat on Shedeur Sanders in his NFL debut. He completed just four of his 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception, making Gabriel’s seven-for-10, 70-yard performance in the first half impressive in hindsight.
For key down after key down, the Ravens defense stepped up to make plays, giving the offense so many opportunities that they had to take advantage of one. When that moment came, Baltimore called on Mark Andrews, and the greatest pass-catcher in franchise history delivered a 35-yard rushing touchdown for one of the signature plays of his career in what could be his last year in purple and black. Most of the game wasn’t pretty for the Ravens, but the poetry of that ending sure was.
