Ravens Insider: Instant analysis from Ravens’ 41-10 win over Denver Broncos

[ExtremeRavens]

Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 41-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s Week 9 game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore:

C.J. Doon, editor: This game felt a lot like last year’s blowout wins over the Seahawks and Lions. Those teams entered with winning records and some early buzz as playoff contenders, only to leave Baltimore with their tail between their legs. Lamar Jackson will do that to you.

But that Ravens team didn’t have Derrick Henry, and he and Jackson once again looked completely unstoppable Sunday. Their ruthless efficiency was even more pronounced with an electric performance from Zay Flowers, who’s shaping up to be the No. 1 wide receiver fans have been clamoring for since … well, the team moved to Baltimore in 1996. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance from Marquise Brown and Torrey Smith, late-career magic from Derrick Mason, Steve Smith Sr. and Anquan Boldin and some seriously good receiving tight ends in Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta and Mark Andrews, but nothing like Flowers. His ability to make people miss in the open field is as good as any player in the NFL, regardless of position. He’ll likely be top 10 in the league in receiving yards after the week is over, which is cause for celebration around these parts.

What’s left to say about Jackson? He’s never looked more comfortable, and teams are helpless to stop him. The Broncos tried to keep him in the pocket, and all he did was throw for 280 yards and three touchdowns while finishing with a perfect passer rating for the fourth time in his NFL career. He has all the answers to the tests now, and when you combine that with his impressive touch and ability to extend plays both inside and outside the pocket, there’s not much even a good defense like Denver’s can do. We didn’t even see a catch from newly acquired wideout Diontae Johnson, and the Ravens still put up more than 40 points. That’s scary.

But we knew the offense was elite. What we didn’t know is whether the defense had a performance like this in them. It looked shaky early, especially after rookie quarterback Bo Nix boxed out safety Marcus Williams for a touchdown catch to make it 10-7. The lack of a pass rush was glaring at times, especially in the first half. But Williams and Ar’Darius Washington set the tone with an early tackle and interception, respectively, linebacker Trenton Simpson broke out with two tackles for loss and a sack and Tavius Robinson flashed his potential with two sacks of his own. Even with Michael Pierce and Brent Urban sidelined, the defensive line held Denver to just 3.5 yards per carry before some late garbage time runs.

It came against a rookie quarterback, but this performance was exactly what the Ravens’ defense needed to get back on track before a short week of preparation for “Thursday Night Football.” They’ll need to be locked in against Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ passing attack that dominated the Raiders on Sunday and is fighting to save its season.

Tim Schwartz, editor: The Ravens seemed almost due for a performance like this, and the Broncos were exactly what they needed. Bo Nix was no match for Baltimore, which inexplicably struggled to stop Jameis Winston and his who’s-who of wideouts in Cleveland last week but bounced back in a big way against a rookie quarterback who has no No. 1 wide receiver and little depth behind Courtland Sutton. And it was clear from the first two plays of the game — a Marcus Williams tackle and Ar’Darius Washington interception — that the Ravens’ defense was ready to put last weekend’s disaster behind them.

Offensively, Lamar Jackson has never looked more comfortable and Zay Flowers is proving to be one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers. This is the type of beatdown the Ravens needed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the start of another winning streak.

Bennett Conlin, editor: How do you stop this Ravens offense? Between Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, Denver’s top-tier defense had no answers for Todd Monken’s attack. Even Justice Hill and Patrick Ricard impacted the game, as Baltimore spread the ball to several playmakers and kept Denver off-balance.

Jackson is well on his way to a third NFL Most Valuable Player Award, while Henry and Flowers both scored multiple touchdowns. With players like Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman and the newly added Diontae Johnson also in the mix, it’s hard to point to a better offense in the NFL. Could the unit be good enough to carry the Ravens to a Super Bowl? It’s possible.

The bounce-back win moves Baltimore to 6-3 on the season, keeping them firmly in the mix in the AFC North — the 6-2 Steelers are off this week. The defense even showed signs of promise.

Some of that was good fortune, as Denver quarterback Bo Nix missed a wide-open Troy Franklin on fourth down in the first half on a pass that should have gone for a touchdown. Another failed fourth-down attempt kept Denver from scoring on a promising first-half drive, and yet another drive stalled in the red zone before halftime. The Ravens deserve some credit for those stops, while others were because of Denver’s failures. Denver didn’t have a first down in the third quarter, though, as the Ravens’ defense clearly contributed to Sunday’s win rather than just coming along for the ride like it did against Cincinnati and Tampa Bay.

It’s hard to pick many nits in a blowout win over an opponent with a winning record.

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