ExtremeRavens Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith had a bitter taste in his mouth. So much so that he spent last week rewatching Baltimore’s stupefying collapse to the Buffalo Bills four times. “You just hone in on details and know that there’s small things that eventually adds up to a big thing,” he said Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. “It’s about being real with yourself and up front. If there’s plays out there, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say ‘Hey, there’s a play that I can’t allow to happen.’ “We just have to play our part for four entire quarters and not just three. That and it revealed some weaknesses and we said we’re not gonna allow that to happen again. That was the main thing and we kept the main thing the main thing.” The main thing was not letting up, offensively or defensively, against an overmatched Cleveland Browns team with a 40-year-old quarterback. It took a little while, but the response was resounding, a 41-17 thumping in what was anything but a joyful homecoming for Browns quarterback and forever Baltimore legend Joe Flacco. Flacco shared a pregame hug with his former coach, John Harbaugh, and caught up with former teammates Torrey Smith, Todd Heap and Dennis Pitta, but his hero’s welcome was anything but by a Ravens defense that often made him look like he belonged with the group of old Baltimore Colts stars in attendance for the festivities. “Finishing was a big thing,” outside linebacker Tavius Robinson said. “We wanted to play four quarters of good football. Then, we wanted to put emphasis on taking the ball away, taking shots at the ball. We might not get it every time, but that’s the style of defense we wanna be.” Check and check. The Ravens (1-1) sacked Flacco just twice, but were consistently in his face, registering nine quarterback hits. That included Robinson’s strip sack midway through the fourth, with Smith scooping up the bouncing ball and racing 63 yards for the touchdown. That was the exclamation point for a Baltimore defense that held Cleveland (0-2) to just 120 yards and 3.5 yards per play over the first 30 minutes, forced two turnovers on the day after none last week, and that was paced by Smith’s 15 tackles, including three for loss. It was also a fitting response to Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy’s double middle fingers to the crowd before kickoff and “no challenge” response when asked about the Ravens’ secondary earlier in the week. “We noted it,” Robinson said of the trash talk leading up to the game. “We talk with our pads. Nothing to say back.” Added Harbaugh: “I wanted to see a good defense, a defense I believe we could be. I saw that a lot.” The Browns eventually saw plenty of the Ravens’ offense, too. Though the first half of Baltimore’s home opener felt like a game from another era, with the Ravens bringing to life the old mantra of 3 yards and a cloud of dust with just 81 yards of offense on 27 plays, it wouldn’t last. Ravens vs. Browns, September 14, 2025 | PHOTOS A week ago, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett-led defense had limited the high-octane Bengals to 141 total yards and Joe Burrow to a paltry 113 yards passing. It did not hold against two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson. In the second half, Jackson was as efficient as he was lethal, completing 9 of 12 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 155.6 over the final 30 minutes. That included a 23-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins with under five minutes to play and the game already in hand. It was one of two long and sprawling grabs by the 33-year-old cagey veteran, the other a 42-yard snag initially ruled a touchdown but overturned to be marked at the 1-yard line earlier in the game. “What does it feel like to get in the end zone?” Hopkins said. “My answer: It feels good to win.” And for Jackson, it feels good to have a contested catch king at his disposal. “I seen it his whole career,” Jackson said of Hopkins’ ability to make spectacular grabs with the second game in a row that he has done so. “I believe people call him washed, but he’s showing otherwise. “A guy who can be covered and still make plays, I feel like we have that but he different. He’s a vet, he done seen it all.” Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins catches a pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson in Sunday's win over the Browns. Hopkins caught two passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the victory. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) He’s also just one of many playmakers in a deep Ravens arsenal. Second-year receiver Devontez Walker snagged a pair of touchdown catches on two targets in the second half, giving him three scores on three career catches. Tylan Wallace had a touchdown. And once again, Zay Flowers, the first Ravens receiver to be selected to the Pro Bowl a season ago, continues to show his chemistry with his fellow South Floridian, racking up a team-high seven catches for 75 yards, including a 19-yarder on the first play of the third quarter to set the tone. Unlike last week, when the Ravens had a 15-point lead twice in the fourth quarter, there was no taking the foot off the gas. “It’s an NFL game, wild things happen,” Jackson said. “Last week, we should’ve kept it going. Shout out to all phases. Everyone played their part.” It was why the message from Harbaugh going into the final quarter was “Game’s not over,” he said. “Let’s finish it up.” The Ravens did, but they also know there’s more work to come. Even though it was the first time the Ravens scored at least 40 points in two straight games since December 2020 against the Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, a much stiffer opponent awaits next week. On Sunday, the Detroit Lions blew out the Chicago Bears, 52-21. The Lions, one of five 2024 playoff teams on the Ravens’ schedule in the first six weeks, come to M&T Bank Stadium next Monday night for another prime-time matchup in front of a national audience. Told the score of the game, Robinson’s eyes widened and a smile of disbelief stretched across his face. “Damn,” he said. “We all felt good, but at the end of the day, there’s so much to correct and so much to get better from,” Robinson said. “I think it was a step in the right direction.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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