Terrell Suggs looked nothing like an aging 14-year veteran playing with one arm Thursday night.
Even with a torn bicep in his left arm, Baltimore's outside linebacker and defensive leader was perhaps the best player on the field throughout the dominant 28-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns. He tormented Cleveland's quarterbacks and elevated the play of everyone around him.
"Adrenaline was working tonight," Suggs said. "It was a must-win game and that's how we approached it as a team."
Suggs essentially lived in Cleveland's backfield Thursday night.
He had a strip/sack in the fourth quarter to seal the victory, and also caused an interception by quarterback Josh McCown by hitting his arm as he let go of the football.
But the stats don't even truly tell the story of Suggs' night.
The pressure that he brought disrupted Cleveland's entire offense, and he it also led to a sack by defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. Head Coach John Harbaugh joked that the NFL should start tracking assists on sacks based on what he saw from Suggs.
"It was fun to watch him play," Harbaugh said.
The player across from Suggs made the performance even more impressive. He spent much of the evening matched up against left tackle Joe Thomas, who is likely headed to the Hall of Fame once his career is finished.
Suggs beat Thomas on the strip/sack and on the play where he caused the interception.
"Ozzie Newsome knew what he was doing when he drafted me. I got Raven in my DNA. I only know one way to play," Suggs said. "It wasn't nothing that I ain't done before. I played with a torn bicep before. I've come back from a torn Achilles before. I guess it's just in my DNA."
Suggs downplayed what he's doing to play through a serious injury and still have major production, but he's certainly caught the attention of his teammates. Fellow defenders pointed to Suggs as a source of inspiration for the entire unit.
"Sizz is a once-in-a-generation type player," safety Eric Weddle said. "You just can't replicate what he brings. Not just on the field, but his whole belief, his mantra, his aura about himself, that he brings to our defense. He just brings that confidence to all of us."
Suggs was energized himself by seeing some of his former teammates on the sidelines before the game. Suggs is the last remaining figure of Baltimore's historic defenses that dominated the NFL throughout the 2000s, and seeing players like Bart Scott, Jameel McClain and Frank Walker took him back in time.
"It was good to see my brothers and I wanted to put on a show for them," Suggs said. "It brought back a good old feeling. We need to bring those guys back more often."
Suggs has the defense playing like the Ravens of old. They came into the night ranked second in the NFL, and then absolutely dominated the Browns by holding them to just 144 yards of total offense and forcing three turnovers.
They are playing with an attitude that they want the game on their shoulders, and seem to have the same type of confidence that made the Ravens one of the most-feared units in the league.
But as the leader of the group, Suggs knows he can't celebrate anything yet. He's stressed improvement after wins over Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the last five days, and he said time will tell if this defense can stand up to some of the greats from the past.
"We'll see if we make the playoffs," he said. "You can never tell. Those defenses made the playoffs."
