The Ravens are riding high after a pair of wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns.
Beating Cleveland on Thursday Night Football moved them into sole possession of first place of the AFC North, and the 28-7 victory was also their most complete performance of the entire season.
Let's take a look back at the tape to find some plays you may have missed in the game. (All of these plays were viewed using NFL Game Pass, which is available for fans to purchase.)
Pierce Doesn't Move Like 340-Pounder
Undrafted rookie defensive tackle has been one of the pleasant surprises for the Raven this season, and plays like this are a big reason why. He's proven himself as a quality run stuffer, which makes him so valuable. He doesn't look anything like a 340-pounder when he splits a pair of blockers and then brings down running back Isaiah Crowell in the backfield for a 2-yard loss. Pierce shows quick feet to avoid the initial block from center Cam Erving, and he then slides right into the backfield to blow up the run before Crowell even has a chance to make something happen. The Ravens certainly hope to see more plays like this from Pierce Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
West Can Make People Miss
Running back Terrance West is trying to fend off surging rookie Kenneth Dixon in the competition for the starting running back spot, and he'll hold the job if he can continue to make people miss like this. On the run play, West juked a Browns defender out of his shoes on this play to pick up an extra 10 yards. The offensive line also deserves plenty of credit for opening a massive hole behind center Jeremy Zuttah, left guard Alex Lewis and left tackle Ronnie Stanley. He then followed that up with a nice juke move on a screen pass to get extra yardage late in the game. West has been elusive in space this season, and the Ravens need him to create missed tackles in order to help get the running game back on track.
Suggs Creates Sack For Jernigan
Head Coach John Harbaugh joked after the win that assisted sacks should be a recorded statistic based on what he saw from outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. He blew by right tackle Austin Pasztor to force quarterback Josh McCown out of the pocket on the play below, and defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan was there to finish the job. Suggs had arguably his best performance of the season, and he also picked up a strip/sack of his own later in the game. Suggs can be a dominant player even if he's playing through a torn biceps muscle, and the Ravens hope he can keep up this effort through the rest of the season.Â
