It's always more fun to look back at a game after a victory.
The Ravens picked up their third win of the season with a 16-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams, and a stellar defensive effort was critical in the win. The Ravens shut down the Rams'running attack and then the offense put together a come-from-behind effort the second half.
Let's take another look at some of plays from the game that you may not have noticed. All of these plays were viewed using NFL Game Rewind, which is available for fans to purchase.
Cheap Shot On Will Hill
The Ravens were hit with three penalties on the same punt return play late in the third quarter Sunday. The officials flagged Baltimore's return unit for holding, an illegal block above the waist and unnecessary roughness. The irony of all the penalties is that the officials missed perhaps the most glaring call of all, which was Rams punter Johnny Hekker delivering a cheap shot on Ravens safety Will Hill in the middle of the field. Hekker went out of his way to blind-side Hill after the whistle, and the officials didn't throw a flag until Hill retaliated on the play. "I saw the punter hit one of our guys dead in the back that they missed," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "I saw our guy retaliate, which is not what you want to see. Then I saw a free-for-all out there, which is not unusual against the team we were playing."
Brandon Williams Stands Out
Defensive tackle Brandon Williams made a strong case for his Pro Bowl bid with the way he played against St. Louis. He basically lived in the backfield, and was a big reason why sensational rookie running back Todd Gurley rushed for only 66 yards on the day. Whenever the Rams left Williams in one-on-one matchups, he forced his way into the backfield. He was also disruptive on plays like the one below when the Rams put multiple blockers on him. Williams continues to show why he has one of the best interior defensive linemenin the NFL.
Morgan Cox Gets Good Teammate Award
Long snapper Morgan Cox is a respected player in the Ravens locker room, and plays like this is a perfect example why. Kicker Justin Tucker booted a 47-yard field goal as time expired to give the Ravens the victory, and Cox went running down the field to retrieve the football as a keepsake for Tucker. As the Ravens celebrated at midfield, Cox was in the end zone snagging the football out of the net. He handed the football to Tucker a few moments later, and the kicker gave the ball to his proud father before heading into the locker room.
Great Instincts From Mosley
Inside linebacker C.J. Mosley played like he wanted to put a stop to questions about his perceived sophomore slump. Mosley was all over the field, and finished the day with 12 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Mosley has great instincts on the football field, and he put them on display when he brought down Gurley in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. Mosley noticed a hole in the blocking and shot through the gap to stuff the running back.
Another Look At Tripping Call
Baltimore's opening drive of the game stalled after a tripping penalty on left guard Ryan Jensen wiped off a 27-yard gain by running back Justin Forsett. The penalty came on third-and-1, and the Ravens ended up having to punt a play later. "[Jensen is] cutting, he's going forward, he bounces on the turf, and the guy trips over his legs," Harbaugh said. "There's nothing intentional about that. He didn't jack his leg up intentionally by any stretch, so that was a tough [penalty]." The official who threw the flag on the play was the back judge standing about 25 yards away from the play, as shown in the below photo.
