The Baltimore Ravens put Ray Lewis into their Ring of Honor at halftime Sunday. And then the Ravens' defense broke out a performance reminiscent of Lewis' early 2000s squads.
The Ravens manhandled the Houston Texans30-9 in a game that only featured one offensive touchdown. Baltimore didn't let the Texans gain more than 18 yards during a single play for 60 minutes.
After getting embarrassed on national television in the season opener, the Ravens' defense hasn't given up a touchdown in back-to-back weeks. Lewis' replacement at inside linebacker, Daryl Smith, continued his sensational play with a pick six of Texans quarterback Matt Schaub. Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata were playing, once again, at a high level.
The Ravens' offense needs a lot of help these days, and it's getting it. Just like the old days. Here's what else we learned:
- Schaub has not played particularly well through three weeks, despite two impressive comebacks. He missed throws again, which took points off the board early. The Texans' offense is lacking big plays. It isn't pushing the ball up the field. The 16-play drive to start the game that resulted in just three points was a great example. The Texanswork hard to score.
When the score begged for hurry-up action in the second half, the Texans took forever between plays and looked content to move the ball in 5-yard chunks.
- Andre Johnson was in and out of the game with what Texans coach Gary Kubiak called a "bad shin bruise." Johnson finally sat on the bench in the fourth quarter with ice wrapped around his knee.
- The Texans have to be worried about an early season slide now. They face Seattle and San Francisco the next two weeks.
- Ed Reed's return to Baltimore was uneventful. He had three tackles and rarely was involved in the action.
- Torrey Smith made the two key plays in Baltimore's third-quarter touchdown drive, including a 48-yard gain. Joe Flacco is going to have to rely on the receiver more than ever. Smith stepped up nicely Sunday.
The "Around The League Podcast" is now available on iTunes! Click here to listen and subscribe.
