The Baltimore Ravens improved their playoff chances while most other contending teams in the AFC struggled this weekend. Baltimore, now 8-6, started fast and never really slowed up against the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon. On the defense’s first possession, they intercepted a poorly thrown Jay Cutler ball. Everyone had the feeling it wouldn’t be his last pick of the day.
The Ravens offense quickly cashed in on the interception. Joe Flacco threw his first touchdown of the day to Todd Heap. I think this was very important for the Ravens. They got off to a fast start and never looked back.
Cutler continued to throw picks throughout the game, with a total of three, and the Ravens cashed in every time. In addition to Cutler’s interceptions, the Ravens recovered two Bears fumbles. The only hiccup for the Ravens on Sunday was the special teams letting up a touchdown to Earl Bennett on a punt return.
The offense was very strong for the Ravens. Obviously aided by six turnovers, Flacco went 21-for-29 with four touchdowns leading the Ravens to a 31-7 victory. Flacco was removed from the game and Troy Smith came in. Smith did throw an interception, but did his job for the most part.
Lost in this dominant performance, was the loss of emerging cornerback Lardarius Webb. Webb left the game with a knee injury that has now been discovered as a torn ACL. This is a blow to an already thin Ravens secondary that now needs to find another cornerback. I will be curious to see who the Ravens come up with in the next couples days.
On a better note, with a win and a Denver Broncos loss, the Ravens now hold the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs. In addition to the Broncos losing, Jacksonville, Miami and the Jets all lost opening the gap for the Ravens. So, from now on, it’s pretty simple, if the Ravens win, they make the playoffs, if they lose one of their last two, they’ll need some help.
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