Baltimore Ravens’ Pass Rush Proves To Be Among NFL’s Best In Win vs. Atlanta Falcons

By Brenden McLaughlin on October 19, 2014

The Baltimore Ravens welcomed the Atlanta Falcons to M&T Bank Stadium for a showdown between the top-two quarterback selections of the 2008 NFL Draft. While Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco couldn’t quite replicate last week’s performance, he easily outdueled Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who struggled mightily throughout the game.

Ryan seemed to be running for his life all day as the Falcons’ offensive line had trouble containing a Ravens pass rush that recorded five sacks in Tampa Bay last week. Elvis Dumervil and Pernell McPhee each sacked Ryan twice while the rest of the defense was relentless in pursuit, forcing countless quarterback hurries and hits. Terrell Suggs added insult to injury late in the fourth quarter, sacking Ryan in the end zone for a safety, giving the Ravens a 29-7 victory.

The Falcons’ inability to establish a running game resulted in many third-and-long plays, giving the Ravens multiple blitzing opportunities. Atlanta failed to convert on a third down in the first half, and it wasn’t until their eighth third-down play that they were able to move the chains.

The Falcons weren’t able to string together a scoring drive until midway through the fourth quarter, when Ryan found Roddy White in the corner of the end zone. It was during this drive that Ryan was able to connect with his receivers on quick routes and evade Ravens’ tacklers to make plays down field.

The Baltimore defense has heated up in the last two weeks, recording 10 of their 15 sacks on the season. Dean Pees’ unit looks to have found their identity as they have hidden secondary problems by being relentless in pursuit of the quarterback; something they have been missing since winning the Super Bowl two years ago.

This Ravens defense is clearly a unit to be reckoned with moving forward, only allowing 14.8 points per game through Week 7. This could end up being the best defense in the NFL by the end of the season.

After missing the playoffs one year after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, the Ravens have returned to dominant form and have proven that they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They will look to further that claim and pad their division lead as they take on the reeling Cincinnati Bengals next week.

Brenden McLaughlin is a Baltimore Ravens writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b_maction or add him to your network on Google.