Well I have to admit that I didn’t see that coming. Ravens go 3000 miles west into the Black Hole and not only take care of business but in fact dominate the game from the very beginning. This was a team effort and in every phase of the game, and everyone seemed to be on the same page. Flacco looked focused, calm and in control throughout the game. The coaches had solid game plans to achieve this victory. Except for a sleepy 3rd quarter this was a fun game to watch. And to make things sweeter the Steelers got spanked at home by the Jaguars. Ravens are now back in a tie for the AFC North. Let’s hope the injuries to West, David and Skura are not too serious. Other thoughts on the game are below.

Nothing like beginning the game with a 52 yard strike to get things going, and it was just what the doctor ordered

Losing West, Davis, and Skura in this game was disconcerting and continues to baffle me as to why we have so many injuries on this team

Vince Mayle got his first TD as a Raven on a 2 yard run and this is a guy who was up until today a practice squad player

Ravens D got gashed at times in the run game and I think our middle linebackers didn’t pick the right lanes to get pads on their running backs

I thought Ben Watson did a great job on helping to block Khalil Mack today to keep him from getting to Flacco

Jimmy Smith’s fumble recovery and TD was huge play in the game and put the Raiders behind by 14 points and back on their heels

Flacco was sharp today and his deep throws were outstanding, and he really stepped into his throws

Flacco’s pass to Maclin as he was falling down was a great play and moved the chains on 3rd down to keep the drive alive

What Ryan Jenson gives up in talent and technique – he makes on effort and grit, and he always plays to the whistle – he is one crazy red head

Ravens burned 8 plus minutes on a 75 yard drive in the first half and got 7 points on the drive – that is a formula for success

Brandon Carr got burned on a 41 yard pass to Crabtree, and missed on a few other plays as well – not his best game this season

Watson had an uncharacteristic drop today and unfortunately it would have been a TD

I was pleased to see the Ravens punt late in the 2nd half versus trying a long FG, you have to play the percentages in that situation and make sure you don’t give them good field position – Good call coach

Mike Wallace had 3 receptions for 133 yards and more importantly it opened up the field and forced the Raider’s safeties to play back and not cheat on the running game

Two of the three sacks the Ravens got today were from the secondary which is how they are going to have to get them this year I think

Ravens didn’t turn the ball over today and had only 1 penalty for 5 yards, which just goes to show how much better you look when play clean and take care of the ball

For me one of the most critical drives of the game was when the Raiders pulled within 7 points and the Ravens got the ball with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and drove down the field for 3 points pushing it to a 2 scored lead

While Perriman had just 2 catches for 15 yards it was nice to see him get some targets, and to make a nice catch. Let’s hope that he can build off that and produce more in the games to come

The Ravens make shift O line held their own today and kept Flacco clean in the pocket and did a very nice job in the running game and created some nice running lanes

Raiders got away with about dozen PI’s on Ravens receivers today but this officiating crew kept their flags in their pockets for most of the day

Weddle and Jefferson played much today and were active in both the ground game and the secondary

So glad that we have Tucker and Koch, these guys do such a good job in the kicking game. After watching the Bucs lose to the Pats on Thursday night because the Bucs kicker couldn’t make a FG from any distance – it makes you appreciate what you have all the more

Game Predictions Game Statistics Score Ravens 20 Raiders 16 Ravens 30 Raiders 17 Turnovers Minus 2 Plus 1 Net Rushing Yardage Ravens 112 Raiders 109 Ravens 143 Raiders 108 Net Passing Yardage Ravens 189 Raiders 198 Ravens 222 Raiders 137

Miscellaneous Predictions

Perriman drops another one – He did miss one but I think it was more on Flacco than him

Flacco’s streak goes to 11 – Incorrect, the streak is officially broken

Khalil Mack gets two sacks – Incorrect, in fact Flacco was not sacked at all today

Refs make terrible calls – They missed two PF calls and several PI calls

Keys to the Game