The Ravens showed you a glimpse of what they can be on the offensive side of the ball. Flacco was sharp, decisive and on target all day long. It was refreshing to see him look confident and in control throughout the game. Flacco’s numbers would have even been better had there not been so many drops from the receivers. This kind of play from the offense is coming just in the nick of time as the Ravens will face some very good offensive teams in the coming weeks. Other thoughts on the game are below:

Alex Collins had a huge day with 2 touch downs and some very physical runs. His speed around the corner is proving to be one of his greatest strengths and it was how he got into the end zone both times today

The Ravens reverse sweep play never seems to work in large part because it develops so slow and typically ends in a several yard loss

Very costly error on Stafford when he fumbled on 3rd down putting them just out of field goal range and a potential loss of 3 points

Wallace gets a drop, Moore gets two drops, Watson gets a drop, Maclin gets two drops – this is frustrating and if these balls had been caught we would have likely won by more than we did

Beautiful home run ball from Flacco to Wallace for one of the biggest plays of the season for the Ravens – so nice to see the Ravens push the ball downfield some of late

Raven linebackers are not doing well in coverage and we are giving way too many yards in the middle of the field

The first hit on Stafford didn’t happen until 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter but it was a big one by Weddle and created a turnover

Howard’s block in the back penalty on a 10 yard gain was costly and are the kinds of plays that are handicapping this Ravens offense this year

The Refs and the NY play review team got it right when they gave Wallace the catch at the 13 yard line

It seems to me that Pees is slow to dial up rush pressure until well into a game – I hope that he takes more risk in future games as our secondary really needs the help

Seeing Jimmy Smith fall to the ground was gut wrenching and you just had the feeling in the moment that it was season ending which was later confirmed to be a torn Achilles. Ravens are really going to miss him these next 4 weeks

Campanaro has to do a better job with ball security on punts, his fumble could have turn the momentum but was fortunately recovered by the Ravens

The Lions came out strong in the second half and scored twice on their first three possessions and did so without burning a lot of clock

Benjamin Watson has really turned out to be a great add to the Ravens and has proven to have one of the more reliable set of hands on this team

Huge stop by the Ravens defense on the Lions second possession in the second when the Lions failed to get a yard on third and one – well done Brandon Williams

Flacco was sharp today and he was hitting his targets in stride, unfortunately his receivers had the dropsies today

Henry’s PF penalty was a costly one and kept the Lions drive alive ultimately ending in a touch down

I love Webby but he no longer has the speed and skill to play in the secondary and compete like he once did

Prater, one of the best kickers in the game, misses a field goal and an extra point

Ravens O line didn’t open up many holes on the ground game and most of the yard that our RBs got was because of their jump cuts, but they did give Flacco enough time to get the ball out

The Ravens scoring after giving up two straight scores was gigantic and exactly the kind of response you want to see from your offense, another 3 and out would have been deadly

I have been noticing that the Ravens are giving up a lot of running yardage on the edges and today two touchdowns were scored against them going around the edge

Marlon Humphrey was introduced to the NFL in a big way today and was targeted several times giving up several big plays, but in the 4th he did come up big with an interception and gutsy return

Loved seeing Suggs on the sidelines talking to the defense after they gave up 3 scores, and what does Suggs do when he gets back on the field but get a sack to set the tone and lead by example

Wallace had a big day with 5 receptions and 116 yards which is what you need and expect from your number one

Best of the best TD celebrations goes to Alex Collins who mimed a tug of war with the O line and pulls them to the ground – funniest one I have seen this year

Tucker is a game changer special teams player and his 51 yard FG with 7 minutes left was big and made it a two score game

Weddle was big today with a forced fumble and pick six – so glad to see this bounce back after a few subpar games

Ravens defense gave up a lot of yards today, but they also took the ball away 3 times and scored on one of them. This will give you winning football almost all the time

Game Predictions Game Statistics Score Ravens 27 Lions 24 Ravens 44 Lions 20 Turnovers Plus 2 Plus 3 Net Rushing Yardage Ravens 138 Lions 81 Ravens 101 Lions 78 Net Passing Yardage Ravens 188 Lions 269 Ravens 269 Lions 294

Miscellaneous Predictions

Suggs continues his great play with another sack Correct!

Buck Allen leads the Ravens with 13 carries Nope, just 7 carries

Ravens commit 7 penalties for 85 yards Incorrect, Ravens played clean with just 2 penalties for 25 yards

Refs make terrible calls Correct, missed a blatant holding call on the Lions first score

Possible Friday Monday morning headlines

Ravens win their 3rd straight for first time this season

Keys to the Game