A solid defensive effort led by linebackers Ray Lewis and Paul Kruger and a huge second half from wide receiver Anquan Boldin lead the Baltimore Ravens to a 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. With the win, the Ravens have advanced to the divisional round of the AFC Playoffs. Baltimore will have a quick turnaround, as they will face the Denver Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Broncos beat the Ravens in Baltimore on Dec. 16. The Ravens and Colts would combine for 860 yards of total offense, but turnovers and stout red zone defenses would keep the scoring to a minimum. The Ravens’ first offensive possession of the game ended with an uncharacteristic fumble from Ray Rice, who lost two fumbles on Sunday after not losing one fumble during the regular season. Following Rice’s fumble, the Colts drove down to the Ravens’ 30-yard line before quarterback Andrew Luck had the ball stripped out of his hands by Kruger, who abused Colts offensive tackles Winston Justice, Bradley Sowell and Anthony Costanzo throughout the game. Baltimore opened the scoring with a 23-yard field goal by rookie Justin Tucker with 11:23 to play in the second quarter. The two sides would exchange punts before Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri connected from 47 yards out to tie the game with 2:31 remaining in the half. A 37-yard kick return by Jacoby Jones gave the Ravens excellent field position, an opportunity that the Ravens would not squander. Facing a 2nd-and-10 on the Colts’ 49-yard line, the Ravens ran a running back screen to Rice that was diagnosed and snuffed out by outside linebacker Robert Mathis. However, Rice made an adjustment, sliding to the inside to catch the quick dump-off from Joe Flacco. In the open-field, Rice made a nice move on safety Tom Zbikowski and nearly scored a touchdown before Moise Fokou ran him down at the two-yard line. Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach punched the ball into the end zone on the following play to give the Ravens a 10-3 lead. The Colts added a 52-yard field goal by Vinatieri to trim the Ravens’ lead to 10-6 at the half. Baltimore and Indianapolis exchanged punts to start the second half before Flacco led the Ravens on a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Flacco hit Boldin for 10 yards to start the drive and, after a four-yard run by Rice, would connect with Boldin deep down the right sidelines for a 46-yard gain. Two plays later, Flacco would dump the ball off to tight end Dennis Pitta, who rumbled for a 20-yard touchdown that gave the Ravens an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter.
Continued here:
Strong defense, second half offense lead Ravens to 24-9 win over Colts (Shutdown Corner)
Post a Comment