From the first snap, the Ravens’ defense was locked in. Marcus Williams, back in the starting lineup after being benched in Week 8, made a superb tackle on the game’s first play, and Ar’Darius Washington made an interception on the next play.
The drops and miscommunications that haunted Baltimore’s defense against Cleveland were cleaned up. Denver is not an offensive juggernaut, but this was a step in the right direction.
It helped that Marlon Humphrey was back in the lineup, but the Ravens were still shorthanded along the defensive line without Michael Pierce (injured reserve/calf) and Brent Urban (concussion). However, second-year inside linebacker Trenton Simpson (nine tackles, one sack) was active and second-year outside linebacker Tavius Robinson led the pass rush with two sacks. The Ravens were stout in the red zone and made the Broncos earn most of what they got.
Facing the Bengals will give Ravens an even better indication of whether their defense is trending up. Meanwhile, General Manager Eric DeCosta could still make a move to strengthen the defense prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“Ravens defense – we owned up to the challenge that everyone was putting on us this week,” nickel cornerback Arthur Maulet said. “We need to build off it.”
