NEW ORLEANS NEW ORLEANS — Baltimore Ravens (6-3) won their third straight win and fourth win in their past five games, with a 27-13 win against New Orleans Saints. New Orleans Saints, increasing their lead over their division in the AFC North.
Baltimore’s defense dominated the game, registering four sacks including 2.5 of them by Justin Houston.
The Saints (3-6) have suffered defeat in three of four games.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens defense put together their most dominant game of the year just when the team needed it most. The Ravens stopped the Saints to only 243 yards, which is the lowest in New Orleans this season.
Outside linebacker Justin Houston delivered 2.5 sacks as well as an interception in the fourth quarter. The linebacker became the very first in Ravens history to have three consecutive games of multiple sacks. Houston is the club’s best player, as the defense wouldn’t concede a touchdown until after 4 minutes had elapsed in the game.
This was a well-timed effort by the defense as the offense is severely messed up. Lamar Jackson played without Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews (inactive with shoulder and knee injuries) and No. one wide receiver Rashod Bateman (out for the season due to a foot injuries) and his two top players in the running game (J.K. Dobbins is on injured reserve because of an injury to his knee, as well as Gus Edwards was inactive with an injury to his hamstring). However, the Ravens beat the Bengals for the third consecutive game, and enter the bye season with an advantage of just one game on Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the AFC North.
The pivotal play was Houston’s intercept at the end of the fourth period. With just 8:24 remaining in the game and the Ravens won their fourth game in their last five games by executing the kind of game-ending play that they’ve been unable to achieve throughout the season. Defensive lineman Brent Urban deflected Andy Dalton’s pass and Houston took over the intercept. Baltimore quickly turned that mistake to Kenyan Drake’s third touchdown run, leading Baltimore Ravens to a victory of 27-6. The Ravens played their 11th straight game that had forced turnovers and is the longest streak currently in play within the NFL. Houston was the only player to ever in Ravens history to score 2.5 interceptions and a sack during one game.
Positive pattern: Ravens remain to be one of the teams that have the fastest start times of the NFL. Baltimore was one of the teams to be leading by double figures at any time in each of its first nine games a season , since 2011. Green Bay Packers, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The Ravens are only the third team to accomplish this feat in the last 20 years, and join in 2009 the New Orleans Saints and 2011 Packers -both of which started with 9-0. This is a testament to that they Ravens were to an ideal start if they had not suffered three fourth-quarter chaos.
Silver line: Jackson was spreading the ball around. With his two top players -Andrews and Bateman Andrews as well as Bateman -the – Jackson was more unpredictable when distribution of the ball. He was able to hit eight players in the first eight balls and ended throwing to 10 players and set a new career record. Andrews and Bateman made up 39 percent of the Ravens receptions during their first 8 games and even though Baltimore has more danger without these two players but the Ravens were more even without their presence. — Jamison Hensley
The most under-rated statistic to be aware of: Jackson is the second player in NFL history to score 100 passing touchdowns as well as 20 rushing touchdowns prior to turning 26and joining Josh Allen. They both were selected in the year 2018.
Next game next game: the Panthers vs. Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 20)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints (3-6) were hoping they’d made a turn after their impressive victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last week. They ended up enduring frustration in a game that was scheduled for prime-time.
A number of the same issues that the Saints had to face earlier in the season resurfaced. QB Andy Dalton struggled, and the offensive line was not able to defend Dalton, especially after losing center Erik McCoy to injury. Dalton certainly wasn’t helping his case as the Saints starting quarterback when he threw an intercept in the final minutes and was not assisted by the Saints run game which did not fare well against the Ravens defense, as New Orleans scored just 48 yards.
The Saints were largely unprepared to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who made several amazing plays to avoid attacks throughout the night. The Saints must take a break for a brief week, with their rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers up next on the road.
Breakdown of the QB Saints Coach Dennis Allen agreed to keep Dalton as quarterback so long as the offense was able to keep up as it did, and it was an enormous step back in the game against the Ravens. Dalton had to play a major game to prove that the three interceptions he made in the prime time against. The Cardinals during Week 7 weren’t an accident, but the offense continued to struggle. Dalton nearly doubled his season sacks, and was then picked by the Cardinals in the 4th quarter. Dalton will also be disappointed to miss an open Marquez Callaway inside the zone towards the conclusion of the opening half. Callaway scored 5.95 yards to go from the ball and it was the second time this season that he has failed on a throw to the end that had more than five yards of separation.
A troubling trend The injury bug has come back to strike the Saints yet again, with McCoy as well as starting linebacker Pete Werner and starting defensive end Marcus Davenport all leaving with injuries. It’s no surprise that the Saints have been shorthanded throughout the season long, especially in the offense. So this could be another setback should all three players end up absent for any length of time. Werner’s departure Werner is the one who would be most affected because he’s made an enormous leap into the future in his second season and has been a crucial part of the defense. — Katherine Terrell
Unknown statistic worth knowing: Dalton has a .231 win percentage during his prime (6-20) which is the lowest for any quarterback after 2000. Kerry Collins is 5-16 for 5-16 with a .238 percentage.
Next game: Steelers (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 13)
