The Baltimore Ravens always knew Ray Rice was going to fit in just fine. "It felt good,"
insisted Rice, a rookie running back, after having his helmet knocked off by a ferocious hit from team-mate Bart Scott during training camp. "Now I see what other backs have to go through when they go against him."
That sort of attitude goes a long way in Baltimore, though you also need a fair bit of talent to shred an NFL defence the way Rice did yesterday in Cleveland. Making just his third start in place of the injured Willis McGahee, Rice ripped off 154 yards on 21 carries as the Ravens beat the Browns 37-27 to move within half a game of the lead in the AFC North.
"They call you a backup, but when it's your turn, you have to have a starter's mentality,"
said Rice after the game. In reality though, Rice, picked up by the Ravens in the second round of this year's draft, had done much more than just fill in for McGahee. Where the latter is a punishing inside runner, Rice is an all-purpose back whose strength is his versatility, and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron wasted no time opening up a playbook he had designed - while at the San Diego Chargers - with LaDainian Tomlinson in mind.
At times lining up outside with the wide receivers, Rice caught three passes for a further 22 yards but he was not the only one to benefit from Cameron's new approach. Fellow rookie Joe Flacco came into this game having won four from his first seven NFL starts, but having also thrown seven interceptions against just three touchdowns. Nevertheless Cameron felt this was the game in which to cut him loose and Flacco responded as early as the first quarter with a 47-yard strike to Mark Clayton for a touchdown.
But statistics cannot convey the composure and resilience shown by both players, as well as rookie head coach John Harbaugh, as the Ravens recovered from a 14-point second-half deficit on the road against a division rival. Terrell Suggs praised defensive captain Ray Lewis afterwards for insisting the Ravens would win even as they trailed 27-13 in the third quarter, but it was Flacco and Rice who backed his promise up with actions.
With his quiet voice and a tendency to swallow his words at press conferences, Flacco doesn't always come across as a natural leader off the field. He certainly looked like one on it as he bounced back to his feet and hit Derrick Mason for a 20-yard completion after being sacked at his own 15-yard line on the previous drive. Two drives later, the Ravens were level. A 60-yard scamper from Rice then put them in position to finally take the lead, before Suggs picked off a Derek Anderson pass to put the icing on the cake.
"I think the defence is more proud of what the offence did out there today than the offence is,"
said Harbaugh afterwards, and even Suggs had to concur, adding: "You've got to tip your hat to the offence. What they did was amazing."
Ever since winning the Super Bowl in 2000, Baltimore have leaned heavily on a defence that has only once this decade ranked outside the top six in the NFL. Even last year, when they won just five games, the Ravens gave up fewer rushing yards than every team except Minnesota. So far this year they have allowed a league-best 64.2 yards per game.
That much will not change any time soon, but the Ravens have now put up 93 points in back-to-back wins over the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders and Browns. In that time Flacco has thrown four touchdowns without being intercepted, and yesterday's win was the first time this season that they have come from behind to win in the fourth quarter. Already there is a growing belief that the Ravens' offence is finally establishing its own identity after years of chopping and changing at the skill positions.
For now they can be happy with a 5-3 start that puts them very much in the play-off picture in a weak AFC. Already next week's road game against the Houston Texans looks pivotal, followed as it is by trickier games against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. You can be sure Ray Rice is looking forward to it.
Three and out
• The AFC East may not produce a Super Bowl contestant this year, but with all four teams now within one game of each other it should certainly provide plenty of drama. The New England Patriots remain my tip to win the division despite last night's loss in Indianapolis, but both the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins are right back in the mix after turning over the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos respectively. Buffalo, now 0-2 against the rest of the division, need to start protecting Trent Edwards better - and fast.
• It's hard to know whether to congratulate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for overturning a 21-point deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs or chastise them for falling that far behind in the first place. Quarterback Jeff Garcia deserves credit after completing 31 of 43 for 339 yards, but Ernest Graham's two fumbles very nearly cost them a game they should never have lost.
• And the Cincinnati Bengals won't be going winless this year after all after clinging on to beat Jacksonville 21-19. The Detroit Lions should have been toasting a similar success after putting up 23 second-quarter points to take a 10-point lead over the Chicago Bears at half-time but, well, they're the Detroit Lions.
