RAVENS MAUL BROWNS TO STAY UNDEFEATED

The best thing that the Baltimore Ravens did on Sunday afternoon was to maintain focus.  They made it a priority to not overlook the winless Cleveland Browns and both sides of the ball responded.  Joe Flacco passed for a career high 342 yards, while the Baltimore defense forced four turnovers as the Ravens easily beat the Browns 34-3.  The Browns dropped to 0-3 on the 2009 NFL regular season, while the Ravens improved to 3-0.

NFL betting enthusiasts who laid the chalk to back the Ravens as -13’ home favorites were rewarded with the 31 point victory.  Baltimore improved their record against the spread to 3-0, while Cleveland dropped to 0-3 against the money.  The 37 combined points scored just managed to stay UNDER the posted total of 38’. It was the Ravens’ first UNDER of the year, while Cleveland has gone UNDER in two of their three games.

The Ravens scored ten points in each of the first two quarters and kept the Browns off the board until the fourth quarter.  After the game, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh praised his team for coming out and taking care of business:

"They understood this game for what it was and they took care of business. And they did it right out of the gate."

Ravens’ running back Wills McGahee took his coach’s message to heart, scoring two rushing touchdowns.  Afterwards, he reiterated Harbaugh’s theme for the game:

"Coach Harbaugh put in our heads that we've got to out and start fast and finish strong. Right there, we sent a message to the Browns."

Flacco threw for a career high 342 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.  He talked about the importance of not taking Cleveland lightly:

"That's what you have to do as an NFL team. You can't take anybody more light than the other guy. Cleveland had two losses and had a lot to play for. We knew that, so we had to make sure we came out ready to go from the beginning."

Browns’ coach Eric Mangini was looking for answers wherever he could find them, and pulled starting QB Brady Quinn in favor of Derek Anderson after halftime:

"I thought that at that point D.A. might be able to give us a spark. That's what I was hoping to accomplish coming out of halftime.”

Anderson managed to lead the Browns to a field goal, which meant nothing to the ultimate outcome of the game.  It also did nothing to revitalize an offense that has scored only one touchdown in nine games dating back to last season.

The Ravens will try to maintain their undefeated mark this weekend as they travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts for a game against the New England Patriots.  The Ravens are +1 road underdogs with the total set at 44’.  Baltimore will host the Cincinnati Bengals the following week before traveling to Minnesota to face the Vikings on October 18th.  Cleveland will host the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend, with the Browns a +5’ home underdog.  The total in the game has been set at 38.  The Browns will then face two tough road games, heading to Buffalo and Pittsburgh in the following weeks.