Jerry Coleman: Ravens Squish The Fish
The Baltimore Ravens traveled to South Beach and got their first road victory 26-23 over the Miami Dolphins. Playing better on the road this season was something Head Coach John Harbaugh has stressed. "We haven't played well on the road. We have to take the practice and transfer it to the game," Harbaugh is now 22-21 All Time in the regular season on the road. With the latest triumph, the Ravens have compiled 28 W's since 2008 away from Baltimore, including several in the playoffs, which is second only to New England for the NFL's most total road victories.
Another reason why the Ravens were able to walk away with a win is because they were able to establish the run game , which was something that has been nonexistent recently. Trailing at halftime 13-6, it was another slow start for the "Purple and Black". However, on their first possession of the third, they again looked for a spark, and Ray Rice would be the guy. The drive took nearly 3 minutes and ended with a 2-yard rushing TD by the Ravens RB. Rice finished the day with 74 yards and compiled two touchdowns. He said after the game that, "You can never take away the value of a three yard run."
So, the Ravens improve to 3-2 on the season and are tied for first place in the AFC North holding the tiebreaker over Cleveland, a team they beat earlier this year. They will not meet them again until week 9.
That is long way from now and this team still has work to do. Linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had a phenomenal fourth quarter and finished with three sacks against Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, was pleased with his performance, but added, "It's really how far our team goes. The better we do, the better I feel toward the end of the year. Right now we got bigger fish to fry."
He is certainly right about that, because the Ravens will come back home (where they are 2-0 thus far), and play the 2nd highest scoring offense in the NFL - the Green Bay Packers (who have opened as 3 1/2 pt favorites).
