When you live by the Field Goal, you can die by the Field Goal. Last week it was the most joyous of plays for the Cleveland Browns as they caused an upset in beating the Saints. This week they would miss two (one blocked) and watch helplessly as Justin Tucker put one through the uprights to give the Baltimore Ravens the win.
In truth this defeat owed less to field goals and more to the Browns inability to finish a Ravens team who were there for the taking. That they didn’t, and that Joe Flacco was able to finally rally his team after his defense got him the ball back, means it’s the Ravens who sit on the right side of .500 this morning. Let’s take a look at some of the key performances.
Ravens – Performances of Note
Kelechi Osemele, LG: +3.1
Breakdown: Osemele remains firmly atop our left guard rankings for now with another strong effort. The former second round pick started off extremely strongly, proving the kind of linemen who is always looking to get his hands on someone and not expecting a whistle to end a play.
Signature Stat: Has allowed just one hurry all season.
Matt Elam, S: -4.2
Breakdown: Continues to look out of place as the deep safety for the Ravens, with his feel for what is going on deep down the field tested again. His struggles to adjust to receivers being passed off to him led to two big completions for 113 in total yardage.
Signature Play: With 10:07 left in the game he let Taylor Gabriel behind him for what could have been the game winning touchdown. Compounding one mistake with another he then fails to touch him down, resulting in another 20 yards being picked up.
C.J. Mosley, ILB: +1.3
Breakdown: Stupid personal foul penalty aside, Mosley is a guy you enjoy watching. He’s not afraid to run through traffic and has no problems engaging linemen.
Signature Stat: Led Ravens with six defensive stops.
Browns – Performances of Note
Paul Kruger, LB: +3.3
Breakdown: It’s fair to say Kruger didn’t exactly light things up in his first year in Cleveland. He’s looking better in year two and while he only picked up a hit and hurry rushing the passer, he was extremely active against the run.
Signature Play: It didn’t take long for Kruger to make an impression against the run. With 13:51 to go in the first quarter he went around Ricky Wagner to make a tackle for a short gain.
Justin Gilbert, CB: -3.2
Breakdown: The rollercoaster goes on. Terrible in Week 1 and much better in Week 2, Gilbert took a big step back this week. His stats may not read all that bad (he allowed 0-of-2 balls thrown into his coverage to be complete) but every time he was thrown at his numbers were enhanced by poor throws and not his play.
Signature Play: The first play of the fourth quarter saw Torrey Smith kill him with a double move, only for the ball to be overthrown.
Joel Bitonio, LG: +2.3
Breakdown: The NFL is an adjustment. At least it should be. Bitonio now has three positive grades in a row, with this his first outing not allowing any pressure.
Signature Play: Makes up plenty of ground on the reach block of DeAngelo Tyson with 10:07 to go in the third quarter, paving the way for an easy score.
PFF Game Ball
It’s rare that you get a game where two teams are so evenly matched that handing out a game ball becomes nearly impossible. With that in mind I’m handing out a group award to the Ravens offensive line. They were instrumental in a healthy 4.8 yard per carry average as they opened up some big lanes and ensured their quarterback faced pressure on just 11 snaps.
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