OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — In his own tongue-in-cheek way, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh gave the rest of the AFC North his respect as the Ravens head into a couple of key divisional matchups these next two weeks.
“It’s really awesome that we have such a great division, and I’d be really disappointed if we didn’t,” he said, drawing a laugh. “It would be just terrible if everybody was not a good team in our division.”
The Ravens are playing perhaps the best football in the NFL at the moment after trouncing Seattle 37-3 last weekend. They lead their division by 1 1/2 games, but they’re also only 1 1/2 games ahead of last place.
Such is life in the AFC North at the moment. Baltimore (7-2) and Cincinnati (5-3) have each won four straight. Cleveland (5-3) and Pittsburgh (5-3) have each won three of four.
The Ravens host the Browns this weekend and the Bengals next Thursday night.
Baltimore’s win over Seattle was highlighted by a 138-yard rushing performance by undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell, who didn’t have an NFL carry prior to the game. He gained all that yardage on only nine attempts.
“It’s a guy that we were talking about making sure he got some chances and got some touches. It was something we were all hoping would happen,” Harbaugh said. “To see him take off like that, you couldn’t have predicted that. … Between the tackles, breaking tackles, those kind of things — that was really great.”
The Ravens outgained the Seahawks 515-151. In terms of total yards, it was both the fourth-best offensive performance and the fifth-best defensive performance in the NFL this season.
WHAT’S WORKING
In a way, the Ravens are an example of why running backs have a hard time landing big contracts these days. Baltimore lost star J.K. Dobbins to an Achilles tendon injury in the first game of the season, but the Ravens have continued to run the ball effectively thanks to running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, plus star quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Then they were able to plug Mitchell in, and he immediately had a huge game.
“We saw (in the preseason) how explosive he was, and we see it in practice, but today the offensive line just gave him a little room and he did the rest,” Jackson said after the game. “He was hitting the hole … just making crazy runs (and) great cuts. It was great to see. Sometimes, I wasn’t carrying out my fake, because I wanted to see what he was going to do with the ball.”
WHAT NEEDS WORK
The Ravens lost two more fumbles Sunday — by Jackson and Odell Beckham Jr. — and are up to nine on the season. Only Minnesota has lost more.
STOCK UP
While Mitchell is the obvious choice here, the Ravens also got another huge game from Kyle Van Noy. He has five sacks since being signed by Baltimore in late September, including two on back-to-back plays shortly before halftime against Seattle. The second of those sacks caused a fumble that led to a field goal by the Ravens that gave them a 17-3 lead.
“How about the swing of events that he led at the end of the half, right?” Harbaugh said. “Probably flipped the game or broke the game in a way. It kept them from getting back within one score.”
STOCK DOWN
It’s nitpicking after a game such as Sunday’s, but the secondary allowed a 50-yard catch by DK Metcalf and a 35-yarder by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. As opponents struggle to move the ball consistently on a down-by-down basis, it’s important for the Ravens not to allow too many big plays.
INJURIES
Harbaugh said Jackson is fine after sitting out the fourth quarter of the blowout victory. He also said there would be an announcement soon on LB David Ojabo, who has been on injured reserve since late September.
KEY NUMBER
6 — The number of times this season the Ravens have won without ever trailing at any point in the game.
“My mom always says, ‘Get the lead, keep the lead,’” Harbaugh said. “I’m going to stick with that. Mom’s advice is always the best advice.”
NEXT STEPS
The Ravens face Cleveland for the second time this season Sunday. Baltimore won the first matchup 28-3, but the Browns didn’t have quarterback Deshaun Watson for that one.
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