The Baltimore Ravens had very little time to celebrate their last second win against the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
As soon as Justin Tucker kicked the 27-yard game-winning field goal, the team knew it had only four days to prepare to play the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. The game will mark the Ravens' fourth game in just 19 days.
"We've played Thursday after a Sunday but we haven't played Thursday after a Sunday night," coach John Harbaugh said.
Some of the players expressed dismay about the quick turnaround, including safety Ed Reed.
"I never liked it when the Thursday night game came out," Reed told the Ravens' official website. "It's all about money. Like I said, it's out of my hands."
The NFL also ended the referee lockout, returning the officials to the sidelines in time for Thursday's game.
Luckily for the Ravens, the game will be at home, where the team has won 13 straight games. Another break for Baltimore, Cleveland remains the only winless team left in the league at 0-3. The Browns have also lost 11 straight games in the AFC North.
"It's going to be a huge challenge for us," Harbaugh said. "I know they're going to come in here, a division game, a big rivalry game, always a big emotional game against the Browns. We've played a lot of tough games against these guys."
Baltimore played some of its best football of the season in Sunday night's 31-30 comeback victory over New England, with quarterback Joe Flacco driving the team to set up the last-second field goal. Flacco is second in the NFL this year with 913 passing yards and has a 101.1 passer rating.
"I've always been a Joe Flacco fan," Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur said. "I thought he's always been a good quarterback, a top-level quarterback in this league."
The Ravens have been stellar on offense, ranking third in the league in passing yards, but have had trouble this season defending the pass. The team is ranked 28th in opponent passing yards, but the Browns are working with a rookie quarterback, which tips the scales in favor of the Ravens.
The Browns will try to use rookie running back Trent Richardson to take the pressure off quarterback Brandon Weeden, who has thrown an AFC-leading six interceptions. Richardson has 175 yards through three games with two touchdowns. Last week he was held to just 27 yards on 12 carries.
"It's going to be an honor just being on the same field as Ray Lewis," Richardson said. "I've looked up to him for years, still look up to him, especially to his leadership and how he handles things. But you know, it's going to be like another game."
Baltimore running back Ray Rice rushed for 101 yards last week against New England and has 268 yards on the season. He played great against the Browns last year, gaining 291 yards in two games.
Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith will play his second game since learning the news that his brother died in a motorcycle accident. Smith played on Monday night less than 24 hours after finding out. He responded with a fantastic game, catching six balls for 127 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Smith also has five catches for 25 yards or more this season, which is tied with Panthers wideout Steve Smith for most in the NFL.
The Browns defense will have their hands full on Thursday. The Ravens have scored an AFC-best 98 points in three games and have showed no signs of slowing down.
Cleveland will look to avoid going 0-4 for the first time since 2009. The team has only scored 57 points, which is the fifth-worst in the league.
"I look and we've got 13 games left," Shurmur said. "It's about winning your division, so you can get into the playoffs. Nobody in our division has won all their games. We've got a division opponent on the road with a great opportunity to get the ship righted on Thursday night."
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