Defense is usually the name of the game when it comes to football in Baltimore, but Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco made a strong case for the offense on Monday night, demolishing the Cincinnati Bengals 44-13.
For years, stretching back to their Super Bowl victory in 2000, the Ravens were primarily known as a punishing defensive squad, led by stars such as Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. But after last night's success of the no-huddle offense, it might be time for the defense to take a back seat.
"That tempo really helped us out because those guys can really get to the passer and really create a lot of pressure," Flacco told the Associated Press. "I think the fact that we were able to go up-tempo and kind of keep those guys on the field took its toll on them."
The Ravens offense was rolling all game, with Flacco passing for two touchdowns and 299 yards on an efficient 21 of 29 attempts. The team didn't turn the ball over and also had over 400 yards of total offense.
"Obviously, everything went pretty well for us tonight," Flacco said.
The Ravens pulled out to a 17-3 lead in the second quarter after a 34-yard pass to Anquan Boldin, but let the Bengals stick around, cutting it to 17-13 after a BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushing touchdown and a Mike Nugent field goal.
Flacco was excellent in the first half, including on a perfect deep throw to wide out Torrey Smith for a 52-yard gain. He was 12-for-15 passing for 183 yards before halftime.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was uncomfortable all night and couldn't settle in due to pressure from the Ravens defense. He was sacked four times and threw for only 221 yards. The defense also forced turnovers, including a fumble recovery from 37-year-old Ray Lewis.
"Joe kind of got us into a rhythm and always kept their defense off balance," Lewis said. "We've practiced against this offense all offseason, so to see it now, when everything's real, I think you have to take your hats off to how hard we worked as a team."
The Bengals made the playoffs last year, but did it without having to defeat a team that qualified for the postseason.
"That certainly wasn't what we expected to have out there today," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "We got outplayed and we got outcoached
The Ravens added another touchdown and field goal in the third quarter before Ed Reed returned a Dalton interception 34-yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach at 34-13. Running back Ray Rice added a fourth quarter touchdown for his second score of the game to put the Ravens up 41-13
Reed set an NFL record on the interception with a career total of 1,497 yards in returns, passing the previous record of 1,483 yards by Rod Woodson. It was Reed's seventh career score on an interception return.
Flacco was able to watch the end of the game from the sidelines as kicker Justin Tucker put the team up 44-13.
The Ravens were playing without reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs, who was out with an injury.
Before the game the Ravens honored former owner Art Modell, who passed away last week.
Baltimore will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in week two, while the Bengals will play the Cleveland Browns at home on Sept. 16.
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