Baltimore Ravens tight end Nick Boyle (86) holds off Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II (23). Next, the Ravens head up to Gillette Stadium to take on Cam Newton and the New England Patriots on Nov. 15 at 8:20 p.m. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
By Demetrius Dillard
Special to the AFRO
The Baltimore Ravens didn’t let the adversities they faced over the past week distract them from handling business on the road against the Indianapolis Colts top-five defense.
Last week, the Ravens had a player test positive for coronavirus, forcing them to play without one of their premier cornerbacks. Seven other players have been placed in quarantine, and then all-pro offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley suffered a season-ending injury.
Fortunately, six players were cleared to return to the field after being on the COVID-19 list, but Baltimore still squared off against Indianapolis without running back Mark Ingram and linebacker L.J. Fort, both of whom are on the injured reserve list.
After being held to only 55 yards of total offense in the first half, the Ravens fought back and showed tremendous resilience to pull off a comeback victory over the Colts, 24-10, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
For the first time in four years, Baltimore won after trailing at halftime, breaking a league-high 20-game losing streak including the playoffs.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has been under scrutiny for what some believe were subpar performances in past weeks, found ways to break down the Colts’ tenacious defense to lead his team to a much-needed bounce-back win.
The 6-foot-3 signal caller is now 25-5 as a starter, tying Dan Marino for the best record in 30 starts as a quarterback in NFL history.
Jackson completed 19 of 23 passes, which included a perfect 10-of10 in the second half, for 170 yards and recorded a game-high 58 rushing yards on 13 carries for a touchdown. Despite being sacked twice, he was able to find gaps in the Colts’ defense and helped his team find their offensive rhythm on their way to the two-touchdown win.
“Their defense did a pretty good job,” Jackson said. “ second half, we just dialed it up, called the plays, found the guys in the right position, drove the ball down the field and scored touchdowns.”
Offensive execution and pace were major components in overcoming Indianapolis’ tenacious pass rush, from blocking, to avoiding penalties to making timely plays in the air and on the ground.
“I’m proud of the O-line with the injuries that we had, those guys stepping up and changing positions and things like that, I thought they did a good job,” Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said, expounding on what changed after halftime to come away with the win.
“I think our guys are just tough. They stuck with it and they didn’t get down, didn’t finger point and kept fighting.”
Considering the challenges that the team has faced over the course of the week in addition to coming off a Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, shows the sheer will and determination Baltimore will need to fuel its way through the latter half of the regular season.
Some really good, solid football in the second half overcoming a lot of adversity,” Coach Harbauh added. “There’s a lot to it, you know, there’s a lot, just a lot of heart and mind that goes into winning a NFL football game, and I’m very, very proud of our players for finding a way to win this football game.”
Next, Ravens will travel to Gillette Stadium and take on the New England Patriots on Nov. 15 at 8:20 p.m.