How’s that for a rebound?  The Ravens stormed into St. Louis looking to prove that they’re the week one, not the week (or weak) two Ravens and did just that with a dominant 37-7 win over the Rams.  The Ravens controlled the game from the get go by pounding the Rams defense in the air and on the ground and by putting serious pressure on the second year quarterback Sam Bradford.

Here are my thoughts on the Ravens week three win against the Rams.

  • Offensive juggernaut – It was a highlight reel type day for the Ravens offense.  Joe Flacco threw for 389 yards and found Torrey Smith in the end zone three times.  Ray Rice rushed for 79 yards on eight carries and caught five passes for 83 yards.  The Ravens netted a franchise record of 553 yards on offense, 406 of which were recorded in the first half.
  • Nice to meet you Torrey Smith – Reports were that Torrey Smith, who entered Sunday’s game without a catch, was coming off a rough week of practices.  If that’s true it didn’t show on the field as Smith’s first three receptions were touchdown passes from Joe Flacco.  Smith’s first reception was the longest touchdown pass Flacco had ever thrown.  His first three were a part of a quarter in which the Ravens scored 21 points, a franchise record.

  • Defense brings the pressure – Poor Sam Bradford, he never stood a chance today against the Ravens defense.  After failing to solve Matt Hasselbeck and the Titans offense, Chuck Pagano brought the pain to Bradford with a variety of blitzing schemes on the Rams offensive line.  The Ravens sacked Bradford three times, but threw him down all day.  Terrell Suggs was constantly wreaking havoc in the backfield and Haloti Ngata managed to score his first career touchdown on a fumble forced by Ray Lewis.
  • Tough day for Billy Cundiff – The only guy on the field in purple that had a difficult day was kicker Billy Cundiff.  The Pro Bowler missed his first two attempts, both from 51 yards and then took a cheap shot on an extra point in the fourth quarter that kept him out of the kickoff on the next play.  Thankfully, it was just a bruise on his leg.
  • A great rebound – The Rams might be a bad team, (Josh “I’ll video tape your walkthroughs and still go 3-9” McDaniels is calling their plays), but this is a great answer to the Ravens skeptics following their week two collapse.  The Ravens put together an awesome defensive effort, showed that Joe Flacco has the ability to throw downfield and logged some hours with an offensive line that needs to work together.