I am as upset about the Baltimore Ravens 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals as anyone, and if you've read my posts right after or throughout the week, you can see it in my comments. However, that is over with and while there remain significant concerns, we need to get over it and focus on the future, starting with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.
One of my biggest issue was that the Ravens seem to have no trouble beating the average or below average teams, but had trouble beating the better ones. At the same time, last year I wrote about the Ravens taking care of business by beating the teams they were supposed to be, while other teams such as the Steelers, continued to be upset victims of the Browns, Oakland Raiders and others. The Ravens and their fans need to offer no excuses for doing what they were supposed to by winning these games as they are as important as winning in the standings as any game.
Therefore, starting with Sunday, the Ravens need to get their offense in gear and continue their defensive dominance with a resounding victory over Cleveland to get their confidence and offensive swagger back as they next head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers, who continue to win without their star QB. However, if the Ravens overlook the Browns and think they can just show up and win, that could spell major embarrassment for the first home game of the season, which would be disastrous and is virtually imaginable in my mind.