Ravens-Broncos: The Ugly

The Ravens played the Broncos on Thursday night in the season opener, getting demolished, 49-27. What were some of the ugly things that were in that game? Let's take a look.

The Ugly:

• Peyton Manning's Seven TD Passes: Peyton Manning became one of six quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for seven touchdowns in a single game. The Ravens have never allowed that many touchdowns in a game, nor have they ever let a team score 49 points on them. Peyton Manning threw touchdowns to Wes Welker (2), Demariyus Thomas (2), Julius Thomas (2), and Andre Caldwell (1). Defenders Corey Graham, Michael Huff, and Jimmy Smith were mainly to blame for the touchdowns.
• Two INT's by Flacco: Joe Flacco threw two interceptions, along with two touchdowns, in the loss. The first interception came in the second quarter as Flacco attempted to throw a short pass to Brandon Stokley. CB Chris Harris dived in front of the ball to get the easy interception. Later in the game, in the fourth quarter to be exact, Flacco attempts to throw it to Ray Rice on a short pass, but it gets picked off by Danny Trevathan. Of course, Trevathan fumbled on the one-yard line to give the Ravens the ball back after the touchback; a truly boneheaded play by the Broncos' linebacker.
• Trawick hurts Jacoby: On a punt return in the second quarter, rookie Brynden Trawick ran into Jacoby Jones, spraining his MCL. The miscue by Trawick will force Jones to miss at least four-to-six weeks. This was one of the only bad special teams plays by the Ravens, but it was a costly mistake by a rookie that barely made the final roster.
• Koch gets blocked: In the third quarter, punter Sam Koch gets blocked by David Bruton. The Broncos recovered the ball at the Baltimore ten-yard-line. Two plays later, the Broncos scored off of another touchdown pass from Peyton Manning, making the score 28-17.
• Dropped Passes: Dallas Clark and Ed Dickson were the worst when it came to dropping passes. They dropped pass after pass after pass. The hands of the two tight ends were horrible against the Broncos, and there was one play where Clark could have gotten an easy touchdown before halftime. Flacco tossed him a perfect ball to catch, but the wide open Clark could not hang on, forcing the Ravens to kick a field goal.