Game recap: Ravens defense puts forth its best performance of the year in 23-0 win over the Green Bay Packers

The Packers were driving on the opening possession of the game. Brett Hundley and the Green Bay offense had reached the red zone. On first and goal, Hundley lobbed a pass intended for Randall Cobb towards the far sideline. Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith peeled off of his man, and leaped in the air for the football. At full extension, Smith made the interception, and landed on his back in the end zone. The Ravens defense had forced a key turnover. It was a play that set the tone for the entirety of the game.

In a 23-0 win against the Green Bay Packers, the Ravens defense put forth its best performance of the season. The Ravens defense forced its third shutout of the year, created five turnovers, and totaled six sacks.

The Ravens defense made its presence felt early in this game. The Jimmy Smith interception on the Packers first drive of the game was the first of three straight drives were the Ravens forced a turnover. On the Packers second drive, Eric Weddle intercepted a lobbed Hundley pass, and on the Packers third drive, the Ravens recovered a fumble.

The Ravens offense struggled to capitalize on these turnovers against a defense that came into Week 11 ranked 24th in total defense. On the first play of the second quarter, Justin Tucker kicked a 32 yard field goal which gave the Ravens a 3-0 lead.

Despite continuing to dominate the Packers offense, the Ravens couldn’t move the ball. The Ravens would tack on another field goal right before halftime, and Baltimore led 6-0 at halftime.

Baltimore finally found some momentum on offense coming out of halftime. Chris Moore started the half by returning the opening kick to the Ravens 41 yard line. This was followed immediately with a 33 yard catch and run to Ben Watson. Just a few plays later, Mike Wallace mad an unbelievable catch while being covered very tightly for a Ravens touchdown.

The score would give the Ravens a 13-0 lead. Although, the offensive momentum would not be sustained.

The defense forced a turnover on downs on its first drive of the second half as Matt Judon recorded one of his two sacks in the game.

The Ravens would add another field goal in the fourth quarter to go up 16-0. All the while, the defense dominated. Baltimore forced two turnovers on downs in the third quarter, and another turnover on downs in the fourth. In the Packers second drive of the fourth quarter, Terrell Suggs strip sacked Brett Hundley, one of his two sacks in the game, and the Ravens recovered. Two drives after the strip sack, Hundley threw and interception to Marlon Humphrey on the first play of the possession. This was the first career interception for Marlon Humphrey.

Alex Collins would score his first touchdown of the year right after the Humphrey interception, giving Baltimore a 23-0 lead.

The Ravens forced a punt on the ensuing Packers drive, and took a knee upon receiving the ball back to close out the 23-0 victory.

The defense could not have performed much better. Suggs, Judon and Willie Henry each had two sacks. In addition, both Suggs and Judon had forced fumbles. Smith, Weddle and Humphrey all had interceptions. C.J. Mosley had seven tackles and a forced fumble.

As well as the defense played, the offense was extremely poor. The Ravens were actually outgained by the Packers. Flacco completed 22 of 28 passes, but for just 183 yards. Alex Collins did get in the endzone, but it wasn’t until garbage time. Collins finished the game with just 49 yards on 20 carries. The Ravens did get Danny Woodhead involved in his first game back, as he led the team in receptions with five. However, those five receptions went for just 21 yards. The defense created five turnovers, but the offense did not take advantage. The only time the Ravens found the end zone after a turnover was the Collins touchdown, at which point it was garbage time anyway.

The Ravens defense was fantastic yet again with a third shutout, forcing five turnovers and six sacks. The dominant performance was enough to will the Ravens to a 23-0 win. The Ravens improved to 5-5 with the victory, and remain right in the thick of the playoff race. Baltimore gets a long week now, as they will face the Houston Texans at home on Monday night in Week 12.