Ravens vs. Browns: MVP, 8 Winners and 4 Losers

MVP: Javorius Allen

The Ravens needed somebody to produce on offense today. While Ben Watson, Joe Flacco and Jeremy Maclin all produced, Buck was on another level.

Halfway through the second quarter, Buck caught a touchdown pass from Joe. Though this was big for Baltimore, his greatest play occured later in the quarter.

With only 15 second left in the first half, on 2nd & 9, the Ravens handed the ball off to Buck. He gashed the Browns for 37 yards, finding his way to the two-yard line. One play later, with five seconds on the clock, Flacco fired a touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin.

Winners:

Lardarius Webb — As the Browns marched downfield to make this a one-score game, the veteran defensiveback intercepts the rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer in the endzone. His second interception in two games this season.

Terrell Suggs — An MVP candidate for this game, after receiving my MVP vote last week, Sizzle started this game with some heat. A strip-sack helped get the Ravens offense in the redzone. Quickly to follow, was a Terrance West touchdown. His passrushing is still formidable, even against Joe Thomas.

Tyus Bowser — After Kizer was pulled from the game, Kevin Hogan surged the Browns to a touchdown. After a missed field goal, the Browns were marching towards another score before half. It all ended quickly, as Tyus Bowser hauled in a big interception, also returning it 27 yards. The series before, Bowser also sacked Hogan and made a tackle on Duke Johnson Jr..

Jeremy Maclin — Second touchdown in two games, he’s rolling as a Raven. No gaudy stats, but scoring touchdowns is the difference in these close contests. He’s done it for the second straight week.

Joe Flacco — Two passing touchdowns, with multiple big plays to Ben Watson and other receivers, he’s been great. A bad interception on miscommunication aside, he’s doing what the Ravens need to win.

Brandon Carr — He harassed Kenny Britt all day. He fought hard all game. He was rewarded with his second interception in two games.

Ben Watson — Eight catches by the tight end, for 91 yards, including his first catch being a full extension leap towards the sky. Clearly, he’s healthy after the big injury a season ago.

Alex Collins — Big runs by the tailback, who was promoted only days ago. He was hit multiple times in the backfield, yet created a gain anyways. He did fumble though, which was a big problem. Harbaugh didn’t lock him in the doghouse though, which is the reason he stays a winner in my bracket.

Losers:

Reminder: Every player has bad games. Don’t take this as they deserve being cut, or called out on Twitter. I do this to demonstrate objectivity. There is always going to be bad plays for every respective team.

Terrance West — Somehow the loser, though he scored the early touchdown. Collins and Buck are being trusted more, while West isn’t getting carries later in games. I don’t believe it’s due to Harbaugh keeping him fresh, either. We’ll see in the next couple games if he’s put lower on the depth chart.

Mike Wallace — Two full games and he’s only racked in 2 catches for 15 yards. I suspect this is a culmination of not being fully established with Joe, Jeremy Maclin’s presence, and the run game being fully utilized. He’ll arrive eventually, don’t worry.

C.J. Mosley — Definitely not a loser, but he didn’t play to my extreme expectations. His sack was nullified from a defensive holding call. He allowed a big gain on the Ravens first touchdown allowed. For what we usually expect from him, it was negative. I’m very critical of Mosley, as he’s otherwordly, and even his bad games are good by most standards. Eight tackles was great, but I don’t believe he performed as we expect the All-Pro to play. Maybe I’m too critical here, though.

Kamalei Correa — Didn’t see him often, but when I did, I watched him get ran past as a blocker swallowed him. Patrick Onwausor has outplayed him, and it’s shown in the past two games.