Baltimore Ravens defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10

And in another ugly win, the Baltimore Ravens defeated division rival Pittsburgh Steelers in a Sunday night football game at Heinz Field. Their 13-10 victory was the 12^th consecutive division win for the Ravens.

While the Ravens’ offense stunk it up, the defense stepped up their game and saved the day. Quarterback Joe Flacco completed 20 of 30 passes for 164 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns.

Running back Ray Rice had 20 carries for 40 yards. The only Ravens touchdown was scored by Jacoby Jones on a punt return. Kicker Justin Tucker scored two fields goals.

The number one ranked Steelers defense held the Ravens to 12 first downs, with only four in the second half.

After the Steelers scored their only touchdown in the first 43 seconds of the game, the banged up Ravens’ defense toughened up and sacked Steelers’ quarterback Byron Leftwich three times. Leftwich completed 18 of 39 passes for 301 yards and had one interception.

Leftwich got the start after starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was out with shoulder and rib injuries. Leftwich was injured late in the game and will miss his next start against the Cleveland Browns.

The game was a typical beat down between the two defensive powerhouses, but at the end of the day, the Ravens won the battle and walked away with the win. Now they have a two game lead in the AFC North.

Cornerback Corey Graham, who played for the injured Jimmy Smith had his first interception as starter and safety James Ihedigbo sacked Leftwich.

Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh believes both teams have similar styles of play making it the best rivalry in the National Football League.

“I think it’s two teams that play very similar styles,” Harbaugh said. “They’re two very rugged teams. They’re always two good defenses. We’re still in that category now. It’s a great rivalry. It’s what this rivalry is. It’s the essence of this rivalry.”

In his postgame speech, he said “The story is still being written.” The story will continue in two weeks when the Steelers make an appearance at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Unfortunately Ravens’ tight end Dennis Pitta suffered a concussion during the game when he was hit by safety Ryan Clark and linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Backup Billy Bajema stepped in for him. Pitta will be evaluated to see if he will play next week in San Diego.

With injuries on both sides of the fence I wasn’t sure what to expect in this game. The only thing I was certain of seeing was a defensive battle and that’s what I got.

The Ravens don’t play well on the road, but Flacco did what he needed to do to win the game. While he didn’t score any touchdowns, he didn’t have any turnovers which was key in helping the Ravens win the game.

I didn’t expect him to be explosive like he was in the previous game against the Oakland Raiders. Beating their rival on the road will hopefully give them the momentum they need when they fly across the country to face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

An ugly win is still a win. The Ravens don’t play pretty, but this is football, it isn’t supposed to be pretty and it’s always sunny when the Ravens beat the Steelers.

The Baltimore Ravens hosted an open practice at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. The practice was part of Military Appreciation Day, more than 2,000 service members and their families were in attendance.

20,324 fans attended the three hour practice, afterwards players spread around the stadium to sign for their fans. It was a great way for fans to get close to the players they root for all season.

It was the first time fans got to see wide receiver Jacoby Jones. The Ravens acquired him from the Houston Texans during the off season.

Jones previously played there in January as a Houston Texan in the AFC divisional playoff game. The Ravens won 20-14.

On this visit to M&T Bank Stadium, Jones experienced what it’s like to be embraced by the Ravens fan base:

“This is the first time they cheered for me instead of booing me,” Jones said. “It was fun. I felt good in that purple, being part of the purple nation. It felt good.”

This time he scored a few touchdowns for the Ravens and meshed well with Flacco. He will likely be the No. 3 wide out this season.

Fans also got to see the kicking competition between kickers Billy Cundiff and Justin Tucker. Cundiff was the starting kicker last season and is known for missing the potential game-tying field goal in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.

Tucker hit a 63-yard field goal; Cundiff tried to top him with a 65-yard kick, but missed. Both kickers have performed well during training camp and had nearly perfect outings during the competition on Saturday. While Cundiff is likely to win the starting position, the battle is still being fought; time will tell who wins it.

The Ravens will host two more public practices; August 12 at The Naval Academy in Annapolis and August 19 at Stevenson University in Owings Mills.

A battle for the third wide receiver spot is about to begin in Baltimore. The current starting receivers are  Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, but the third spot is up for grabs.

Newly signed receiver Jacoby Jones, acquired from the Houston Texans, is the favorite for the position, but there is no guarantee that he will be the third receiver.

The Ravens want to fill the spot with the best man for the job; tryouts will start during training camp in July. The players vying for the job include Jones, Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams and David Reed.

Doss was a fourth round draft pick in 2011. Last season he was active for seven games and filled in on special teams. At 6’2, 205 pounds he claims he is faster than most people think. While he didn’t have any catches, he showed good hands last preseason.

Williams, an undrafted receiver from the University of Maryland, had four catches for 46 yards last season. He played in the game at Pittsburgh and had two catches, impressive when you consider the hostile and loud environment at Heinz Field. He also filled in on special teams and forced a fumble in the AFC championship game.

Reed is entering his third season with the Ravens and did not have any receptions in his first two seasons with the team. Unfortunately he suffered a few injuries including a torn ACL during the December 24 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Reed is still rehabbing from his injury and is showing progress and hopes that he will be back by the start of the season.

The Ravens need to determine how many receivers they will keep on the 53-man roster; they had six last season.

These players bring different skills to the table and even though the Ravens will have a tough time making a decision, at least one thing is for sure, they have several talented wide outs to choose from and any one of them has the potential to take this offense to the next level.

Good luck guys. We know you will work hard and do your best; the final decision is up to the Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens stayed true to form this off season by not making a big splash in free agency and waiting till after the draft to add to their roster. Yesterday they added to the defense, today they added to the offense by signing former Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones.  Jones signed a two-year deal for $7 million.

The Ravens needed a third receiver after cutting WR Lee Evans. Evans is best remembered for dropping what would have been the game winning touchdown in the AFC championship game last season.

The Ravens are looking to increase and improve their passing game. Jones is a nice addition to the receiving core of Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, hopefully he will help the Ravens reach their goal of improving their passing game.

Jones will also be used as a punt returner. Using him as a punt returner is a bit of a risk, one that will hopefully pay off as Jones fumbled a punt in the AFC divisional playoff game against the Ravens last season. The fumble resulted in a Ravens touchdown.

Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome said of Jones:

“Adding Jacoby gives us another proven down-field weapon in our passing game and production with our return. His experience makes the offense better, and the competition he brings can help raise our levels at receiver and with punt and kickoff returns.”

Last season Jones caught 31 passes for 512 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 49 punts averaging 10.6 yards including a 79-yard touchdown.