A week ago, Roquan Smith jogged into the Buffalo Bills tunnel, stunned that the Ravens defense squandered a 15-point lead in the final minutes. He watched that game five times in the days following.
Sunday afternoon against the Browns, Smith rolled into the end zone on a 63-yard fumble return to seal Baltimore's 41-17 win over the rival Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium.
Much of Sunday's game was a "grind," as Head Coach John Harbaugh called it, but Baltimore closed out its AFC North rival with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
"A great bounce-back win. [It was] a great winning-football win, in terms of handling a really tough week, a really challenging week, but also understanding what it takes to bounce back and win the next week or play a good football game," Harbaugh said.
"I thought we did the things we needed to do. The guys already knew how to do those things, but to come out here and do them in this game, in terms of winning maturity, if you want to call it that."
The Ravens defense held Cleveland and former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in check for much of the day in his first game back in M&T Bank Stadium as an opponent. The Browns had 12 offensive drives and gained more than 20 yards on only five.
Baltimore cashed in two turnovers that led to touchdowns, one on a Nate Wiggins interception that he nearly took for a pick-six and the other being Smith's fumble recovery return for a score.
"I feel like last week we all had a sour taste in our mouth, and it was just more so about moving on and not letting last week beat you twice," Smith said. "I felt like it was a great job by [Inside Linebackers Coach] 'Tucc' [Tyler Santucci], giving me some great pictures this week; then for studying these guys and knowing what they like to do in certain situations and just pulling the trigger. I still feel like I left some plays out there."
Most importantly, the Ravens' starters stomped on Cleveland in the fourth quarter. The Browns scored a late touchdown, but that was after the backups came in and the game was already sealed.
"Really proud that this team finished strong in the fourth quarter," defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike said. "That is what was nagging us since the Buffalo game – just not finishing in the fourth quarter, but we showed today that we can. It's great momentum for us."
The lopsided final score isn't very indicative of how the game played out. A "here-we-go-again?" feeling crept into M&T Bank Stadium when Marlon Humphrey tried to intercept a fourth-down pass, and instead it bounced off his hands and directly to Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman for a touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter, making it a 10-point game.
On the defense's next drive, however, Ravens outside linebacker Tavius Robinson forced the Flacco fumble that Smith took back to the house – capping a tremendous day for the Ravens' defensive leader.
Smith had 15 tackles, including three for loss, and two quarterback hits. His pressure on Flacco also caused an inaccurate throw on the Wiggins interception. Smith has been tremendous since coming to Baltimore midway through the 2022 season, but it might have been his best game yet.
Cornerback T.J. Tampa, who stepped in for Jaire Alexander after his struggles in Buffalo, broke up a fourth-down pass on the Browns' following drive. In the wake of the Buffalo meltdown, the Ravens said they wouldn't hesitate to make changes and play the players playing the best. Rookie inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan also started and played the majority of snaps.
The Ravens also stayed aggressive. Leading 13-3 in the third quarter, Harbaugh opted to keep the offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line following Wiggins' interception. Lamar Jackson delivered with his first touchdown to Devontez Walker.
Difficult questions swirled around the Ravens all week following their season-opening loss in Buffalo. In Week 2, they answered a bunch of them.
"[The defense] looked extremely mature today," Jackson said. "[They] got turnovers, kept points off the board, except that wild touchdown, but they just did the whole thing, and they did what they're supposed to do today."
