–In a pass-heavy NFL, the Ravens were able to beat Cincinnati by primarily running the ball.
Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson ran the ball 27 times, the most by any quarterback since 1960, for 117 yards. Fellow first-year player Gus Edwards had 115 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. It was the first time Baltimore had a pair of 100-yard rushers in a game since Dec. 23, 2012 against the New York Giants.
Overall, Baltimore had 265 yards rushing, which helped the team avoid its first three-game home losing streak since 2007.
“That’s just a credit to the players,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I just feel like however you move the ball is good. There are different ways to do it, and you do it based on your personnel and what’s available to you as a coach. You try to figure that out – who you’re playing against and what your guys can do well.
“The coaches do the best they can to put a game plan together, and sometimes it’s run, sometimes it’s pass. You want it to be a mix, you know, both. Sometimes you do well at it, and sometimes you don’t. But in the end, it’s a player’s game. The players deserve the credit for running the ball so well.”
The run game could continue this week against Oakland, which is allowing 142.3 rushing yards per game.
–Ravens guard Marshal Yanda adamantly denied spitting on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict in Week 11.
Video surfaced of what appeared to be spit coming off Yanda’s face mask during a scuffle with Burfict in the fourth quarter.
“I take a lot of pride in my character and how I was raised,” said Yanda, a six-time Pro-Bowl selection. “I would never, ever spit on another man, another person, individual ever.”
Head coach John Harbaugh also defended his player.
“Have you ever – for whoever wrote the article that makes the insinuation – have you ever heard of Marshal Yanda’s character being attacked or him doing something along those lines ever in his whole career? But now, all of the sudden, we’re going to say, ‘Oh, I know Marshal Yanda spit at somebody, at a person?’ Really? Come on. No way,” Harbaugh said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 50 – Team-high receptions by wide receiver Willie Snead IV for 499 yards. He is on pace to have a career-high 80 receptions.
