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11/7/22

3 min read

Ravens' Defense Silences Saints in 27-13 Monday Night Win

With their offense struggling to move the ball, the Baltimore Ravens turned to their defense to shut down the Saints, 27-13, in New Orleans Monday night.

One week after embarrassing the Las Vegas Raiders in a shutout victory, the Saints found themselves trying and failing time and again on offense. The best New Orleans could manage through three quarters was a pair of field goal drives that stalled out in the red zone. Before those drives, it was four New Orleans punts. And After? Another punt, interception, and a touchdown drive that only reached the end zone when a pair of Ravens let up early on a play, thinking Saints tight end Juwan Johnson had gone out of bounds on his way to a 41-yard score.

Led by Justin Houston (2.5 sacks, interception, 5 tackles) and trade-deadline acquisition Roquan Smith, the Ravens' defense allowed its fewest points in a game since Week 1, and nearly eclipsed its fewest yards allowed (243) this season, all against a Saints offense that entered the game top-three in the NFL in yardage and top 10 in points. Only the Saints' three scoring drives lasted longer than four plays or went at least 20 yards.

Lamar Jackson didn't have to have his high-scoring offense running at full speed to do enough to earn the victory. Jackson hit tight end Isaiah Likely on a 24-yard strike in the first half for a touchdown, the team's lone play of 20+ yards through the air. Likely, normally the backup, got his first start as the team's top tight end with starter Mark Andrews out with an injury.

Likely and another backup, running back Kenyan Drake, did the heaviest lifting on offense. Likely got Baltimore the early lead, and then the team leaned on Drake, filling in for injured starter Gus Edwards. Drake scored a pair of touchdowns as Baltimore went to clock-killing early in the second half, finishing with 93 yards on 24 carries while the Ravens held a 15-minute advantage in time of possession. Helping their defense erase any chance of a New Orleans comeback, the Ravens scored on three of their four possessions in the second half.

Both teams were competing for the top spots in their divisions. With the win, Baltimore moved to 6-3 and now has the outright lead in the AFC North over Cincinnati. New Orleans fell to 3-6, and sits a game back of Atlanta and Tampa Bay in the NFC South.


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