Most of us probably thought Joe Flacco and Terrell Suggs weren’t going to see the field this preseason.
The Ravens decided it would be beneficial to their team to have two of their cornerstone players in action during this preseason tilt with the Lions.
Going into this game, there were three goals the Ravens wanted to see Flacco accomplish — to feel pressure again, build confidence, and to prepare for Week 1 of the regular season. Flacco followed that blueprint on Saturday, completing 11 passes for 94 yards and zero interceptions.
Flacco did a fantastic job of spreading the ball around as he hit multiple receivers on a variety of routes against Detroit. Flacco seems to also be developing dangerous chemistry with newly acquired wide receiver Mike Wallace.
Suggs also made his presence felt early. The Ravens defense simply looked complete with him on the field and they didn’t surrender one touchdown during the first half of the game.
On the second play of defense, Suggs destroyed Lions tight end Cole Wick and stuffed Ameer Abdullah for no gain.
That was just the second total play of defense for Baltimore, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Suggs finished the day with one tackle and one assisted tackle.
Once the Ravens starters were pulled, backup quarterback Ryan Mallet threw a 25-yard bomb to Jeremy Butler for a touchdown, giving the Ravens a 13-3 lead.
Jeremy Butler is giving the Ravens every reason to make the final 53-man roster come September, and so is Anthony Levine.
Once again, Levine recorded himself an interception, and it turned into more points for the Ravens. His 22-yard interception off Lions starting quarterback Matthew Stafford put the Ravens in excellent field position and Mallet, once again, finished off the job as he went airborne into the end zone on a 1-yard sneak.
Despite the win, the Ravens took a few blows to their roster, yet again. Tight end Benjamin Watson is now out for the entire 2016 season as he tore his Achilles on the very first play of the game.
Promising rookie Kenneth Dixon also sprained his left knee as he was stopped on the 1-yard line while attempting to score a touchdown.
The Ravens are still perfect this preseason as their record improves to 3-0. Baltimore will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Thursday, September, 1.
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