{"id":16419,"date":"2025-01-02T08:24:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T08:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=16419"},"modified":"2025-01-02T08:24:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T08:24:21","slug":"baltimore-ravens-take-giant-leap-on-defense-in-push-for-afc-north-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=16419","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore Ravens take giant leap on defense in push for AFC North title"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-header\" class=\"content__high-wrapper content__high-wrapper--is-show\" data-sort-time=\"1735788746000\" data-update-time=\"1735788746000\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-video embed--type-content_video is-video embed--float-none embed--size-medium is-hero\" data-ads=\"{&quot;extraWordCount&quot;:50}\">\n<div class=\"embed__content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed__resizer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed__sticky-content lazyloaded can-drag floating\" data-component=\"viewability\" data-viewability-options=\"true\" data-left=\"\" data-top=\"\">\n<div class=\"player-overlay__container  player-overlay--draggable \" data-theme=\"default\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"player-overlay--draggable-handle\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<section class=\"content__body\">BALTIMORE &#8212; The improvement of the Baltimore Ravens&#8217; defense is one of the reasons they are on the verge of a second-straight AFC North title.<\/p>\n<p>Entering Saturday&#8217;s 4:30 p.m. game against Cleveland at M&amp;T Bank Stadium, the Ravens haven&#8217;t allowed more than 14 points in the past three games.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens are 13th in the league in total defense. They have 15 takeaways, including five fumble recoveries and 10 interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>However, they are second in the NFL with 52 sacks, led by Kyle Van Noy&#8217;s 11.5 sacks.<\/p>\n<p>On Christmas Day, the Ravens allowed Houston to score only a safety in their 31-2 win.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mpu-plus-outstream-middle\" class=\"ad-mpu-plus-outstream-middle ad-wrapper \" data-ad=\"mpu-plus-outstream-middle\" data-ad-unit=\"&quot;mpu-plus-outstream-middle&quot;\" data-google-query-id=\"CNTQ9vrN1ooDFRQGgwMdCrEtAQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/8264\/aw-cbslocal\/baltimore\/sports_3__container__\">\n<div class=\"cnx-ui-wrapper cnx-bp-xl-lit\">\n<div class=\"cnx-ui-top-bar-container cnx-bp-xl-lit\">\n<div class=\"symbol-title-group\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cnx-top-bar-buttons\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cnx-ad-container cnx-full-height\">\n<div class=\"cnx-ad-bid-slot\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"cnx-ad-slot\">\n<div class=\"cnx-ad-slot\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But in that game, Ar&#8217;Darius Washington landed a huge hit on Houston running back Joe Mixon for a big fourth down stop on the 1-yard-line.<\/p>\n<p>Defensive coordinator Zach Orr celebrated so hard that he crashed into the ground after leaping into Washington.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t even know it honestly happened until after the game, and my mom, showed me,&#8221; Orr said. &#8220;She was like, &#8216;Boy you [are] crazy. Look what&#8217;s going on.&#8217; I was like, &#8216;I was just so amped up.&#8217; I fell pretty hard, though, I&#8217;m not going to lie. I fell pretty hard, so I was a little worried at first [for a] couple days like, I hope I didn&#8217;t hurt anything too serious. It was definitely was [an] awkward landing for sure.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Game preparations<\/h2>\n<p>The Ravens held practice indoors on Wednesday because of 40 mph wind gusts.<\/p>\n<p>The game-time temperature on Saturday is\u00a0<span class=\"link\">expected to be in the low 30s<\/span>, and even colder by the end.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens (11-5) need to win or have the Pittsburgh Steelers lose on Saturday to clinch the division title. Cleveland (3-13) is likely to play backup quarterbacks Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Baily Zappe, as it battles for draft positioning.<\/p>\n<p>Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson has 3,955 passing yards with 39 touchdowns and four interceptions this season, while gaining 852 rushing yards. Derrick Henry has 1,783 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BALTIMORE &#8212; The improvement of the Baltimore Ravens&#8217; defense is one of the reasons they are on the verge of a second-straight AFC North title. Entering Saturday&#8217;s&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Baltimore Ravens take giant leap on defense in push for AFC North title - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=16419\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baltimore Ravens take giant leap on defense in push for AFC North title - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BALTIMORE &#8212; The improvement of the Baltimore Ravens&#8217; defense is one of the reasons they are on the verge of a second-straight AFC North title. 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