Ravens Defense Back in Championship Form After Dominant Showing vs. Saints

It's not often that a team can allow an opponent 525 total yards and 27 points in a matchup and still walk away looking dominant, but that's exactly what the Baltimore Ravens did against the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. 

The Saints were No. 2 in the NFL in yards per game on average heading into Monday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens, with 424.5. They topped that on Monday, but it still wasn't enough to earn the win over Baltimore, whose 34-27 victory was more one-sided than the final score would suggest. 

It was the third consecutive loss the Saints have suffered at home after a string of wins there stretching back to 2012 ended earlier this season.

The Ravens secondary could have let up fewer yards, sure. The 420 yards they allowed Drew Brees was his highest mark of the season. But the pass rush was able to disrupt him enough to turn the game in Baltimore's favor. 

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Brees was sacked four times—twice by Baltimore linebacker Elvis Dumervil—which has only happened once before so far this season, in Week 9 against Carolina. 

Linebacker Terrell Suggs also had a historic night, as he surpassed 100 career sacks. The Ravens will look to him to continue to lead a potent 2014 pass rush. 

"He's the guy that kind of grabbed us up as a team and pointed us in the right direction all week," head coach John Harbaugh said in his postgame presser. 

Prior to the matchup, Harbaugh had commented on Brees' typical ability to remain upright in the pocket: "He has an uncanny ability to keep a play alive in the pocket, or outside of the pocket and find someone to throw to, or just get rid of it. ... He holds the ball, but he takes very few sacks. That’s a gift," he said, via Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. 

Being able to take away that ability Monday night was a huge point of success for Harbaugh's squad. 

Baltimore also forced Brees into throwing his 11th interception of the season, which puts him at third-most in the league behind Blake Bortles, Jay Cutler and Eli Manning.

Ravens safety Will Hill took that interception back for a touchdown in the third quarter when the game was tied at 17-17, a decisive play that gave the Ravens a lead they never relinquished. 

The Ravens activated Hill on October 18, initially playing most of his snaps on special teams. But his pick-six against the Saints marked the first time Baltimore's defense put points on the board this season, which should help Hill see more snaps on defense. 

Heading into Monday's game, Baltimore was ranked 11th overall in total defense, allowing an average of 335.7 yards and 18.1 points per game. Technically, that ranking will fall prior to Week 13; the Ravens allowed the Saints more yards and more points Monday night.

However, it's worth noting that on the Saints' final 11-play, 2:13 drive, the Ravens allowed 80 yards, 15 percent of the Saints' total yards, by playing soft coverage in an attempt to prevent New Orleans from a quick-scoring strike. It was effective in preventing a score but padded the Saints' final stats. 

Credit: statmilk.com

But New Orleans' stats don't tell the whole story of Baltimore's defensive performance. 

Baltimore held New Orleans to 5-of-12 on third downs and 0-of-1 on fourth downs. That's a conversion rate of just 41.7 on third downs, despite the fact that heading into the matchup the Saints led the league in third-down conversion percentage at 51.6 percent, per TeamRankings.com. 

The Saints' average third-down conversion rate in Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals was 61.5 percent, and their average over the last three games was 52.27. What the Ravens accomplished in making Brees and the Saints ineffective when it mattered most was no small feat.

Furthermore, the Saints only scored on four of their 10 drives, and the Ravens held them to 2-5 in trips to the red zone. 

	Season Average	Versus Ravens
Saints Red-Zone Scoring %	60.0	40.0
Saints Third-Down Conversion %	51.6	41.7

With the win over New Orleans, the 7-4 Ravens hold onto a tenuous second place in the AFC North, though they share a record with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns.

But this team can lean on its defense to steer it past upcoming matchups with the San Diego Chargers, who have been struggling offensively after a hot start, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.

Those games could certainly be winnable for this Ravens team, especially if the defense can continue to put points on the board and bring pressure against upcoming opponents like Philip Rivers and Ryan Tannehill. 

After all, the Ravens defense finished the 2012 regular season 17th in the league in total defense, and that was enough to reach the championship. This season's unit, by comparison, has an exciting postseason push ahead of it.