Justin Forsett Putting Ravens Offense, Playoff Hopes on His Shoulders

To be a true playoff contender in today's NFL requires more than just masterful quarterback play or a defense skilled at piling up sacks. They must be a complete team, which means they must run the ball.

This fact isn't lost on the Baltimore Ravens, who have quietly boasted one of the most productive backs in the league in Justin Forsett. And if Forsett's impact on the Ravens' Monday night 34-27 win over the New Orleans Saints is any indication, they certainly possess enough ammunition to make a successful playoff push.

Forsett had a career-high 182 yards on 22 carries, along with two rushing touchdowns. His yards-per-carry average against the Saints was 8.3, and he ended the day with an astounding eight rushes of 10 or more yards, per KDKA's Bob Pompeani.

His impact cannot be understated. The Ravens offense had 23 first downs in the game, nine via the pass, two via penalty and 12 running the ball, mostly coming from Forsett's carries. In contrast, the Saints, who averaged six yards per rush, had just three rushing first downs.

	Atts.	Yds.	YPR	Rush TD	Long
Weeks 1-11	133	721	5.4	5	52
Week 12	22	182	8.3	2	38
Season Total	155	903	5.8	7	52

Forsett running so well—and seemingly breaking off at least one huge gain every drive—helped the entire offense. It took pressure off of quarterback Joe Flacco against the Saints' blitz-heavy defense. It opened up play-action passing for Flacco. And it allowed the Ravens to control the pace of the game.

This was Forsett's third game this season of 100 or more yards. The performance brought his rushing yardage total to 903 yards on 155 carries, giving him a yards-per-carry average of 5.8. He also has seven rushing touchdowns. 

The Ravens offense, even before bringing in offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, has hinged on running the ball well. This isn't a Flacco-first offense; rather, Flacco does his best work off of a strong running game. Play-action passes, the deep ball and having time to throw all stem from a productive run game.

However, Ray Rice's suspension and ultimate dismissal from the team raised questions about whether the duo of Forsett and Bernard Pierce could be effective on the ground. Clearly, Forsett grabbed the starting job away from Pierce weeks ago and has continued to prove he's the Ravens' deserved bell-cow back.

Opponent	Rush YPG	Rank	Avg. YPR	Rank
vs. SD	108.8	15	4.4	T-23
@ MIA	104.2	11	4.1	T-14
vs. JAX	130.6	28	4.4	T-23
@ HOU	113.9	18	3.9	T-11
vs. CLE	134.5	29	4.4	T-23

Forsett should factor heavily into the Ravens' offensive game plan for the remainder of the regular season. The Saints ranked 19th in rushing yards allowed per game on average, at 114.7. All of Baltimore's remaining opponents rank similarly or worse. And none allow fewer than 3.9 yards per rush.

This means that Forsett's 100-yard days are not behind him—in fact, he could surpass that number in each of the team's final games, especially considering he had surpassed 100 rushing yards against the Saints in the first half on Monday.

While the Ravens' victory wasn't Forsett's alone, he certainly played a major role. There, of course, was also safety Will Hill's pick-six of Drew Brees, Steve Smith Sr.'s touchdown reception halfway through the first quarter and Flacco protecting the football, throwing no picks on his 24 pass attempts.

But none of these things—Hill's interception the exception—could have happened without Forsett having such a good game. This is what the Ravens offense should look like in an ideal world. That they did it on the road—albeit against the struggling Saints, but still, on the road—is a good sign the Ravens have settled into themselves after their bye week.

The AFC North divisional race is close. All four teams have seven wins. Much will be determined in the next five weeks, and all four teams control their own destinies. Finding a formula that works consistently will be the greatest key for whichever team is to end the season in first place.

Baltimore's formula seems to have settled in, and Forsett is its centerpiece on offense. Per The Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson, Forsett said after Monday's game that the key to his good performance was to "get into a rhythm and into the flow of the game."

But he's also gotten into a season-long rhythm and has managed to, at times, control the flow of the game with nearly every touch. That's good news for the Ravens as they head into an important five-game stretch that, should Forsett keep it up, see them reaching the playoffs yet again.