Ravens vs. Browns: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns faced off on Monday Night Football with not much other than pride and respect on the line.

With Baltimore sitting at 3-7 and Cleveland at 2-8, neither team has any real shot of making the playoffs or even having a winning season. However, bad seasons that end on high notes can often translate into more success the following season, and the Ravens looked like a team that believed that early on in Cleveland.

The defense forced a pair of quick Browns punts to open the game, and an 82-yard punt return touchdown by wide receiver Kaelin Clay gave the Ravens a quick 7-0 lead. 

A Justin Tucker 49-yard field goal extended Baltimore's lead to 10-0, and it looked like the Ravens may have been on the verge of taking control of this game in the first quarter. 

But from there, the Browns went on a 20-7 run between the second and early third quarter to take a 20-17 lead. That wouldn't last as Baltimore responded with a long touchdown drive that ended with Matt Schaub throwing a 15-yard scoring pass to Kamar Aiken to give the Ravens back the lead for good...or so it seemed. 

Baltimore would tack on a field goal and hold a 27-20 lead going into the final minutes, but the defense gave up a long touchdown drive through the air. It was Browns backup quarterback Austin Davis who led Cleveland down the field before hitting Travis Benjamin for a 42-yard score. 

That tied it at 27 with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, and the Browns would eventually get into position for a game-winning field goal attempt with three seconds left. It looked like another Ravens win was being thrown away thanks to another fourth-quarter collapse...

But as Browns kicker Travis Coons attempted the game-winning 51-yard field goal, Ravens defensive lineman Brent Urban blocked the kick and safety Will Hill returned it 64 yards for the game-winning touchdown as Baltimore won 33-27.

It was "one of the greatest football games you'll ever see," as head coach John Harbaugh told Bo Smolka of Comcast Sports Net after the game.

It's also the first time this season the Ravens have won consecutive games. In a season full of adversity and gut-wrenching losses, this was the kind of feel-good win Baltimore needed. 

Postgame Grades for Ravens

David Richard/Associated Press

Position	Grade
QB	C
RB	B
WR	B-
TE	C
OL	B+
DL	B-
LB	B-
DB	D
Special Teams	A
Coaching	B-

It was a brand-new backfield for the Ravens in this game with a new starting quarterback and running back against the Browns.

Schaub filled in for the injured Joe Flacco and had an erratic performance. He threw a bad pick-six in the second half and another pick late in the fourth quarter, but he also consistently kept the Ravens offense moving and putting up points. 

It helped that Schaub didn't have to shoulder the offensive load with his ground game doing so well. Running backs Javorius 'Buck' Allen and Terrance West had big runs on the ground and did well against a poor Browns run defense.

The pass-catchers also stepped up as less-heralded guys made big impacts for the first time this season. Allen caught a 13-yard touchdown out of the backfield.

Wide receiver Clay returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown, his first career NFL score of any kind. Aiken continued to step up as the No. 1 receiver with a touchdown catch to go with 80 yards receiving. Chris Givens and Jeremy Butler also made big plays after having few catches coming into this game. 

The offensive line played well against a Browns front line that's struggled but has gotten good pressure on quarterbacks at times this season. It kept Schaub clean most of the night and opened up some nice running lanes on the ground. 

The defense was really improving over the past month, but it took a step back against a Browns offense that's not exactly a juggernaut. Cleveland ranked 30th in total offense coming into this game, but it penetrated the Ravens defense early and often through the air and on the ground.

The defensive line was getting pushed around by the Browns offensive line and had one of its worst games of the season. That helped lead to the linebackers also playing poorly. They adjusted in the second half and began forcing the Browns to rely heavily on the pass, which is typically a bad thing for Baltimore. 

The secondary didn't step up as blown assignments and poor tackling led to Browns quarterbacks having a big night through the air. Thankfully, a great game by the special teams helped Baltimore escape with a win. 

Matt Schaub's First Start an Up-and-Down Game

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

For the first time since 2007, the Ravens had a starting quarterback that was not Flacco.

A season-ending torn ACL suffered last week put Flacco on the shelf for the rest of 2015, marking the first time he's missed a start in his eight-year NFL career. Starting in his place in Cleveland was Schaub, who has plenty of starting experience but has played sparingly over the past two years. 

While it wasn't often pretty, Schaub made his fair share of good plays and put Baltimore in a position to win this game. He finished this game 2-of-34 passing for 232 yards and two scores. 

Schaub did throw a brutal pick-six in the third quarter that gave the Browns their first lead of the night. He bounced back nicely though by leading a touchdown drive right after the mistake that ended with him throwing a 15-yard score to Aiken. 

However, Schaub threw a bad interception with a minute left that almost allowed the Browns to win the game. Thankfully, Hill's kick-six saved Schaub and the Ravens. 

"I've been a part of a lot of crazy endings but that was a first," Schaub said after the game via ESPN's Jamison Hensley. 

In the end, this was about as good of a game as you could ask of any backup quarterback, especially in an offense as depleted as Baltimore's. 

Buck Allen and Terrance West Shine

Jason Miller/Getty Images

While Schaub replacing Flacco was the biggest story in Baltimore this week, losing Justin Forsett for the rest of the season was also a huge blow for the Ravens offense. 

Baltimore's starting running back of the past two seasons broke his arm last week during a 16-13 win over the Rams. That left Allen to finish the game, and he shined in that role as he's done many times during his rookie season. 

Coming into Monday's matchup with the Browns, it was expected that Allen was going to get the bulk of the touches against the league's fifth-worst run defense. However, West was brought up to the 53-man roster last week shortly after joining Baltimore's practice squad, and he ended up getting a lot of touches against his former Browns team.

West rushed for 37 yards on just seven carries and looked like the best back either team played on this night. Allen was no slouch either, finishing with 84 total yards (29 receiving, 55 rushing) and a 13-yard touchdown grab. 

"I thought Buck and Terrance West both ran really hard...capable of being top-notch NFL running backs," head coach Harbaugh said after the game, via Smolka of Comcast Sports Net. 

Both backs looked very decisive and patient while allowing their blocks to develop before hitting the hole and picked up big yards consistently. Given that this came one week after Forsett was lost, seeing these backs respond to the challenge and thrive in it bodes very well for the future of Baltimore's ground game. 

Pass Defense Blows Another Late Lead

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Ravens came into this game battered, bruised and depleted throughout their offense and defense, but they did just enough to take a lead into the fourth quarter. 

As has been the case many times this season though, the secondary played poorly down the stretch and gave up the lead. This time, they did so to Browns backup quarterback Davis, who had to fill in for the injured Josh McCown in the fourth quarter. 

Davis hadn't attempted a pass this season and was just signed by Cleveland in September as an emergency QB behind McCown and Johnny Manziel. However, Manziel was the third-string QB in this game due to disciplinary reasons, leaving Davis to enter the game in the final quarter and lead Cleveland back from a seven-point deficit. 

Seems like a situation the Ravens should be able to handle, right?

Not this secondary. They allowed Davis to lead Cleveland down the field in just six plays and 2:23 to tie the game at 27 with 1:47 left.

After Baltimore punted the ball, the secondary missed a chance to end the game as Lardarius Webb dropped what should have been an interception in Cleveland territory. That would have put Baltimore in position for the game-winning field goal as time expired, but Webb let it slip through his fingers, which is the theme of this defense in 2015.

Thankfully, Baltimore's special teams blocked Cleveland's potential game-winning field goal and took it to the house for the game-winning score. For once, the Ravens were able to overcome a late-game collapse by their secondary.