Baltimore Ravens Post Game Observations: Ray Rice Emerges From Slump In Win

The Baltimore Ravens are mentioned amongst the league elite, but today's win over the Denver Broncos signaled that this team has not reached their full potential.

Despite Baltimore only winning by two touchdowns, it was a total rout by the Ravens throughout the entire game.

After coming up short of points on the first drive, Joe Flacco continued to share the football with all his weapons, finding Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, and TJ Houshmandzadeh.

Flacco also found rookie tight end Ed Dickson on a 58-yard reception in the first quarter. Despite not throwing a touchdown pass, Flacco did not turn the ball over once during today's matchup.

However, the highlight of the game was the resurrection of the Ravens running attack. Ray Rice was back at 100%, and he showed his signs of brilliance on the field. Rice rushed the ball 27 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Leron McClain also got involved, earning a few runs that moved the chains along with goal line runs.

Willis McGahee had 10 carries on 67 yards, including a long touchdown run to ice the win for the Ravens.

The media questioned the Ravens offense through the first four weeks, which was averaging only 15 points a game. As mentioned yesterday, I felt it was time to put together a balanced attack, and it was a perfect time to start against a Broncos defense that did have its questions.

What can be taken out of this is that there are no questions as to what this running game can do. If the Ravens want to continue being among the elite teams in the league, it is going to be up to Joe Flacco to improve his connection with his receivers.

The biggest challenge, however, was whether the Ravens defense can contain the No. 1 passing offense in football. And for the most part, that was accomplished. Baltimore shut down the running game early on in the game, making Denver one-dimensional.

They did allow a few long touchdown catches by Brandon Lloyd. However, the secondary took it easy within the final seven minutes of the game, when the win was already at hand.

There is room for improvement to be made within the secondary, but through the first five weeks this unit is playing better than expected.

Cornerback Fabian Washington arguably had his best game as a Raven, and Lardarius Webb continues to play good as well.

Next week, the Ravens travel to New England to take on the Patriots. A full team effort will be needed to pull out a win on the road against a rested Patriots squad.

After that, the schedule favors the Ravens with home games against the Bills, Dolphins, and at the Falcons.

There is enough talent on this team for the Baltimore Ravens to be a Super Bowl contender. This weeks win over the Denver Broncos showed more hope for this team, and their ability to continue to improve into a Super Bowl contender.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. He also covers the Ravens for NFL.com's " NFL Blog Blitz".

Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/MattMiselis.