Baltimore Ravens Win Over the Saints Shows They Are Peaking at the Right Time

The Baltimore Ravens win over the New Orleans Saints is only the beginning of their stretch run through the 2010 playoffs. A win this week against the Cleveland Browns officially clinches a playoff spot for the Ravens, who look to enter the postseason for the third straight season.

The past two years, the Ravens have won three playoff games, all on the road. However, are the Ravens ready to take the next step and play to their potential? Sunday's win over the defending champs shows they are beginning to show their potential.

Ray Rice had his best game of the season to date with three total touchdowns and over 200-plus total yards of offense. This was a huge game for the offense, especially since they have been under fire the last few weeks for being a conservative unit.

It was huge for both the running game and the offensive line to have a big day. It was interesting to see how Cam Cameron put Marshal Yanda back in his regular position at guard and used Chris Chester as a big tight end.

The screens involving Rice were also a positive sign against the Saints, as this was another ineffective play Baltimore couldn't use all season long.

The  Saints defense under Greg Williams is no slouch, and even they couldn't stop Rice consistently for all four quarters. Many people were expecting the Ravens to get back to the running game in late December, but I didn't think it would have that much success.

According to players and coaches in the locker room, the Ravens never abandoned the running game but instead weren't using it as effectively as it can be.

Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will benefit from not being as active in the offense through the first three months of the season, because they will be fresh runners once the postseason hits.

The emergence of the running game will also benefit Joe Flacco in many ways. Flacco has taken major steps into being a good quarterback in this league, especially by avoiding the costly turnovers over the past three months.

Although there will have to be a balanced offense come playoff time, you can expect to see see Cam Cameron dile up new schemes over the next two weeks against the Browns and the Bengals.

The defensive side and special teams are making a name for themselves like they did all season. Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison did not show any signs of playing prevent defense against the Saints.

Mattison had his defense blitz just over 50 percent of the time, the second most this season for the Ravens (they blitzed more against Tom Brady).

The issue isn't the secondary. When pressure is brought on opposing quarterbacks, Lardarius Webb, Chris Carr, and Josh Wilson are able to make plays alongside Ed Reed. The running defense is returning to form as one of the best in the league over the past month as well.

The main area of concern is giving up plays to opposing offenses who love stretching the field, such as the Saints.

On special teams, John Harbaugh continues to put together one of the best units every season.

Billy Cundiff is on pace to break the all time regular season record for most touch-backs in a season and Sam Koch leads all punters in punts inside the 20-yard line.

However, despite being at 10-4 this team hasn't hit their potential. The offense should continue to put 30-plus points a game, while the defense and special teams can close the door over the next month.

The 2010 Baltimore Ravens have all the talent, and the mixture of young and veteran players to be a contender.

This win over the Saints could be a sign of good things to come for the Ravens, who look to earn their second championship in team history.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com.

Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/MattMiselis.