OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As the season winds down the schedule gets tougher and the victories get sweeter.
"It was a big win. It was a big win, an important win in a really tough venue against a really good team," said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on Monday.
His team defeated Jacksonville on Sunday night, 23-7, to stay atop the AFC with an 11-3 record.
"Our guys played the kind of football they needed to play to win that game," he said.
That included 251 yards rushing. 204 of those yards came in the second half. The Ravens wore down what was the fourth-best run defense in the NFL.
"When the time of possession started to add up it made it more difficult to stop the run and I think our guys just got better and better blocking the run and running the ball and we popped some runs," said Harbaugh. "Obviously Keaton had some big runs for us and that’s obviously a very heartbreaking loss for us."
That was the only dark cloud hanging over the the team on Monday. Keaton Mitchell suffered a serious knee injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game that has ended his season.
Harbaugh said it is a ligament tear for the undrafted rookie. It is specifically an ACL tear according to multiple national reports.
"It’s a long-term knee thing," said Harbaugh. "There wasn’t cartilage-type damage and things like that. So that helps quite a bit. It will be a little cleaner."
You have to feel for Mitchell who was enjoying a breakout past few weeks, bursting onto the scene with 47 carries for 396 yards and two touchdowns in the last six games. He had 73 rushing yards on nine carries against the Jags.
Now enter Melvin Gordon. The veteran running back will be elevated from the practice squad this week as the Ravens get ready for their Christmas night game in San Francisco (11-3).
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
