OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It was a gutty, grind-it-out victory for the Ravens' 14th consecutive in the regular season.
"A very important win yesterday against a very good team, an AFC contending team," said Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh during his weekly day-after-game press conference.
Sunday’s 33-16 win in Houston moved Baltimore to 2-0. The offense spread the ball around. Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards all played significant roles and helped the Ravens rush for 230 yards. Quarterback Lamar Jackson connected with nine different guys through the air.
"You can’t help but say this is a very accurate passer," said Harbaugh. "He puts the ball where it needs to be, in some really tight spaces, on a really regular basis."
Jackson had 18 completions on 24 attempts for 204 yards and a touchdown against the Texans.
Big-time plays also came from the defense. Marlon Humphrey punched the ball out, leading to L.J. Fort’s 22-yard touchdown. Marcus Peters' also went full-extension in the air for his first interception of the season.
The bad injury news from the game occurred early. Tavon Young suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the first quarter. After missing all of 2017 (ACL injury to left knee) and 2019 (neck) with injuries, the cornerback will miss the rest of 2020.
"It is a torn ACL. It’s only a torn ACL, so that’s a positive," said Harbaugh. "He’ll have surgery and go into rehab. He’ll fight his way back. There’s no question about it."
Now comes the matchup not only Baltimore has been waiting for but every football fan has been looking forward to since the schedule came out in May. Ravens-Chiefs. Lamar- Mahomes on Monday night.
"Who wouldn’t get excited for a game like this, when you’re playing a team that is the defending champs, the favorites to win the whole thing again. You’re going to get excited about it. It’s not something that we downplay. We don’t ignore it. We try to embrace it," said Harbaugh.
Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, is 0-2 against quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, and the Chiefs over the past two years. Both games were in Kansas City. Next Monday both 2-0 teams will kick off in Baltimore but there won't be the normal type of home field advantage. Fans will not be in the stands.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
