According to Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens defense has its swagger back. Well, almost.
They need to improve their celebrations first, Hamilton said after the Ravens’ 27-19 win in Minnesota. But the mere fact that they’re planning them shows that they expect them and is a far cry from the feeling around Baltimore’s defense earlier this season.
On a day in which Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense had an uneven performance, Baltimore had three takeaways, including two interceptions, and had three fourth-down stops.
“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Hamilton said. “It’s not a surprise to us. I think we’re playing to our potential now, and that has to be sustained.”
Heading into their Week 7 game against the Bears with a 1-5 record, the Ravens’ defense was ranked last in the league in points allowed per game (32.3) and had just three takeaways in six games.
Baltimore now has seven takeaways in its past three games. Turnovers come in bunches, they say, and the Ravens are reaping the rewards.
Baltimore also held one of the best wide receivers in the game, Justin Jefferson, to just four catches for 37 yards on 12 targets. Fellow top receiver Jordan Addison had just three catches for 35 yards.
In his fourth career game, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy started hot but finished completing less than half of his passes (20 of 42) for 248 yards.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens didn’t do too much out of the norm to deal with Jefferson.
“We rolled the quarters to them a couple of times, but that’s really still covering the guys,” Harbaugh said. “I think the credit goes to the players. I thought our guys did a great job of just covering.”
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