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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- While plenty of fans kept an eye on the
baseball game next door, the Baltimore Ravens pitched another
shutout.
|  | | Matt Stover scored all the Ravens points, including this 45-yard field goal in the first quarter.
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The Ravens became the first NFL team in 15 years to shut out
consecutive opponents while kicker Matt Stover supplied what
offense there was in a 12-0 victory over the Cleveland Browns on
Sunday.
Some of the biggest cheers of the day came when updates were
flashed on the scoreboard from the Indians' game against Toronto at
nearby Jacobs Field. They won 11-4 to maintain their flickering
playoff hopes.
The Ravens didn't give Cleveland's football fans much to shout
about.
"Our defense was magnificent," Baltimore coach Brian Billick
said.
The shutout was Baltimore's third of the season. The Ravens
(4-1), who beat Cincinnati 37-0 last week, became the first NFL
team to string together shutouts since the 1985 Chicago Bears beat
Dallas 44-0 and Atlanta 36-0 in successive games.
"We were resilient," said cornerback Rod Woodson, who
intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in the end zone. "They
moved the ball on us pretty good. It shows the character of this
defense."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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While the Ravens are playing outstanding defense, they're trying to develop a rhythm and consistency on offense. They did move the football but were not successful converting their drives into touchdowns. Baltimore ran the football effectively, but its scoring was limited to four field goals.
This is the second straight week the Ravens have recorded a shutout -- that has not happened in the NFL since the 1985 Chicago Bears.
The Browns were victimized by too many turnovers. Tim Couch moved the football in the air, but he threw three interceptions, which proved too difficult to overcome. Cleveland gave a good defensive effort, but you've obviously got to score points.
The Ravens have established themselves as one of the premiere defensive teams in the league. But they have to develop some consistency on offense if they want to take the next step and be considered one of the elite teams in football.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director of football operations.
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The Ravens discussed another shutout in their workouts this
week.
"We threw that out to our guys as a challenge and that is no
disrespect to the Browns. It didn't matter who we were coming in
against," Billick said.
Stover was a member of the previous Browns franchise when it was
moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season by owner Art Modell. He
converted field goals of 45, 30, 44 and 22 yards as the Ravens'
offense continually faltered as it got close to the end zone.
The same held true for the Browns (2-3), limited to 23 rushing
yards on 13 attempts by the NFL's top defense against the run.
Quarterback Tim Couch was hit hard by Sam Adams after the
Browns' only substantial gainer of the first half -- a 38-yard pass
to David Patten -- and Couch had to be helped off the field with a
hyperextended right knee.
"When he went down, I thought he was gone for the year,"
Browns coach Chris Palmer said. "He was in a great deal of pain."
The pass play resulted in a first down at the Baltimore 8, but
fullback Marc Edwards fumbled on the next two plays. He recovered
the first one himself, but Woodson fell on the second in the end
zone to snuff the threat.
Couch sat out the rest of the first half, but returned in the
third quarter to complete seven of nine passes in a drive that took
the Browns to the Baltimore 19. But on first down, his pass to
Dennis Northcutt was picked off by linebacker Ray Lewis, who caught
it with one hand.
"I thought we could have beat those guys if we just would have
capitalized when we got chances," said Couch, 20-of-35 passing for
203 yards with three interceptions.
After a Baltimore punt, the Browns took over at the Ravens 48
and had a first down at the 3 after a pass-interference call.
But Travis Prentice was thrown for a 7-yard loss by Woodson
after Prentice collided with Couch on the handoff. On
fourth-and-goal from the 6, Couch flipped a pass to Prentice, who
was stopped at the 4 by James Trapp.
Baltimore's offense wasn't much more productive. The Ravens took
over at the Cleveland 47 twice and the Browns 32 another time in
the first half -- and mustered just three points.
Jamal Lewis scored on a 2-yard run midway through the second
quarter, but the TD was disallowed by a holding penalty.
"We were not quite in synch offensively," Billick said. "We
probably made more mental errors today than we had all year."
After taking the second-half kickoff, the Ravens put together a
19-play drive that ate almost 10 minutes off the clock. But a
running play lost 2 yards and Tony Banks misfired on two more
passes at the Cleveland 4 before Stover was called on again.
Game
notes
The grandmother and aunt of one of two men stabbed to death
Jan. 31 outside a suburban Atlanta bar protested outside the
stadium. Ray Lewis and two friends originally were charged in the
deaths. The protesters held up signs demanding a news conference
with NFL officials. ... Cleveland tailback Errict Rhett sustained a
sprained foot and will be out "an extended period of time,"
Palmer said. ... Prentice was Cleveland's leading rusher -- with 13
yards on seven carries. ... The game began a three-game road swing
for Baltimore, with games coming up at Jacksonville and Washington.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Baltimore Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
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