Baltimore Ravens get an ugly 16-13 win over the St. Louis Rams
By Joe Serpico
The Baltimore Ravens defeated the St. Louis Rams, 16-13, on Justin Tucker’s 47-yard field goal at the end of regulation.
It was not pretty to say the least. However, the Baltimore Ravens will take any win they can get at this point of the season.
The Ravens got the win despite a poor performance from Joe Flacco, but Rams quarterback Case Keenum did not fare much better, coughing up the football with the Rams in position to potentially take the game from the Ravens. Courtney Upshaw was able to come up with the strip-sack and put Baltimore in position for Justin Tucker to hit a 47-yard field goal to give the Ravens their third win of the season.
All was not good for the Ravens as they lost another key piece to the team early in the contest. Running back Justin Forsett went down with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter with a broken right arm, and it’s likely he is out for the season. He had his arm placed into an air cast when he walked off the field, and the Ravens immediately announced that the running back was out for the game.
Justin Forsett has a broken right arm. He is out for the rest of the game.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 22, 2015
The Rams opened the scoring on the following drive which was led by a 49-yard pass interference penalty on Jimmy Smith. Rams running back Todd Gurley was able to punch it in three plays later from a yard out to give St. Louis a 7-0 lead.
Baltimore’s own Tavon Austin fumbled a punt that gave the Ravens terrific field position at the Rams 31-yard line. The Ravens were unable to punch it in for a touchdown and settled for a 25-yard field goal from Justin Tucker to close out the first half, trailing 7-3.
Joe Flacco’s terrible season continued with another horrific interception in the second quarter. Flacco threw off his back foot and had the ball sail over Crockett Gillmore and into the hands of Rams safety Rodney McLeod. That was also the case in the third quarter when Flacco lofted a ball to Trumaine Johnson.
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Following Flacco’s second INT, the Rams needed just three plays to score on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks. Baltimore did block the extra point to make it a 13-3 lead for St. Louis.
Brandon Williams had a monster performance for the Ravens and is without question the team MVP this season. He made two huge stops on Gurley on third down plays and also forced a Gurley fumble to set the Ravens up with excellent field position early in the fourth. Baltimore capitalized on the Rams third fumble of the day on a touchdown pass to Kamar Aiken to cut the Rams lead to three points at 13-10.
The Ravens defense forced a punt on the Rams next possession and the Ravens moved down the field in a hurry. Flacco found Crockett Gillmore wide open on the left side of the field and Gillmore picked up 46 yards to get the Ravens to the 8-yard-line. Baltimore was unable to punch it in for the touchdown, but Tucker hit the 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 13 apiece.
The Rams followed up with a drive that ended on a missed 52-yard field goal and the Ravens got excellent field position with under two minutes remaining. Tucker came on for his second 51-yard field goal of the day and missed it for the second time.
The Rams were afforded with terrific field position on the final drive of the fourth quarter, but fumbled once again for the fourth turnover of the day, giving Baltimore the ball at the St. Louis 41-yard-line. The Ravens used all the clock to set Tucker up for the final play of the game. Tucker wouldn’t miss again as the Ravens got the win in the ugliest of fashions, 16-13. Tucker finished 2-for-4 on the day, but his final field goal is what mattered most for Baltimore.
The Ravens got the win, but there is little to be pleased with. They were penalized six times for 107 yards in the first half. The lack of discipline continued into the second half as the Ravens were flagged for three personal foul penalties on one play, finishing with 10 penalties for 137 yards on the day. It’s about time John Harbaugh makes a statement with his players and puts these guys on the bench when they are costing his team.
Next: Justin Forsett Breaks Right Arm, Likely Out For Season
The Ravens are now 3-7 on the season and will play on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. The Ravens will have more personeel decisions to make leading up to Monday with the injuries taking their toll once again.