The Ravens showed once again that they're a different team at home than on the road with a 55-20 rout of the Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Baltimore's defense played its best game since the season-opener against Cincinnati, forcing Oakland (3-6, 1-2 AFC West) to throw by taking away the run. Despite the success, Ravens LB Dannell Ellerbe admitted he felt the run defense's showing didn't prove anything since Oakland was without Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson.
The offense couldn't be stopped as QB Joe Flacco kept pressing the Oakland defense until the game got out of hand in the third quarter.
But the game was highlighted by special teams, which has been stellar amid this season's ups and downs. With 5:40 left in the third quarter, P Sam Koch ran a fake field goal 7 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter, WR Jacoby Jones returned a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown, making him the first Ravens (7-2, 3-0 AFC North) player to have two kickoff return touchdowns in a single season and career in Baltimore history. Jones had a 108-yard return for a touchdown in Week 6 against Dallas.
"This is Ravens football," S Bernard Pollard said. "That is as close to 60 minutes, as a team, that we've played all year long."
When the game turned: Up 34-17 in the third quarter, Baltimore punted to Raiders return specialist Phillip Adams, who muffed the kick, and Ravens LB Brendon Ayanbadejo recovering the fumble. On Baltimore's next offensive play, from Oakland's 20, Flacco hit WR Torrey Smith for the second-year receiver's second touchdown reception of the game and a 41-17 lead.
Highlight moments: Koch's fake field goal run for a touchdown came with Oakland overloading its left side of the formation. The call came in to the specialists and Koch executed it perfectly, scoring his first NFL touchdown. ... Having not reached the end zone in the past five games, TE Dennis Pitta reeled in a tough grab for a score in the second quarter. ... Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey caught a pass coming across to the right side of the field with Ravens S Ed Reed zeroing in on him. Reed led with his right shoulder but bounced off Heyward-Bey, who then turned up the field to finish a 55-yard touchdown.
Top-shelf performances:
• Ravens QB Flacco -- 21 of 33, 341 yards, 3 TDs, INT, rushing TD
• Ravens WR Smith -- 2 receptions, 67 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Ravens TE Pitta -- 5 receptions, 67 yards, TD
• Ravens S Pollard -- 11 tackles, sack
• Raiders QB Carson Palmer -- 29 of 45, 368 yards, 2 TDs, INT
• Raiders WR Denarius Moore -- 4 catches, 90 yards, TD
• Raiders WR Heyward-Bey -- 5 catches, 82 yards, TD
What they said about Koch's fake punt for a touchdown:
• Ravens P Koch: "For whatever reason, when that call came in I was less nervous than I am for a regular punt. I feel like putting it in my hands with (long snapper) Morgan (Cox) there, doing the great snap that he does, and our blocking up front -- it's so easy at that point."
• Ravens K Justin Tucker: "That was a sweet play. It started with a great snap from (Cox), good blocking up front, patient running. That was a sweet play altogether. But I think the sweetest part about that play, though, was the Thor-like (celebration) spike from Sam Koch."
• Ravens coach John Harbaugh on if calling a fake field goal up 41-17 was running up the score: "I don't have any answer to that because it's the National Football League. I put no credence in that. It's the way you line up your field goal formation, your defense. You line up your defense inside the 10-yard line to defend those things and they knew that. They took a chance. The main thing is how our guys executed."
• Raiders CB Michael Huff: "That's football. We're all grown men. Obviously, if we didn't like it, we have to stop it."
Injury update: Ravens -- DT Haloti Ngata (knee/shoulder) dressed but didn't play. Harbaugh said it was the team's plan not to play Ngata if it didn't have to. CB Jimmy Smith (abs/groin) could not get loose during pre-game warmups, so he didn't play despite being active. S Reed suffered a right shoulder stinger in the second quarter, which he deemed "minor." Raiders -- Oakland coach Dennis Allen said LB Travis Goethel has a "significant" knee injury and that he'll have an MRI on Monday. Huff has a calf injury and both S Matt Giordano and TE Brandon Myers suffered concussions.
Going forward: Ravens -- Being 7-2 is exceptional with the upcoming three-game stretch. Baltimore will travel to Pittsburgh next week before flying to San Diego the week after. Once the Ravens are back from San Diego, they'll face Pittsburgh again at home. Raiders -- Oakland hosts New Orleans next week, which could be problematic given how the defense has looked the last two games. It won't get any easier after that as the Raiders travel to Cincinnati the following week.
Follow Ravens reporter Jason Butt on Twitter: @CBSRavens and @JasonButtCBS.
Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders.
