Dein erstes Forum » The Baltimore Ravens find themselves 4-4 a

CHARLOTTE Lamar Jackson Jersey 2019 , N.C. (AP) — t the midway point of the NFL season and with a once vaunted and top-ranked defense suddenly looking inward for answers.“I’m very concerned,” Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce said. “We have to find a way to correct this ASAP if we want to reach our goal, which is to get to the playoffs.”For the second week in row, the league’s top-ranked defense struggled against an NFC South opponent.Baltimore allowed Cam Newton and the Panthers to roll up 386 yards on offense and score 24 first half points in a 36-21 loss Sunday in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Newton scored three touchdowns in all, and the Panthers used misdirection plays to keep the Ravens off balance.Baltimore never sacked Newton and failed to create a turnover.It didn’t help that Joe Flacco threw two interceptions and running back Alex Collins fumbled, leading to a Carolina touchdown.But the defense, which has been the strength of this team, once again wasn’t there.The loss comes one week after Baltimore’s defense allowed Drew Brees to throw for 212 yards and two touchdowns and the Saints to run for 134 yards in a 24-23 loss.“You know, we are 4-4. We’re an average team,” safety Eric Weddle said. “We just lost, got blown out. So we’re, I wouldn’t say rock bottom, but we have to look at ourselves and get back to work.”Division foes Pittsburgh (4-2-1) and Cincinnati (5-3) both won Sunday, leaving the Ravens in third and in need of a win next week when they host the Steelers, who’ve won three straight.“It’s a huge game White Lamar Jackson Jersey ,” Weddle said. “Obviously a divisional game leading into the bye. The way our division is shaping up, this is a big game for us. Look at yourself — don’t get emotional, don’t get sensitive. This is part of the National Football League, so get coached up, look at the things you didn’t do well and move on. Don’t let this loss linger in any way. Just continue to get better. That’s all we can do. “Added Pierce: “It’s personal pride and we have to man up to what everybody’s doing and see what is going on, because two weeks in a row we didn’t get the job done.”Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said the team will need to rely on its veteran leaders to get through this tough time — and stay even keeled along the way.“We are not going to get too low, but the attention to detail increases now,” Suggs said. “We have to play better in the red zone, and we have to play better situational football. Therefore, the game doesn’t get so on top of us. We are extremely disappointed, but we have enough veterans on this team and we understand the task at hand. Especially with all these home games we’ve got coming, so if we handle our business at home, we will be all right.”Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said he was “surprised” at his team’s disappointing performance, particularly after they jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and seemed to have momentum.“Yeah, I didn’t expect that White Mark Andrews Jersey ,” Harbaugh said. “We just didn’t click in anything. We weren’t good in any area. There was nothing we did well and that starts with me. I mean, that’s where it belongs, so put it on me and then move forward and get ready for Pittsburgh.” Just a year ago, the Browns were winless. They were aimless. They looked hopeless.Disgusted with their laughable team, some Cleveland fans spent the holidays planning a tongue-in-cheek parade around FirstEnergy Stadium to celebrate a probable 0-16 season. Coach Hue Jackson promised to jump into Lake Erie.Those gloomy days are long gone. The Browns have turned it around."It's been a long time coming," wide receiver Rashad Higgins said. "We were due for a winning team."Overdue.With their 26-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Browns (7-7-1) completed the biggest turnaround in franchise history. Cleveland's seven-game improvement 鈥?and it could be eight with a win this week in Baltimore 鈥?since last season tops the six-game jumps the team made in 1976 and 2007.It's been a remarkable swing for a franchise that has had just two winning seasons since its 1999 expansion reboot. And it's a stunning rise for a team that endured a late-October coaching change, and if not for a play here and there, would be preparing for the playoffs.In an unpredictable season across the NFL, Cleveland's one-year comeback may be the biggest shocker of all.As the final seconds bled from the clock on Sunday and the Browns clinched their best home record in 11 years at 5-2-1, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield took the snap and dropped to a knee before urging the sellout crowd to scream louder than it had all day.After shaking hands with a few Cincinnati players, Mayfield, who had been serenaded with chants of "Ba-ker! Ba-ker!" throughout much of the second half, then sprinted toward the locker room.In a way, Mayfield's departure after the home finale felt more like an arrival. The Browns are back Mark Andrews Jersey 2019 , and Mayfield intends to keep them around."I relate to Cleveland," said Mayfield, who threw three touchdown passes and improved to 6-6 as a starter. "The work ethic, the stuff that you have to earn it around here, that is what the Browns are all about. It is going to be a good relationship for a long time."To interim coach Gregg Williams, Cleveland's surge this season isn't a surprise. Williams, who has led the Browns to a 5-2 record since taking over for Jackson, has always felt the team had enough talent to win and is finally putting it together."I don't ever walk into any game thinking that we can't win, and I thought that last year," said Williams, whose candidacy for the full-time job after the season improves with every victory. "I thought we played extremely well enough in many of those games to win games, and that is how close and tough the league is. It comes down to anywhere from three to four to four to five plays a game."Now, we are making more of those plays. The more you make, the easier it is to buy in to understanding of this is how we play as a team. A team wins the game, not individuals."Williams has always put team goals first youth C.J. Mosley Jersey , and while there are several factors that have led to Cleveland's turnaround, he believes an emphasis on accountability has transformed the Browns."We have been able to help them understand that you have to do your job and you have to block out the outside distractions," he said. "You have to focus and rally together and play for each other. They have done a very good job of not only just doing their job but supporting each other. People see that in team execution over individual execution."Williams will likely go into Sunday's game against the Ravens (9-6) uncertain of his future. Long before the Browns rattled off five wins in six games, general manager John Dorsey said Williams will be one of the candidates he interviews when the season ends.Dorsey may never have considered that Williams would emerge as possibly the best coach going forward.Williams has not publicly campaigned for the job, and he wasn't about to start Monday. He declined to say if he was hoping to get a guarantee like the one Baltimore gave John Harbaugh last week."We are on to the Ravens," he said.Williams' short-term goal is to have his team ready to take on Baltimore's league-leading defense, and to possibly spoil the Ravens' playoff hopes. If Cleveland beats Baltimore, the Pittsburgh Steelers could take the division with a win over Cincinnati."We will treat this like it is our playoff game," Williams said. "We will treat it that way because that is how intense the game is going to be. It will be fun."NOTES: Rookie CB Denzel Ward remains in concussion protocol after suffering his second head injury in three weeks on Sunday. Williams said Ward "was much better" when he left the stadium but doesn't know if he'll face the Ravens. ... At 3-1-1, the Browns have clinched their first winning season inside the AFC North since it was formed in 2002.