Throughout their history, the Baltimore Ravens have maintained a reputation as a hard-nosed, defense-first team, and anyone who watched them throughout the 2000s and early 2010s knows that reputation is well-earned. During that time, the Ravens consistently had one of the best defenses in the league. Their dominance was largely thanks to three players: outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, inside linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed. All three are Hall of Fame players in their own right, but Reed may have been the hardest to prepare for thanks to his nearly-unmatched coverage skills and football IQ.
The Ravens were also in Super Bowl contention most years during his stretch, and that meant they crossed paths with the juggernaut New England Patriots quite often. Whenever they did meet the Patriots, Bill Belichick's team had to prepare for anything.
On his "Games With Names" podcast, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman sat down with longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and both discuessed the challenges Reed and the Ravens' defense presented.
"I just remember any time we'd play Ed Reed or Ray Lewis, Bill Belichick would show like a 20-play cutup of just a highlight of these two, 'These two will fing blow you up,'" Edelman said. "Like just that kind of s. Cover 3, that's what you thought. And then like Ed Reed would be in the second, you know what I mean?"
McDaniels was essentially Belichick's right-hand man for much of the legendary coach's run in New England, so he knows better than anyone how Belichick prepared for Baltimore.
"His favorite thing to say to us was that they don't need to play split safety defense. They just play post safety and Ed covers both sides of the field," McDaniels said. "And it like got in your head as a coach, you're like 'Oh man, can we throw it back there or no, ever?'
"That's a tribute to the greatness of the player. Like when you talk about a defensive coordinator trying to get ready for [Peyton] Manning, that's what that felt like when you were getting ready to play Reed, Lewis, Suggs to me."
The Ravens and Patriots met four times in the postseason between 2009 and 2014, with each team taking two games. At the height of the rivalry, the Ravens may have hated the Patriots more than any other team not named the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although the rivalry has cooled off a bit recently, those clashes will live on forever.
The Ravens Are Back: How Their Rivals Fared in Week 1
After losing a heartbreaker to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens were just hoping for their rivals to lose as well so they could get back on even footing. They didn't get the clean sweep, but hey, two out of three isn't bad.
Starting off with the one team that won: the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the new-look Atlanta Falcons 18-10 on the road. Justin Fields got the start in place of the injured Russell Wilson, and managed the game well enough as he completed 17 of 23 passes for 156 yards and had 14 carries for 57 yards.
As is basically tradition for Mike Tomlin's team at this point, though, the defense more than made up for a ho-hum offense. T.J. Watt and co. made life difficult for new Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, picking him off twice and constantly getting in his face. Kicker Chris Boswell also had a game to remember as he made all six of his field goal attempts, including three from more than 50 yards out.
One team that couldn't overcome a poor offensive performance was the Cincinnati Bengals, who lost 16-10 to the New England Patriots at home in perhaps the biggest upset of the day. Joe Burrow completed 21 of 29 passes, but managed just 164 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked three times. Cincinnati also had two costly fumbles - one of which came just as they were about to score - that both led to New England field goals.
On the defensive side, the Bengals struggled to contain Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who ran for 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. That, combined with a strong defensive performance, was enough to give Jerod Mayo his first win as Patriots head coach, while the Bengals start 0-1 for the third season in a row.
Then in the late window, the Cleveland Browns played host to the Dallas Cowboys in America's Game of the Week on Fox, which also marked the debut of Tom Brady in the broadcaster booth. Unfortunately for the Browns, that wasn't enough to save them from a 33-17 loss, and even the final score was deceiving.
The main story from the game was the poor play of controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson. In his first game back from a season-ending shoulder injury, Watson completed just 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards (3.8 yards per attempt), one touchdown and two interceptions, was sacked six times and posted a dreadful quarterback rrating of 9.4. His good moments in Cleveland have been few and far between, and with the contract the Browns gave him, they're essentially stuck with him.
On the other side, the newly-minted Dak Prescott completed 19 of 32 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. Ezekiel Elliott scored a touchdown in his first game back with the Cowboys, while Kavonte Turpin had a punt-return touchdown. Dallas' offense didn't do anything spectacular, but it was more than enough to win the day.
So, after one week, the Steelers stand atop the division at 1-0 while the Ravens, Bengals and Browns are 0-1. All four teams have playoff potential, so it will be interesting to see the race unfold throughout the season.
The End of the Road for the Ravens' Rivalry with the Patriots?
While the Ravens' current rivalry with the Steelers continues to rage on, there is no doubt that the Ravens-Patriots rivalry, fueled by a series of playoff matchups, was one of the most captivating rivalries in the NFL in the 2010s. The Patriots were led by Tom Brady and Belichick, while the Ravens were led by Reed, Lewis and Suggs, but now that era has come to an end, and the future of this rivalry remains uncertain. However, one thing is for sure: the memories of those battles will forever be etched in the annals of NFL history.
