As Trevor Pryce goes, so does the Ravens’ pass rush.
Pryce, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive lineman, recorded his first sack of the season and 80th of his career during a 28-10 win over Cleveland on Sunday.
The return of Pryce, who missed 11 games last season with a broken wrist and torn pectoral muscle, is a major reason why the Ravens are 2-0 for just the third time. The Ravens had just 32 sacks in 2007 after posting 60, including 13 by Pryce, the previous season.
This fall, the Ravens already have seven sacks through two games, a mark that took them five games to reach last season.
Against the Browns, the Ravens sacked quarterback Derek Anderson five times, including two by linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had the 10th multi-sack game of his career. The Ravens are 10-0 when Suggs records at least two sacks in a game.
“We were fighting through double teams [against the Browns],” Pryce said. “When you have a quarterback like [Anderson], a guy who is 6-6 and has an arm like that, you can’t blitz him too much. That was the one thing we didn’t want to do, so we had to get pressure with three and four, and in the second half we figured it out and kind of got hot going a little bit.”
On the mend
Running back Willis McGahee played for the first time this season on Sunday after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during training camp.
He did, however, suffer a cut right eyelid against the Browns.
“His eye is really swollen up badly,” Coach John Harbaugh said. “That was unfortunate; it shouldn’t have happened. I’m sure he’ll be fine for [Monday’s game against Pittsburgh], but he’s got some work to do just to get the swelling out of it right now.”
Harbaugh expects cornerback Samari Rolle to be fine after injuring his right shoulder while making an interception to secure the victory over the Browns. Rolle, who has 29 career interceptions, was visibly sore after the win and struggled to raise his arm.
“Samari’s fairly sore,” Harbaugh said, “but he should be fine.”
Three’s not a crowd
Harbaugh said he is comfortable going deep into the season with a three-man running back committee of McGahee, Le’Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice.
The Ravens rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries against the Browns. The Ravens rank second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (190).
“To have three running backs that you feel comfortable with, that helps you,” Harbaugh said. “It’s like rotating defensive linemen. We don’t necessarily subscribe to the fact that one guy’s got to carry it 35 or 40 times.”
