CINCINNATI – For weeks, Ravens’ players and coaches made a bold prediction: Mark Clayton was on the verge of a breakout performance.
They don’t have to talk about it anymore. The receiver torched the Bengals for 196 all-purpose yards that included a 32-yard touchdown pass and a career-high 164 receiving yards, highlighted by a spectacular, one-handed catch for a 70-yard touchdown.
“Somebody makes a play and then it snowballs,” Clayton said. “Today, it just happened to come my way.”
And Bengals cornerback Leon Hall had a first-hand look, as Clayton victimized him on both touchdowns to power the Ravens (8-4) to a 34-3 victory over the Bengals (1-10-1) at Paul Brown Stadium.
“It was a rough day. It’s just one of those things where I have to go back, look at film and check out what I have to do better,” Hall said. “I was just playing outside defense. It was man-to-man. He was my guy to cover.”
Clayton’s first highlight-reel play came midway through the third quarter, when he took a handoff from Joe Flacco. But instead of running a reverse — like he did for a touchdown in a season-opening victory over the Bengals — he threw a scoring pass to Derrick Mason, who was wide open.
Less than three minutes later, Clayton made a one-handed grab on a Flacco pass and dashed 70 yards for a touchdown as Hall fell to the turf.
“Well let’s see, I think he had two long catches and a throw for a touchdown, right? That’s pretty hard to duplicate,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Mark has done a really great job of just coming to work every day. He’s as hard of a worker as we have on our team. Between him and Mason, they get out there and kill themselves in practice, and it shows up in the game.”
The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder is starting to reemerge as the player the Ravens envisioned when they signed him to a five-year contract that could be worth as much as $11 million after they selected him with the 22nd pick in the 2005 draft.
Consider: Clayton entered the game with 23 catches for 311 yards, but increased his receiving yards by more than 50 percent during Sunday’s win.
Clayton’s performance the past month has made the team forget about him making just 48 catches for 531 yards and no touchdowns last season as he dealt with several injuries and a divorce from his pregnant wife.
Clayton’s emergence comes at an opportune time for the Ravens, who finally have a receiver to complement Derrick Mason, the team’s leading receiver. Clayton’s 28 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns prevent teams from focusing their coverage on Mason, who has a team-high 62 receptions for 811 yards and three scores.
“You saw the guy go up and make catches today,” Flacco said. “Anytime you are one-on-one, you want the guy to make the difference for you, and you saw what he could do today.”
Up next: Redskins at Ravens
» When: 8:15 p.m. Sunday
» Where: M&T Bank Stadium
» TV: WBAL-11
» Radio: 1090 AM, 97.9 FM
