The Ravens defense held Cincinnati to just three points, eight first downs and 154 yards in a 17-10 victory.
But linebacker Terrell Suggs said the unit still has a long way to go to be considered one of the league’s elite.
“It didn’t validate us,” he said of the team’s opening performance. “I think as the season goes on, you have to be consistent. To validate it, ask me the same question in Week 15 or Week 16 after we’ve played the Pittsburghs and the Clevelands twice. Then we’ll talk about validation.”
The defense put on one of its most complete and dominating performances in several seasons as the Bengals offense failed to consistently more the ball, let alone pick up a first down.
The Ravens also excelled at getting pressure on Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. The defense recorded just two sacks, but Palmer, a former Pro Bowler, completed just 9-of-24 passes for 94 yards with an interception as he was routinely hit after throwing the ball.
The defense will try to do more of the same to Texans quarterback Matt Schaub when the Ravens travel to Reliant Stadium to play Houston (0-1) on Monday night at 8:30 on CBS.
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub completed 25-of-33 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 38-17 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
“They are as good a defense as you’ll play,” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. “They do a lot of things and do them very sound. They’re going to make some plays, and we, just hopefully, don’t help them anymore.”
The Ravens beat the Texans, 16-15 on Dec. 4, 2005 at M&T Bank Stadium, the last time the teams met. Suggs had three sacks in the win, but expects a different atmosphere in Houston.
“You’re the bad guy,” he said of playing on the road. “You know, in the movies, the bad guy always loses at the end. That’s a challenge to us.”
Suggs says being away from Baltimore will allow the unit have similar results to last week — not like last fall when the defense yielded more than 24 points and 306 yards per game.
“We like the road, the pressure’s off,” Suggs said. “Your wife or brothers or sisters aren’t in the stands. You don’t have to do anything special. You get to have fun, play some football and don’t worry about the pressure.”
