Quarterbacks: Joe Flacco threw a terrible interception before halftime, but otherwise played well. He still needs to do a better job of dumping the ball off to Ray Rice where he can catch it, but his deep balls to Torrey Smith were on the money. If he played like this last week, the Ravens would have been in a much better mood flying home from Seattle. Grade: B
Running backs: Ray Rice received 25 touches, and the Ravens won. Go figure. Rice had a solid game, and it could have been even bigger if he had been able to haul in a few passes that were not thrown very well to him. Ricky Williams also saw action, but was unimpressive. He needs to run up the field, not sideline to sideline. Grade: B
Wide receivers: Torrey Smith had a big day, and it’s possible the Ravens would have lost without him out on the field. Anquan Boldin also had a nice touchdown catch and run, but was otherwise non-existent. The tight ends also had a quiet day, but some of that had to do with the more balanced attack. Lee Evans finally got back out on the field, but only had one pass thrown his way. Grade: B
Offensive line: This isn’t exactly a group of All-Pro’s, but the offensive line is coming together. The Ravens continue to minimize penalties along the line, and they did a good job of opening up running lanes and providing protection for Joe Flacco. Marshal Yanda was absolutely mauling people, especially down on the goaline. Grade: B
Defensive line: This group is becoming a bit of a concern, especially against the run. Terrence Cody is getting blown off the ball, and it might be time to lessen his workload. Haloti Ngata has also disappeared in recent weeks. The pass rush wasn’t bad, and Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee pretty much saved the day on the last set of downs, finishing off the Bengals. Grade: C-
Linebackers: Without Ray Lewis, Jameel McClain was solid but unspectacular. Dannelle Ellerbe filled in well considering it was his first game back after missing a month of action due to injury. The Ravens need to get more out of Jarret Johnson, who has been ineffective the past few weeks. Grade: C
Secondary: It was an up and down day for this unit, but they made some big plays. Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith both came up with interceptions. Cary Williams struggled at times, mistiming his jump on one play that lead to a big completion. Smith gained valuable experience, but he did get burned on a long touchdown. Still, Chris Carr has gone from being almost a shutdown corner last year to completly ineffective this season. Smith needs to get his playing time. Ed Reed had one of his best games of the year, coming up with an interception and key pass deflection. Bernard Pollard was outstanding in run support and is a better cover safety than many believe him to be. Grade: C+
Special teams: Sam Koch shanked one punt, but had a good game overall. Billy Cundiff made his one field goal and boomed all of his kickoffs deep enough for touchbacks. The coverage units were very good, but the return game continues to struggle. The team is better off taking a knee in the end zone on every kickoff, which is a sad state of affairs. Grade: C
Coaching: John Harbaugh got the team ready to go this week, and Cam Cameron finally showed some balance between the run and pass. The coaching wasn’t great in the fourth quarter, especially with how conservative the Ravens became on offense, but they still managed to hold on for the victory. Grade: C+
