The long anticipated return of Ed Reed was refreshing and inspiring. A man who had not played in a game since January forced three turnovers and instantly catapulted himself to team leader in interceptions.
Unfortunately the means of the win against Buffalo were not pretty. Buffalo accumulated 502 total yards on offense, 374 coming from Ryan Fitzgerald despite Reed's performance. Fitzgerald so far this year has been an efficient but not dynamic passer. Throwing Yesterday however he impressed throwing four touchdowns on what was the number three pass defense in the league.
Reed definitely did his part to ensure victory yesterday. One of his interceptions was immediately followed by flea flicker touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin. Another was returned for 40 yards.
His seemingly effortless but risky forced fumble of is characteristic of the old Reed. Although the Ravens didn't recover it, the statement had been made.
If Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington played at the performance level of their pro-bowl cohort, the pass defense would have been much better off but instead they both had a bad day.
Nonetheless Reed's return will be a major benefit in the coming weeks as teams like Miami and Carolina that don't have top tier quarterbacks face the Ravens. He has an opportunity to make up for time he has lost and force the turnovers no one else on the defense has so far this year.
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