Ravens defense cashed in check Lewis wrote

Ray Lewis publicly stated last week that Browns running back Peyton Hillis would not run for more than 100 rushing yards like he did back in September, the last time these two teams met.

On September 26, Hillis ran for 144 yards on 22 carries, one of which was a 44 yarder off the left tackle, through the right side of the defense.

Yesterday was a totally different story. From the very beginning, the Ravens had Hillis snooped out, keeping him from breaking a run longer than seven yards. His measly 2.9 yard per carry average was outdone by teammate Mike Bell who was somewhat more productive, getting 27 yards with nine carries.

Once the Browns running backs were shut down, rookie quarterback Colt McCoy was left to scramble and force erratic throws in an attempt to keep his team in the game. The result was a three interception outing, two caught by Ed Reed and one by Lardarius Webb, giving them six and two interceptions respectively on the season.

This game marks the second consecutive game the Ravens opposing leading rusher was held to less than 40 rushing yards. If the run defense can maintain their stiff performances, they could cause upcoming opponents lots of trouble.