Ravens seek more consistency on O

Associated Press

OWINGS MILLS, Md.

For the Baltimore Ravens, the term “balanced attack” usually means an equal distribution of tackles among everyone on the defense not named Ray Lewis.

The Ravens’ strength has long been its ability to stop the opposition from scoring. The offense, for the most part, is usually responsible for protecting the ball and cashing in turnovers.

This unsymmetrical arrangement will almost certainly have to change Sunday against the high-powered New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.

Baltimore beat the Houston Texans 20-13 last Sunday by virtue of another solid performance from its defense. Or, judging by the numbers, in spite of its offense.

The Ravens totaled 227 yards — 109 after halftime. They went three-and-out eight times, averaged 2.8 yards per rush and scored only three points over the final 46 minutes.

That kind of production won’t be enough in the Ravens’ bid to get to the Super Bowl.

“I think it would be safe to say we are going to have to score points to win this game,” said Ravens rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith, who had one catch for 9 yards against the Texans.

“We have one of the top defenses in the league, and we stand by our defense and believe in our defense. They are pretty much the rock of our team,” Smith said. “We know we are going to have to help them out a lot. We have to try and take care of the ball. We can’t have any three-and-outs. We have to keep their offense off the field, keep our defense rested and score points.”

The Ravens’ two touchdowns against Houston came on drives of 2 and 34 yards following turnovers. Running back Ray Rice, who totaled 2,068 yards and 15 touchdowns during the regular season, rushed for 60 yards on 21 carries and had four receptions for 20 yards. He did not score.