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Ravens, Flacco celebrate with comeback win over Browns

Sep 16, 2013 - 12:44 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco might not be perfect, but try telling the Cleveland Browns that.

Flacco, just hours after his wife gave birth to the couple's second child, passed for 211 yards and a touchdown Sunday as Baltimore beat Cleveland, 14-6, moving the quarterback to 11-0 all-time against the Browns.

Flacco missed the birth of his second child with wife Dana -- she had another boy about an hour before kickoff -- and was 22-for-33. He completed third-down passes of 16 and 18 yards on Baltimore's last scoring drive.

"He came up big. That's the player he's shown he is," said Browns coach Rob Chudzinski.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Ravens (1-1) had their home opener -- finally -- after starting on the road in Denver Week 1, but they lost running back Ray Rice to a hip flexor strain in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens scored 14 unanswered points in the second half on Bernard Pierce's 5-yard touchdown run and Marlon Brown's 5-yard catch for their 11th straight win over Cleveland.

"We came into the locker room, sat down and said we have to get it together and get this running game going. Because once the running game gets going, the passing game gets going," Pierce said of being down 6-0 at halftime.

"We took a deep breath, got it together and went back out there and made plays."

Brandon Weeden threw for 227 yards for the Browns (0-2) but left the game late in the fourth quarter. The Browns said Weeden's hand was being looked at and the Ravens said he had an injured thumb.

Cleveland hasn't beaten Baltimore since a 33-30 overtime win on Nov. 18, 2007.

The Ravens marked their Super Bowl victory with a video tribute and unveiled a banner in the upper deck near midfield.

The celebration came 10 days later than anticipated.

It's tradition for the Super Bowl champs to kick off the NFL season with a home game, but the Ravens started on the road because the Orioles had a game the same day and Baltimore's two pro teams were unable to hash things out. The Ravens were creamed by Peyton Manning and Denver, 49-27, on Sept. 5.

Their celebration came in front of the Browns, the team Art Modell infamously moved to Baltimore almost two decades ago.

Things took a sour turn when Rice, despite going untouched on the play, went down clutching his left hip near the line of scrimmage. He walked gingerly to the sideline and held both stair railings on his way to the locker room.

"Right now he's not scheduled for an MRI but we'll see how it goes overnight," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

The Ravens said Flacco was warming up when he took a call that his wife had delivered around noon. His team had a hard time getting started and went into the locker room trailing 6-0.

But Pierce pounded it in from the 5-yard line to cap an 80-yard drive and give the Ravens a 7-6 lead late in the third quarter.

Later, Rice fumbled on first down, stripped by linebacker Craig Robertson near the line of scrimmage, and the Browns recovered. But they couldn't convert a 4th-and-4 from the Baltimore 39 when Jordan Cameron came up just short of a first down.

After Rice went down, the Ravens scored when Brown caught a slant pass and stretched into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 14-6.

Campbell threw three straight incompletions after the Browns gained 21 yards on a Baltimore pass interference penalty. His fourth pass, and underhand scoop on fourth down, left Cameron well short of a first down.

"We came up short," said Campbell.

Earlier, Justin Tucker missed a 50-yard field goal try on the Ravens' first possession and a 44-yarder in the final minute of the first half -- both wide right. In between, the Ravens punted four times.

Billy Cundiff kicked a 21-yarder for the Browns in the first quarter, set up by Weeden's 53-yard pass to Cameron, and he made a 51-yarder near the end of the second to give Cleveland a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith was taken to the locker room for a concussion evaluation in the second half and cleared to return to the game ...The Ravens host the Houston Texans next Sunday ... The Browns, who lost to Miami in Week 1, play at Minnesota next week ... Cameron had 95 yards receiving on five catches ... Trent Richardson rushed 18 times for 58 yards for the Browns ...Pierce rushed for 57 yards on 19 carries for the Ravens and Torrey Smith caught seven passes for 85 yards. Rice had 13 carries for 36 yards.