QB Flacco, P Koch play key roles in Ravens' win

Dec 18, 2017 - 2:32 AM CLEVELAND -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been a plague to the Cleveland Browns since he was a rookie in 2008.

Flacco raised his record against the Browns to 17-2 on Sunday when he completed 26 of 42 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown in a 27-10 victory the Ravens needed to keep their AFC playoff hopes strong.

"There are probably obvious answers to that," Flacco said when asked why he has had such success against the Browns. "I necessarily don't want to speak to them. It is what it is. Numbers are definitely a little more skewed to us, but when you look at the big picture, it doesn't show how hard a lot of those games were.

"I always say that we've been able to come out on top, but we respect this ballclub and what they're able to do."

Flacco certainly didn't beat the Browns by himself. The defense forced four turnovers, and punter Sam Koch was such a factor with four punts inside the 20-yard line -- three inside the Browns' 5-yard line -- that he was awarded a game ball.

One of those punts, downed on the Cleveland 4, led directly to Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer losing the ball on a strip sack on the next play. Defensive tackle Brandon Williams recovered at the 1 and slid the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.

Koch, a 12-year veteran, said it was the first time in his career he received a ball immediately after a game.

"In the locker room, it was," Koch said. "It was very special. I'll take that one home and put it up in the man-cave. I've gotten others during the week, but in the actual locker room, it's the first one. Very cool."

Handing the game ball to the punter is symbolic of how the Ravens have come together during this playoff drive. They have won four of their last five games to climb to 8-6 because of contributions from offense, defense and special teams.

"We have to play well next week, but I'm really happy," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "I'm really pleased with the way we're playing. We're running to the ball. We're keeping the quarterback caged. We're getting to the quarterback.

"We're keeping the ball in front of us. Even last week (in a 39-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers), they made a few big plays on us. We weren't quite as tight in coverage as we wanted to be against a really good offense, but we went to work. We cleaned those things up. Our guys respond."

The Ravens host the Indianapolis Colts next Saturday and then close the regular season at home against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 31. They will clinch a playoff spot by winning both games.