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BALTIMORE IN MANY WAYS, the Denver Broncos were the perfect team for the Baltimore Ravens to play Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Broncos were 6-0 coming into the game, winning with a strong defense and a conservative offense. The Ravens' weakness is their pass defense, but on Sunday the Broncos rarely took advantage of that. They went with a short passing game. Denver quarterback Kyle Orton will never be confused with Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or Carson Palmer, three of the quarterbacks the Ravens must play over the next four weeks. He's had a good season, but mainly because he's played it safe. It's one of the reasons he's had just one interception this year, although the Ravens came close to intercepting two of his passes. Baltimore, which won 30-7 to end their three-game losing streak and improve to 4-3, plays three of its next five games on the road. The schedule includes Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, three of the top teams in the NFL with three of the best quarterbacks in the league. The Ravens can score points, but their pass defense must improve during this stretch. "The bottom line is, we understand what's in front of us," Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said. "We're not going anywhere, we're going to keep on fighting, keep on scraping because that is the type of team we are," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "We'll let it play out, that's all." THE RAVENS put together their most complete and best effort of the season in beating the Broncos. A loss would have been devastating, likely making it difficult to reach the playoffs. "To lose the way we've lost the last three games and the way we played defensively for the three losses," linebacker Jarret Johnson said, "I think we needed to have a big-time opponent and play big versus them. We did that today." "This was a big stress-reliever. It was a tough two weeks," Baltimore receiver Kelley Washington said. Baltimore played well in all three phases of the game. The Ravens scored 30 points against a team that had given up just 66 points in its previous six games. The special teams accounted for 16 points on Ladarius Webb's 95-yard kickoff return to open the second half, along with three Steve Hauschka field goals. The special teams also stopped Denver's Eddie Royal, who had returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns this year. "The special teams played off the chart," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "We said in the second half we wanted to come out and start fast. We didn't necessarily know it was going to be on the kickoff return." Baltimore held Denver to one touchdown and that came on an 86-yard third quarter drive that was aided by three defensive penalties for 44 yards. Perhaps most impressive was the way the Ravens dominated the second half after leading 6-0 at halftime. In their first six games, the Broncos outscored their opponents 76-10 in the second half and out-gained them 1,368 yards to 605. But the Ravens scored 24 second-half points and gained 189 yards in the final two quarters while holding the Broncos to one touchdown and 121 yards, including 62 of yards on a meaningless late drive. "They are a great team, but we just had to show you all how really great we are," Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "We had a whole week to linger on how terrible you guys said we were." BALTIMORE QUARTERBACK Joe Flacco continues to impress. He completed 20 of 25 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions, finishing with a 109.2 quarterback rating. He started slowly, completing just one of his first four passes for 5 yards, but after that he was almost unstoppable. He completed his last 14 passes and was nine of nine for 105 yards in the second half. Flacco not only showed the ability to complete passes, but to sidestep Denver's strong rush. As a runner, he's no Randall Cunningham, but he's able to avoid the rushers and buy extra time. "I knew I had to stand in there strong and just react to what they were giving me and hit the guys downfield," Flacco said. "Joe is very comfortable back there," running back Ray Rice said. "He's very comfortable moving around, and that is what great quarterbacks do. He's in his second year, but he's the leader of the offense. We go as Joe goes." AFTER LEADING THE team with 902 yards rushing last year, Le'Ron McClain has been more of a traditional fullback this season with 45 yards on 15 carries. But late in Sunday's game he had three carries for 31 yards. Asked about his touchdown return, Webb said he just saw a hole and ran as fast as he could. It was the rookie's first touchdown with the Ravens. "I'm just going to go home and chill," when asked how he was going to celebrate. "My first career touchdown in the NFL, it was great." Mason was given an unsportsmanlike penalty in the first quarter when he threw his helmet to the ground after a play on which he thought he was held. Replays showed Denver cornerback Alphonso Smith grabbed Mason's jersey. It was kind of hard to miss and Mason wasn't happy with the officials' explanation. "He's watching me -- that's the only person that's watching me -- and he said he didn't see it," Mason said of the non-call. "That's like me watching my kid at a playground, and they run out in the street and get hit, and I tell my wife and family that I wasn't watching my son. You're the only person there watching him, so why aren't you watching him."
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