Ed Reed collected two interceptions, and the Ravens forced the Cincinnati Bengals into committing five total turnovers in a 13-7 win Sunday. But the seven-time Pro Bowl free safety said the task against quarterback Carson Palmer wasn't as easy as it appeared.
"It's always tough against Carson. I said that earlier in the week," said Reed, who got his 20th and 21st interceptions against AFC North foes, which ranks as the most by a single player against his division. "He's a great quarterback who knows exactly what you're giving him as a defense sometimes. You've just got to disguise it. I don't think we did too well at that today because he did pick and choose his spots. But it's going to be like that against a good guy and a good running game. So it's pick your poison on certain plays."
Fortunately for the Ravens, those turnovers would come in handy as the team converted two of them into 10 points. The offense turned a Reed interception on the third play of the game into a Billy Cundiff 25-yard field goal and a Haloti Ngata fumble recovery into a Ray Rice 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Besides Reed's two interceptions, cornerback Chris Carr stripped Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson twice, and inside linebacker Ray Lewis pounced on two fumbles, including a loose ball offered by Palmer as he was scrambling for a first down on Cincinnati's penultimate series.
Carr, who has now forced three fumbles in his last two games, said the players and coaches have stressed trying to rip the ball away from receivers and running backs.
"You have to try to go out there and strip the ball," said Carr, who leads the defense in forced fumbles. "I think earlier in the season, we weren't doing that, and later on in the season, it became a point of emphasis. Then Ed gets his interceptions, and it's kind of commonplace, you know. But yeah, it was good that we got those turnovers because their defense played great today."
Lewis, who leads the Ravens with three recovered fumbles this season, said the unit's mantra of chasing down the ball carrier has led the players to being opportunistic.
"The only way to get turnovers in this business is everybody keep going to the ball," he said. "You see Lardarius Webb tip the ball on Ed's first play. You see the second pick, me and Double-J [outside linebacker Jarret Johnson] in the window [and] Ed grabs it. Ed Reed, he just has a way of finding the football. But then you see the fumbles, Chris Carr causing fumbles. So it's just about a swarming defense, and any time you have a swarming defense, you're going to have those possibilities any time you're running to the ball like that. And that's a credit to the way we practice, that's a credit to what we feel about each other."