Mike Preston's Ravens-Broncos report card

were solid running in the middle of the field but need to muscle up better in short-yardage situations. They got a lot of back-side penetration at times in short-yardage situations.

Grade: A-

Running backs

The Ravens finally turned Ray Rice loose, and he was within a couple of inches of running for more than 200 yards. Fullback Le'Ron McClain got off to a slow start but played better as the game went on. Rice and McClain played well in short-yardage situations, and that made Willis McGahee run a lot better instead of tipping and juking at the line of scrimmage.

Grade: B+

Receivers

Anquan Boldin had only one catch for 8 yards, and the Ravens still won by 14, which shows good balance. Derrick Mason had a good game but could have had a better one if Flacco was more on target. The Ravens, though, pulled the plug on the passing game in the second half to run the ball and use more clock.

Grade: C

Defensive line

The Ravens dominated the running game as Denver finished with only 39 yards. Tackle Haloti Ngata and end Cory Redding each finished with three tackles, and tackle Kelly Gregg had two as all running lanes were shut off. The only problem was that this group didn't generate much of a pass rush, and that could be a problem in the future.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Ray Lewis led the team in tackles with six, and along with weak-side linebacker Jameel McClain, he controlled everything on the inside. Strong-side linebacker Jarret Johnson was consistent as usual against the run, and he and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs got consistent pressure on quarterback Kyle Orton. Lewis was also successful blitzing.

Grade: A

Secondary

Fabian Washington was outstanding, and fellow cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Chris Carr also played well fighting through to interrupt or knock down balls on a couple of slant-in patterns. Orton, though, exposed the Ravens' weakness at safety in defending the long ball. The evidence is on film now. The Ravens need Ed Reed to return.

Grade: B

Special teams

Billy Cundiff had four touchbacks on six kickoffs. He has been excellent all season. Sam Koch averaged 43.5 yards on four punts. The Ravens recovered one fumble on a kickoff, and Denver had no punt-return yards. Except for one dumb penalty, it was a near-perfect day.

Grade: A