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Browns’ Whitehead released after ‘unacceptable’ Twitter rant

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<p>OWINGS MILLS, Md. &#8212; It&#8217;s time to take the Baltimore Ravens seriously as a Super Bowl contender.</p><p>Their 14-point victory in Seattle two weeks ago put them in the discussion, and no further evidence is necessary after Baltimore rang up 37 points and repeatedly harassed Tom Brady in a rout of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots on Sunday night.</p><p>Riding a four-game winning streak and holding a two-game lead in the AFC North at the midpoint of the season, Baltimore (6-2) is a team no defense wants to face.</p><p>The Patriots were rendered powerless against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who directed an offense that amassed 210 yards rushing and scored 17 points on its first three possessions. That&#8217;s no small feat, given that New England had been allowing an average of 7.6 points and 85.3 yards rushing per game.</p><p>After Jackson scored the clinching touchdown in a 37-20 victory, a 1-yard run that capped a drive that lasted more than 9 &#189; minutes, many of the deliriously delighted fans began chanting &#8220;MVP! MVP!&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s still half a season to play, but at this point, Jackson looks the part.</p><p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m right with the crowd. I mean that,&#8221; said Ravens safety Earl Thomas, whose interception of Brady served as a precursor for the 68-yard march. &#8220;This man is the MVP. I&#8217;m right behind him. I&#8217;m backing him. When you finish the game like that, it&#8217;s just a sigh of relief for us on defense.&#8221;</p><p>Jackson ran for two scores, threw for another and accounted for 224 of Baltimore&#8217;s 372 yards in offense. The defense forced two turnovers, scored on one of them and blanked the Patriots over the final 22 minutes.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a good win,&#8221; coach John Harbaugh said Monday. He then conceded, &#8220;Probably more than a good win.&#8221;</p><p><strong>What&#8217;s working </strong></p><p>Jackson picked apart New England&#8217;s previously impressive defense and Baltimore chased Brady all over the field. So it&#8217;s apparent that offense and defense are clicking for the Ravens.</p><p>Heck, with the exception of an inexplicable 40-25 loss at home against Cleveland, the Ravens have been looking good on both sides of the ball since opening with a 59-10 rout of Miami.</p><p>Their performance against New England merely proved it to the rest of the league.</p><p>&#8220;I feel like our team already knew what we were capable of. We just had to show it, and we did that,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;We have to build off that. We just can&#8217;t get on our high horse and feel like we just won the Super Bowl, because we didn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p><p><strong>What needs help </strong></p><p>Harbaugh was disappointed with the performance of the special teams against New England.</p><p>Cyrus Jones muffed a punt, the kick coverage was ordinary and even the usually reliable Justin Tucker missed an extra point.</p><p>&#8220;Special teams generally is inconsistent right now,&#8221; Harbaugh said. &#8220;We were really doing a good job early in the year and it&#8217;s not as good right now. We have to get better there.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Injured</strong></p><p>The Ravens are healthier than at any point in the season thus far. No one was seriously hurt Sunday night, and three players sidelined several weeks returned to contribute in positive fashion against the Patriots: Onwuasor, cornerback Jimmy Smith and receiver Marquise Brown.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is tackled by New England Patriots defensive end John Simon during the first half of an NFL game on Sunday in Baltimore. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_123906171-e9e49d6bec974763bc15b17e9bf077c6.jpg</photo0><caption0>Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is tackled by New England Patriots defensive end John Simon during the first half of an NFL game on Sunday in Baltimore. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_123906171-9d5113575211403dbb7dfee67559e989.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) runs for a touchdown after recovering a fumble by New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_123906171-9d5113575211403dbb7dfee67559e989.jpg</photo1><caption1>Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) runs for a touchdown after recovering a fumble by New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)</caption1><photoCredit1>AP photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_123906171-9379586e03a148a28093c71b4c25fb7c.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas III intercepts a pass from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_123906171-9379586e03a148a28093c71b4c25fb7c.jpg</photo2><caption2>Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas III intercepts a pass from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)</caption2><photoCredit2>AP photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By David Ginsburg</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Ravens look like a real title contender