CLEVELAND -- Be it on defense or special teams, rookie cornerback Denzel Ward continues to show he has a nose for the football, and in last Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium, those impactful plays proved to difference-makers.
Ward corralled an interception and blocked a field goal in helping the Browns earn a 12-9 win over the Ravens for their first victory over an AFC North Division team since October of 2015.
“Outstanding,” safety Damarious Randall said of Ward. “A playmaker. Made every play that came to him. Just looking to see him keep developing into the player that he is.
“He is a very quiet guy in the locker room. He is probably 180 [pounds], but he plays like 195-200 pounds. He will throw his body in there hitting. He is a complete corner.”
The Ravens drove deep into Browns territory early in the second quarter, but the defense proved up to the challenge and continued to add onto their impressive takeaway total through the first quarter of the 2018 season.
Ward corralled his third interception on the season at the Cleveland three-yard line, which brought to an end what looked to be a sure scoring drive for the Ravens, who already held a 3-0 lead with 9:28 remaining in the first half.
With the Ravens facing a second-and-goal from the Cleveland two-yard line, quarterback Joe Flacco rolled out to his right and floated a pass toward tight end Nick Boyle, who ran his route along the goal line. However, Ward was there to jump the route and earn the fourth takeaway of his rookie season.
“The more they make plays, the more confident you become,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “He is stacking up some wins for himself personally, and as a football team, we are starting to stack those up, too. Guys start feeling good about what they are doing and what they are trying to accomplish each and every day.”
The Browns’ special-teams coverage and return units struggled through a penalty-laden first half, but the field goal block team atoned for some of the earlier misgivings against the Ravens.
With the Ravens attempting a game-tying field goal from 48 yards away, Ward blocked the kick and kept Cleveland in front of Baltimore, 6-3, at halftime.
Lined up over the right side of Baltimore’s formation, Ward sprinted into the backfield untouched and batted the ball out of the air before it rolled to a stop inside the Cleveland 10-yard line.
“It takes really all 11 guys,” Ward said. “Really, just those guys on the inside came hard and were able to free me up on the outside and get the block.
“It’s really just keying the ball, and once the ball is snapped, just trying to get off the edge as fast as you can.”
For the second time in the first five weeks of the season, Ward was named a finalist for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award, and should he beat the competition, including teammate Baker Mayfield, it would be his second honor of the year.
After corralling two interceptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 21-21 tie in the regular-season opener, Ward was voted the Pepsi Rookie of the Week.
“I was honestly expecting him to play like this,” Randall said. “Just watching his film out of Ohio State, he went No. 4. He has all the intangibles and skills to be an elite corner. I am just glad that he is able to show it early in his career.”
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