Ravens' Ben Cleveland stars in new role and pass rushers play their 'best game'

BALTIMORE — About two weeks ago, Ben Cleveland approached Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton with the idea of joining the field goal and extra-point teams.

John Harbaugh loved the initiative from his veteran backup offensive lineman. However, he didn’t want to relinquish much credit to Horton for making the move because the Ravens coach claims he has “been suggesting that for a while.”

Nevertheless, Cleveland — who was the subject of much discussion earlier this season as a candidate for the starting right guard job — stretched both hands as high as he could on Sunday and tipped a field goal try from Washington Commanders kicker Austin Seibert in the waning seconds of the first half.

“That guy — he’s a big man,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a three-point difference in the game. That was big in that game. You never know what plays are gonna make a difference but that was awesome to see.”

Cleveland received a game ball for the unexpected highlight in Baltimore’s 30-23 win over Washington.

When Harbaugh announced Cleveland’s name as the third of six game-ball recipients, the team’s cameras from inside the locker room showed rookie tackle Roger Rosengarten’s neck snap back in bewilderment and excitement for his teammate.

Cleveland has played just five offensive snaps this season, but the 6-6, 360-pound behemoth made quick work in his new role.

“I mean, isn’t that special?” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “I mean, that’s awesome — just finding a role. I mean, he the biggest human being I’ve ever seen. It’s incredible to just go in there. … It’s his first or second game at that. It’s crazy. I’m proud of him. He should be able to find a role on the team, and that’s a crucial block that he had. It set the tempo going into the second half.”

Injury notes

Cornerback Arthur Maulet made a brief reappearance at practice as a limited participant days before the Ravens traveled to Cincinnati last week. He has not participated since, still out with knee and hamstring injuries after standing out in offseason workouts and the initial weeks of training camp.

Harbaugh hopes to have Maulet back this week, which would be ahead of schedule on his 21-day window to return to practice and rejoin the 53-man roster. Per NFL rules, if at the conclusion of the 21st day — which would be the middle of next week — Maulet isn’t ready to come back, he cannot return to the roster for the rest of the season.

“I think there’s a good chance he will be [back],” Harbaugh said. “We’ll see on Thursday or Friday but I think there’s a really good chance he’ll be practicing this week, and then, we’ll have to see, from practice, if he can play [Monday] or not.”

Harbaugh offered no substantial update on Keaton Mitchell, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 15 last year. The sophomore running back has no change in status, but Harbaugh is “still very optimistic and positive” about his return.

Ngakoue impresses

In the fourth quarter Sunday, Yannick Ngakoue beat a Commanders offensive tackle off the line of scrimmage, got his left hand on quarterback Jayden Daniels and spun him to the ground for his first sack of the season.

Ngakoue was a late addition to Baltimore’s defense and quickly made his presence felt. The outside linebacker was signed to the Ravens practice squad on Sept. 23, joining a pass-rushing unit that, by that point, recorded 10 sacks, the ninth-most in the NFL.

The 2015 third-round pick out of Maryland sacked Daniels, contributing to a group now ranked fourth in the NFL with 19 sacks over six games while adding a tackle for loss and quarterback hit.

“He played tremendously well,” Harbaugh said, “which was not a surprise because we saw him practice that way. Big addition to our team. Very excited with the way he’s rolling.”

Ngakoue also received a game ball after Sunday’s win. He told his teammates he’s not one for public speaking but spoke about cherishing every opportunity. Ngakoue watched Baltimore’s Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs and was itching to be on the field.

Pass rushers played ‘best game’

Washington’s sterling rookie quarterback said definitively the Ravens’ defense was the best he’d seen through six weeks. “Honestly,” Daniels said, “what they do, how they operate, how they try to punch you in the mouth.”

Daniels could sense the pressure and how the Ravens tried to eliminate explosive plays and contain him to the pocket. “Kudos to them,” he said after throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns while running for a season-low 22 yards on six carries.

Harbaugh spoke glowingly of the group that kept Daniels and company in check.

“I believe the pass rush played its best game in a lot of ways in this last game,” Harbaugh said. “Some of it was because of who we’re going against. Jayden Daniels is a real threat to get out of the pocket. I think he only really got out twice. … Other than that, we kept him in.

“He goes to his right so many times and would throw on the run and make plays downfield. He didn’t have any of those plays in the game. I thought even when he did get out there, we chased him down. But we kept him in there, we sacked him, we batted balls — I think of Brent Urban’s bat. The pass rush had a really good disciplined game … kept the quarterback in, which was their best game of doing that. That contributed a lot this week in a positive way.”

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