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Coming into today, Peyton Hillis had only rushed for more than 75 yards once in his three-year career.
This afternoon, against a Ravens defense which prides itself on stopping the run, the Browns' running back ran for a whopping 144 yards.
That won't sit well with this Baltimore defense, you can bet on that.
"It was pretty disappointing to allow a team to come out and pound the ball like that," linebacker Jarret Johnson said.
Going with backup quarterback Seneca Wallace because of an injury to starting QB Jake Delhomme, the Browns weren't able to do much through the air, passing for just 131 yards and completing only three passes of more than 15 yards.
But time and time again, they turned to the ground attack, relying on the 6-2, 250 pound Hillis (who was only getting most of the reps because of an injury to starting running back Jerome Harrison) to churn out tough yards and keep them in the game.
"I thought their offense did what they had to do in terms of running the ball against our defense, and that's something we have to work on," head coach John Harbaugh said. "We have to make sure that we don't allow people early in the game when it's run-pass to run downhill on us.
"I guess [Hillis is] a guy you have to see in person to appreciate him. He is physical. I mean, this guy is hard to bring down. He's a north-south runner. And, he's a guy we're going to have to contend with for a long time in this division."
The Ravens didn't look like they got completely out-played at the line of scrimmage this afternoon, but Hillis used his big frame to power through would-be tacklers and kept his feet moving.
On one play, Hillis got through the line, broke a tackle at the second level, and then lowered his shoulder into Dawan Landry, powering the Ravens' safety backwards for another five yards before the Baltimore defense could finally bring Hillis down.
"With a big back like that, once he gets that full head of steam going it's hard for anyone to stop him," defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said. "We had to adjust a little bit and shut those holes. It was great that our offense and special teams did a great job today, basically getting that win for us."
Hillis didn't only put up big rushing yardage numbers, he also broke the Ravens' streak of 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown when he rumbled in for a one-yard score in the second quarter.
The one positive that the Ravens' defensive players and coaches could take out of today's game was that, for the most part, they slowed Hillis down in the second half.
After allowing the Arkansas product to march 73 yards on them in the first half, they held him in check for much of the final 30 minutes, with the exception of a big 48-yard run late in the third quarter.
"When we had to get the run stopped at the end, we got the run stopped at the end," Harbaugh said. That was probably the key factor in the second half."
Overall, though, this performance will stick with the members of the Baltimore defense. Going into a matchup with a physical Steelers offense next Sunday, stopping the run will definitely be a point of emphasis in practices this week.
"Anytime you rush for that many yards, we're going to be watching the film this week, probably until about six o'clock in the morning," Johnson said.
