Ravens defense ‘holds’ attention of Browns QB Mayfield

OWINGS MILLS, MD. (AP) >> Baker Mayfield may have discovered why the Baltimore Ravens defense has been so effective this season.

Mayfield, a rookie quarterback with the Cleveland Browns, faces Baltimore’s second-ranked defense on Sunday. One of the members of that unit, safety Tony Jefferson, received a text message this week from Mayfield — one former Oklahoma star reaching out to another.

“He said, ‘I’m watching this film, watching you guys hold,’” Mayfield wrote, according to Jefferson.

Jefferson said he replied: “They didn’t call it.”

Jefferson believes Baltimore’s success on defense can be attributed to skilled players following a solid game plan.

“I just think we’ve been doing a good job executing,” Jefferson said Wednesday. “We’ve worked hard throughout the week on what we want to attack and what we want to do.”

Operating under first-year defensive coordinator Don Martindale, Baltimore (3-1) has lim-

ited the opposition to 275.8 yards per game, a meager 29.8 success rate on third down and is yielding only 16.25 points per game.

Most impressive of all, the Ravens have not yet given up a touchdown in the second half. While the players enjoy doing it, they’re not fond of hearing about it.

“We didn’t even know it was a stat until you all brought it up,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “It’s kind of like a pitcher with a no-hitter. Thanks for bringing it up. Good job.”

Coach John Harbaugh broke it down this way: “The guys have gone out and played really well. That’s really what it is. They’ve executed, make plays, turned it over a few times, stopped the run.”