Garrett Downing: This was a better showing for the Ravens, especially the offense. Joe Flacco looked in command and moved the offense down the field. They need to clean up the mistakes and score touchdowns on some of those drives where they get in the red zone, but overall the group showed improvement in the no-huddle offense. Defensively, the secondary struggled with stopping Calvin Johnson once safeties Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard came off the field. Johnson is arguably the best receiver in the NFL, but the cornerbacks have had a tough time stopping the pass in consecutive weeks. And finally, the kicking battle between Justin Tucker and Billy Cundiff continues to stay interesting as they were both perfect on Friday night. That is a competition that could come all the way down to the wire.

Sarah Ellison: That’s what a successful up-tempo, no-huddle offense is supposed to look like. What a difference from last week. The starters didn’t come up with a touchdown because of a few mistakes in the red zone, but they moved the ball between the 20s and Joe Flacco looked in command at the line of scrimmage. The fast pace was taxing on the Detroit defense and factored into two Lions offsides penalties in the first quarter. Just imagine it with Torrey Smith, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson in the lineup. Unlike the offense, the secondary’s performance was not an improvement from the Atlanta game. The unit struggled with Julio Jones last week and wanted redemption against Calvin Johnson, but didn’t get it. “Megatron” finished with 111 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Fans finally got to see running back Bernard Pierce in action for the first time and he looked impressive, showing explosiveness with some (correctable) rookie mistakes. Rookies Deonte Thompson and Asa Jackson had special moments to savor even though their touchdowns were brought back. Others who stood out: Matt Birk, Paul Kruger, LaQuan Williams, Omar Brown (again). Room for improvement: Jimmy Smith, Cary Williams, Courtney Upshaw, Nigel Carr and Tyrod Taylor (throwing, not rushing).

The backup rookie quarterback expects he will be ready for the Steelers in nine days, which could mean Baltimore isn’t as urgent to sign another arm.

“I’m feeling better than I did last night,” Taylor said.

“I think I’ll be ready, especially with a couple of days off to get treatment. I’ll get healthy.”

Head Coach John Harbaugh indicated that tests showed the contusion, which is another word for bruise, is not cause for major concern, as the coach said after the game in Atlanta.

“It just looks the same,” Harbaugh said. “I would say it just confirmed that it doesn’t seem to be a real serious thing. I’m sure he has some soreness in there. I think he is going to be OK.”

Harbaugh said after the game that the deciding factor on whether the team signs another quarterback will be who is available after Saturday’s final round of cuts.

Taylor added Friday that he doesn’t think Baltimore needs to go out and sign a veteran.

“I don’t think it is [necessary],” he said. “It’s still the coaches’ decision. I think I’ve done everything I can this preseason to show them that I can be their backup guy. I’m a hard worker and I do whatever I can for my teammates.”

Taylor was forced to exit the game after taking a big hit by Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann in the first quarter. The defensive end hit Taylor just after he released a pass and drove the rookie’s left shoulder hard into the turf.

The gritty Taylor stayed in the game, and even completed a nine-yard screen pass to running back Anthony Allen on the next play. He took one more snap after that, then scampered to the sideline with his non-throwing arm appearing limp.

Backup Hunter Cantwell rushed to grab his helmet and sprinted into the game before the play clock expired. Although Taylor’s official shoulder contusion left him as “questionable” to return, Cantwell finished the game.

Before he was forced out, Taylor was 2-for-3 for 16 yards and an interception. He tried to force a third-and-long pass over the middle while being pressured and was picked off by Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes. Taylor also had two rushes for 11 yards.

After leaving the field with Ravens doctors, Taylor returned to the sidelines and had an ear piece in so he could listen to the play calls being made to Cantwell and further soak up as much knowledge as he could.

So who stood out from the pack? Here’s a summary:

LB Josh Bynes
Bynes was all over the field, leading the defense with five tackles and two sacks. One came on a well-timed blitz up the middle and the other was from sheer determination. Bynes also had good pursuit and a strong tackle on special teams punt coverage, which is where he’ll have to shine to make the roster. Could Bynes be the rookie free agent linebacker to make the roster? He took a step closer.

DE Albert McClellan
After spending last year on the practice squad, McClellan showed his maturation Thursday night. The defensive end and rookie free agent from last year was strong on special teams coverage and physical on the edge. He had a crunching open-field hit in the final two minutes as well.

DE Michael McAdoo
After being signed following the supplemental draft, the suspended North Carolina product, who hadn’t played football since 2009, made his presence felt with a forced fumble coming off the edge. The 6-foot-7 McAdoo was seen as a project with a body full of potential, and his sack showed just that. He had one preseason game to make an impression and did.

RB Damien Berry
The Ravens had high hopes for Berry, who they had a seventh-round draft grade on and were thrilled to scoop up as an undrafted free agent. However, he didn’t see a lot of game action due to a preseason leg injury. He saw his first extensive time Thursday, and took eight carries for 31 yards, including a five-yard touchdown. Berry showed good vision and burst and also reeled in two receptions for 18 yards.

CB Chykie Brown
Ravens fifth-round picks usually are a sure bet to make the roster. But Baltimore is deep at cornerback this year and Brown hadn’t flashed much in preseason games thus far. That was until he hauled in a tipped pass and returned it for a 65-yard touchdown. Brown also dropped the hammer on a Falcons’ running back late in the game, showing how physical the 5-foot-11 corner can be.

LB Jason Phillips
The 2009 fifth-round pick made the roster after being on the bubble last year and was a special teams standout. On Thursday, he made a few big plays to help his cause again, yet did have a couple blunders too. Phillips recorded an interception off a Jimmy Smith deflection in the second quarter, then pounced on a fumble in the fourth quarter. Both turnovers led to Ravens points. Phillips did hit the wrong hole on the Falcons’ lone touchdown run, however.

RB Jalen Parmele
The Ravens gave the veteran running back the majority of the carries Thursday night instead of rookie Anthony Allen. Parmele toted it 10 times for 21 yards, which isn’t a great average, but he had a couple good, hard runs. Parmele also caught one pass out of the backfield and showed his burst getting up the field for 25 yards.

WR LaQuan Williams
The coaches clearly wanted to get a long look at Williams as their punt returner, as the rookie free agent was back deep on all seven of the Falcons’ punts. Williams returned only one, springing it for 33 yards up the left sideline and continuing to show big-play ability. Williams did have one learning experience when he didn’t come forward to field a punt, which ended up costing the Ravens field position.

TE Kris Wilson
The eighth-year veteran caught an 18-yard pass across the middle that seemed to get backup quarterback Hunter Cantwell going in the third quarter. Wilson finished the preseason with the most receptions on the team (8) for 99 yards. His competition for the third tight end spot, Davon Drew, didn’t record a catch.

Mike Duffy: Once news broke that the Ravens were resting nearly all their starters and Atlanta would play theirs (sans Matt Ryan), you had to be happy that Baltimore’s defense didn’t get run over on the first few series. In fact, backups played Atlanta to a stalemate on those critical drives.  Of course, with an offensive line that was green as the turf in the Georgia Dome, the disruptive pressure that came – especially with Kroy Biermann and Ray Edwards going against Ramon Harewood and Jah Reid – could have been expected. The hope is that Tyrod Taylor’s shoulder contusion isn’t serious, and the Ravens’ starting offensive line won’t be hurt by not getting any game reps before opening weekend.  All in all, it was a good chance to maximize the preseason finale and really evaluate the deeper parts of the roster.

Ryan Mink: First of all, you have to feel for Tyrod Taylor. In his first NFL start, in a chance to prove he can be the Ravens’ No. 2 quarterback, he left very early with a shoulder contusion. Still, some of the bubble players showed up, including linebacker Josh Bynes, cornerback Chykie Brown, wide receiver LaQuan Williams and defensive end Michael McAdoo. The Ravens will have some tough decisions to make before Saturday. Perhaps chief on that list is what to do about the backup quarterback situation.

Sarah Ellison: The story of this game was Tyrod Taylor suffering a shoulder contusion. The sixth-round draft pick was making a bid to become Joe Flacco’s backup, but was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. Taylor will need to have a quick recovery to avoid veteran competition for the No. 2 spot. Outside of that, tonight was a great learning experience for a lot of youngsters trying to make this roster or draw attention from another team. There were a few bubble player standouts: Kris Wilson (making a strong case for No. 3 TE), Jalen Parmele (trying to distance himself from Anthony Allen for No. 3 RB), little-known LB Josh Bynes (relentless pressure resulting in two sacks) and Chykie Brown (the fifth-rounder made some noise with an INT in a crowed CB group).

Wideouts Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans combined for eight receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns Thursday night against the Washington Redskins, providing the comeback firepower in Baltimore’s 34-31 victory.

It’s never been easy for the historically defensive-geared Ravens to climb back from deficits before.

But with Boldin and Evans, it seems more possible in the future.

“Quick strike ability, you have to have it,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “Once you get in that high red zone, that 20 to 35-yard area, that’s a nice area to score from. Guys like Lee, that’s what they do.”

The two wideouts complemented each other well Thursday. Boldin worked the intermediate-to-long crossing routes and showed his physical nature. Lee flashed his blazing speed.

“He’s the guy that pretty much takes the top off of defenses, opens up everything underneath for guys like myself and Ray Rice and other guys,” Boldin said.

Quarterback Joe Flacco had Boldin deep a couple times in the team’s last preseason game against Kansas City but overthrew him twice. This time, the pair showed their strong connection.

Flacco hit Boldin for gains of 18 and 30 yards on their first touchdown drive. Boldin got open behind the Redskins’ zone defense and Flacco lobbed the perfect pass over the defense’s head to the veteran.

Flacco then hit Boldin for a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter that tied the score at 21. The Ravens’ top target, who finished with five receptions for 73 yards, toe-tapped in the back of the end zone.
Boldin said he and Flacco spend a little time after practices making sure they’re on the same page and both attest that their chemistry has improved from a year ago. In their first year together, Boldin recorded 64 receptions for 837 yards and seven touchdowns, his lowest totals in a 16-game season.

“It’s not something that happens overnight,” Boldin said. “You know, the great ones always put in extra time, and that’s what we’re trying to do now.”

“Me and Anquan have been hooking up this training camp, and we have been talking to each other about what we’re seeing,” Flacco added. “I am really confident about where we are at right now.”

Evans continued to show why he’s the deep threat the Ravens have long coveted.

The speedy veteran, whom Baltimore acquired from Buffalo for a fourth-round pick, simply outran Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (no slow-poke himself) on a stretch play up the right sideline. Flacco lofted the 35-yard pass right into his outstretched hands.

Evans finished with three catches for 60 yards, a week after notching three catches for 68 yards.

“The play that Evans made … wow,” Harbaugh said. “To be able to go get that ball the way he did, there was a point in time where I didn’t think he was going to be able to catch up with the throw. I guess Joe knew he would be able to catch up.”

In a game in which the Ravens were looking for Flacco to get in a rhythm with his top two targets before facing Pittsburgh – especially considering he lost his two go-to receivers in Derrick Mason and Todd Heap this offseason – the group delivered.

“You talk about timing and chemistry and maturing together,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t even know what the word is, but I think they are getting to know each other in the passing game, and that bodes well for us.”

But after Friday night, there are signs that if called upon, Smith and Williams are up for the challenge.

Both players had some hiccups against the Chiefs and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, but for the most part, held up very well.

“I feel like I’m a starter,” Williams said. “I can compete at a high level and play fast with the guys. I think I showed that tonight.”

“I think just playing in the first game, to get my feet wet gave me confidence,” Smith added. “It’s more confidence to see what to really expect out of a Pro Bowl receiver like that.”

The Chiefs went at Williams and Smith, who combined have one career NFL start between them, from the get-go.

Smith was in Bowe’s pocket when the 6-foot-2, 221-pound wideout – who didn’t dwarf the first-round pick like he does so many other cornerbacks – caught a 14-yard pass to convert on Kansas City’s first third down. Smith was physical at the line and tipped the ball, but Bowe reeled it in with one hand.

On the Chiefs’ next drive, quarterback Matt Cassel floated a pass to the sideline that Smith was in position to defend but didn’t turn his head around fast enough to swat away. Bowe caught it for a 26-yard gain, then muscled Smith to the turf as he went out of bounds.

“I mean, I went against a Pro Bowler and I felt like I had blanket coverage,” Smith said. “He just made great catches. … I thought that I had good coverage on all the plays, but I’ve got to figure out a way to get that ball out.”

Williams, who has been primarily a special teams player for his first four years in the NFL, was also tested.

Facing a third-and-4 on their second drive, the Chiefs tried to hit Bowe on a quick out. Williams, who stands in at 6-foot-1, was also physical and deflected the pass away to force a punt.

On the next series, Cassel tried to hit Jerheme Urban on a quick slant. Williams jumped the route and had an interception bounce off his hands.

However, Williams was in coverage at the end of the second quarter when the Chiefs scored their lone touchdown on a 4-yard slant to Terrance Copper.

That didn’t faze his confidence. Asked whether he felt he could step in right away against the Steelers, Williams without hesitation stared directly back and boldly said, “No question.”

“I definitely feel like I have the ability to start Week 1 against the Steelers, Sept. 11,” he said. “I’m going to come out there and play with the same physicality, the same nature I played tonight. It’s just going to be for four quarters.”

The Ravens also welcomed cornerback Domonique Foxworth back for his first game since tearing a knee ligament on the eve of training camp last year.

Lardarius Webb worked in with the second team while last year’s starter, Chris Carr, sat out due to a hamstring injury.

“I think the other guys did a good job too, not just the young guys,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said.

“Foxworth looked good with his knee. Lardarius played well, taking away the quick passes, slants, the look passes, those things. Downfield, on the one they completed, they made a nice throw-and-catch on the right side early, [but] Jimmy was right there on that one. The corners played really well.”

Reed was a key component of two Ravens scoring drives in Baltimore’s 31-13 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs, leading the team (tied) with three receptions for 68 yards.

“This [performance] definitely puts this wrist injury in the past,” Reed said.

“It feels great to get back to where I was, and it’s a blessing from God that I’m able to catch the way that I used to be catching before I got the surgery,” he continued. “I’d never had an injury like that before, and I couldn’t catch the way I normally caught when I did get hurt.”

There was some question whether that would happen when Reed first got on the field.

Midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback Tyrod Taylor looked for Reed in the left flat, but the pass bounced off his hands incomplete.

“I was just a little anxious,” Reed explained. “I saw Tyrod giving me that look, and it was a good feeling. Then I just wanted to catch it so bad and get up the field and make a move on the receiver that I moved too fast and dropped the ball.”

Fortunately for Reed, Taylor showed faith in the second-year wideout and went right back to him to convert a key third down.

From there, it was gangbusters.  Reed drew a pass-interference penalty that gave the Ravens 25 yards and caught another 18-yard pass that led to a touchdown on the next play.

Reed then set up another touchdown when he corralled a 41-yard bomb from Taylor during the following drive.

The second-year receiver believes he can continue to make those big plays.

“That’s what I did all through college, high school, everything. I felt like I could always make those plays. I make those downfield catches. Once that ball is in the air I feel like I’ve got to come down with it.”

In addition, undrafted rookie LaQuan Williams had a big night in front of his hometown Maryland crowd.

The former Terrapin was the target of a 38-yard rainbow from quarterback Hunter Cantwell that produced a game-capping touchdown in the final two minutes.

Williams has played his way into the 53-man conversation with his speed and special teams contributions, but he turned heads Friday with his receiving ability.

“LaQuan has been a downfield threat,” said Harbaugh.  “He’s an interesting study, because at Maryland, I think it was the injuries that kind of held him back. He was a proven special teams player, which is close to my heart. He’s come out here and played really well.

“We’ve got some great competition. Marcus Smith is right in there battling for a spot. Justin Harper, Brandon Jones (are) fighting for those last receiver spots. We’ve got some good players battling for those spots, and LaQuan is one of them.”

There’s the obvious, that he continues to get to the ball and create havoc. But McPhee sees another positive.

“If they keep overturning the calls like that, that means I get another opportunity to line up and try to make a play again,” the fifth-round Mississippi State product said.

McPhee led an aggressive Ravens pass rush in the team’s 31-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore logged five sacks Friday night after notching just two in their first preseason contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.

And according to linebacker Terrell Suggs, who looks to be getting more help in the sacks department this year, it’s just a slice of what fans can expect later on.

The Ravens logged a franchise-low 27 sacks in 2010, despite 11 from the Pro Bowler Suggs. This year, Baltimore is getting more pressure with first-year Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano’s aggressive schemes and a group of in-house solutions – including McPhee.

“I think we’re right on pace, especially because we’ve only shown a quarter of the things that we’re going to do in the regular season,” Suggs said.

Last week, McPhee shot the gap and blindsided Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka as he was in the red zone. The fumble was recovered by Lardarius Webb and returned 93 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back due to the tuck rule.

The infamous rule struck McPhee again in Baltimore. McPhee timed the snap well, burst up the middle and barreled straight into backup quarterback Tyler Palko. The fumble was recovered by Arthur Jones, who returned it to the 2-yard line, but officials again reversed the call.

Teammates have been telling McPhee to slow down a bit and let the game come to him, which the rookie said helped him play against the run better Friday night. But it’s hard to argue against his wild-man’s pass rush.

“I would have never thought [my NFL career would have started like] this,” McPhee said. “But I know I go hard, I run to the ball and I like getting to the ball. So I know if I keep doing it, I’ll be a playmaker one day.”

In addition to McPhee, the Ravens got sacks from safety Haruki Nakamura, linebacker Prescott Burgess, defensive tackle Lamar Divens and undrafted rookie defensive tackle Bryan Hall. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and cornerback Lardarius Webb shared a sack.

Baltimore also once again had good pressure on the outside from linebacker Paul Kruger, who teamed up with fellow pass rusher Sergio Kindle to lay a big hit on Palko near the end of the first half.

It’s all a positive sign after pundits felt Baltimore would have to look outside the organization for pass-rush help. The Ravens are finding it right on their own roster.

“We got some four-man pressure, which was really good,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “I thought the blitz stuff was pretty good too.”

The Ravens scored two touchdowns inside the final two minutes, including one – an Anthony Allen 1-yard run – with five seconds remaining to win, 31-13.

To some, that could be seen as running up the score. But Harbaugh said that was not his intent.

According to Harbaugh, the two head coaches came together to shake hands after the game when Haley said to the Ravens head coach something like, “I don’t know about that.”

Harbaugh responded, “Preseason, preseason for the young guys.”

The Ravens’ head coach addressed it with his team after the game. He then cleared it up first thing in his postgame press conference.

“I want to apologize to the Chiefs if they feel like we were not doing the right thing at the end of the game,” Harbaugh said. “That wasn’t the mindset. The mindset was this is preseason. If this would have been regular season, we would have been on a knee.

“The idea in that situation was to give these young guys, who work hard, and are trying to make a football team – this football team or another football team – to play a whole 60 minutes and give them a chance to show what they can do – offensive line, running backs, everybody. That’s the mindset. I know that’s debatable. I know there’s a point of way both ways, I understand that. I just felt that was the right thing to do for our players to give them a chance to play the game out and see what they can do.”

Harbaugh said he did see both sides of the argument.

Haley seemed to agree with Harbaugh’s outlook after the game when speaking to reporters.

“I just control what we do. [And for him it's] probably no different than the way I feel; every day is important, every snap is important,” he said.

“Us as coaches, we get very limited opportunity to really evaluate. We talk about evaluation being so critical. There are some guys for us who didn’t get to play a bunch of snaps. I worry about us, they worry about… Their coach has to do what he has to do to get his team ready. I’m trying to do what we need to do to get our team ready.”

Harbaugh wanted to make sure the Chiefs knew he wasn’t trying to disrespect them.

“Now, I have a lot of respect for Todd Haley and a lot of respect for the Chiefs’ organization and what they do. That’s a really good football team, a very physical football team,” Harbaugh said.

In 2010, Haley took exception with then Denver Broncos head coach Head Coach Josh McDaniels after a 49-29 regular-season loss. Haley refused to shake McDaniels’ hand and waved his finger at him. Haley later apologized.

Haley did not have a comment about the late-game scoring in his postgame press conference.