Ravens benefit from extra rest as attention turns to Kansas City

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Benefiting from the back end of last week’s Thursday night game against the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens appear to have taken advantage from the extra three days of rest as they begin preparations for the Kansas City Chiefs.
All players were present and working during the portion of practice open to the media on Wednesday as quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Torrey Smith seem to be recovering well from the minor ankle sprains sustained in the 23-16 win over Cleveland. Cornerback Lardarius Webb (knee) and safety Ed Reed (hamstring) were also practicing after coach John Harbaugh mentioned each as individuals who were dealing with nagging injuries last Friday.
“We wanted to use this time as like another bye,” running back Ray Rice said. “If  you have a long weekend and played the amount of games that we played in that short period of a time, you want to use the extra couple of days like a bye weekend. That’s what we did. Coach Harbaugh did a great job taking care of us.”
In the Harbaugh era, Baltimore is 2-0 in games the week after playing on a Thursday night. The Ravens played four games in an 18-day stretch to begin the season but now embark on the portion of their schedule in which they play three of their next four games on the road.
In other news, the success of the playoff-bound Orioles was a popular topic of discussion as Flacco, Rice, and Reed all sported the popular “Buckle Up” t-shirts to recognize manager Buck Showalter and the other professional sports team in town.
“They’ve just been playing huge, playing big,” said Reed, who has frequently posted about the Orioles on his official Twitter account in recent weeks. “Finishing right now is the key. Today is the last one, so I hope those guys finish on a good note going into the playoffs and win this thing.”