With coach John Harbaugh barking from the sideline, the Ravens turned up the intensity and got a huge win, their first in 35 days. A look at the Ravens' grades:

Offense
Jared Gaither’s return was a boon for the Ravens. The offensive line is most effective when he and Michael Oher both play, which could have something to do with the Ravens’ well-balanced offense against the Broncos. It’s impressive to put up 30 points against a team that had only surrendered 66 in its previous six games. And the Ravens did it through the air and on the ground. They ran the ball much more than they had during their losing streak, which helped them control the clock.

After a slow start, Joe Flacco, who’s still prone to throwing some high passes, again played with poise. He showed a nice touch on his touchdown pass to Derrick Mason and, on one play, he eluded what looked like a sure-thing Brian Dawkins sack and got the ball to Ray Rice for a gain. Big Play Ray ran the ball effectively, gaining 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 rushes, and 24 yards on five receptions. It’s worth mentioning that Mark Clayton made several acrobatic catches and it seems his dropped-pass gaffe against the Patriots shouldn’t affect the rest of his season. Kelley Washington had several big catches and was again dancing on a Sunday. Grade: A-

Defense
It’s just one game, so we don’t know if there’s been a change in philosophy from defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. But the Ravens’ defense attacked today. Jarret Johnson got things going right from the start with a sack for a loss of eight yards on the Broncos’ first play. The Ravens applied plenty of pressure throughout the game, which paid off with two sacks and five hits on Kyle Orton.

Ed Reed had some big, thumping hits (see video) and while pass-interference penalties continue to be a problem, the secondary was very solid. Tall receivers have given the Ravens fits this year, but Domonique Foxworth did a good job of keeping Brandon Marshall in check. Fabian Washington was a big contributor with eight tackles and one pass defended.

After consecutive games with shoddy run defense, the Ravens battened down the hatches and stood tall against the Broncos’ rush. This looked like the run defense we’ve been expecting, and they pretty much took away the run as an option for the Broncos. Defense: A

Special Teams
Ladarius Webb came up huge today, opening the second half with a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown. Sam Koch, as always, did his job well. And the goat from the loss to the Vikings, Steven Hauschka, converted all of his field-goal attempts and PATs. Grade: A
--- RONALD T. ZIZMOR.