As long as Jamal Lewis keeps rushing for 100 yards every week, the Ravens should be fine. Grant Halverson

BALTIMORE -- Maybe, at this point, the problem is our expectations not their execution. Maybe we need to stop talking about what they're not and start appreciating what they are.

Maybe, when you come right down to it, this is what Baltimore Ravens football looks like, and we can either accept and acknowledge it or keep trying to measure it by league-wide standards that really don't apply to this hardscrabble team. Make that first-place team.

The Ravens on Sunday played yet another offensive game that was about as pretty as a bruise, and they still won going away, trouncing the crippled and outmanned Denver Broncos 26-6 at M&T Bank Stadium. Come to think of it, maybe it's no coincidence that the Ravens' team colors are purple, black and yellow.

Facing a Broncos team that was missing its top two quarterbacks, two starting offensive tackles (right tackle Matt Lepsis was ejected in the second quarter) and had just three healthy receivers, Baltimore won the way it always wins: It was almost exclusively a Lewis and Lewis smashmouth production.

Running back Jamal Lewis, the NFL's leading rusher, churned for 134 yards and a game-capping touchdown on a career-high 32 carries. Middle linebacker Ray Lewis contributed a team-best 10 tackles and the game-turning fourth-quarter interception, a play that set up Baltimore's first touchdown and sparked the Ravens' 17-point fourth-quarter outburst.

The game's first three quarters weren't for the squeamish, but then style points have never been in vogue in Baltimore, dating back as far as Johnny Unitas' crew cut. If you watch a Ravens game and expect to see anything other than what transpired against Denver, you obviously haven't been paying attention.

"Yeah, that's who we are,'' Ravens head coach Brian Billick said late Sunday as he pulled on his street clothes in the quiet of his stadium office. "We're an aggressive, tough, young -- third-youngest team in the league -- football team that's still learning with every game.

"We run the ball well and play good defense. And we're the No. 1 rushing offense in the league, and I imagine that didn't change today.''

That's a solid bet. And here's another one: I like their chances to stay there all season, if they can keep Jamal Lewis upright and ambulatory. Mainly because the Ravens are miles away from having a truly effective passing game. And no, the blame doesn't rest entirely on rookie quarterback Kyle Boller's shoulders.

Boller is taking nothing but baby steps this season, but against Denver the best thing he did was a play a turnover-free game (15-of-27 for 137 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions). He didn't win the game, but he didn't lose it, either, and in Baltimore that goes a long way. Until he has a big-time receiving crew to throw to -- in other words, one that doesn't include the likes of the ineffective Marcus Robinson and Frank Sanders -- we won't be able to fully judge Boller's development.

"The win is all there is, to me and this team,'' said Boller, who tossed a five-yard fourth-quarter scoring pass to tight end Terry Jones Jr. four plays after the Ray Lewis interception. "That's the most important thing. I mean, you look up on ESPN tonight and you'll see my stats and it'll be for 100 yards passing and people will say, 'Dah-dah-dah.' But, hey, we got the 'W,' and that's what it's all about.''

Through seven games, all you really need to know about the Ravens' offense is this: Baltimore (4-3) is the only NFL team that has outrushed its own passing game (1,269-982 yards). The trend is highlighted even more succinctly when you put Boller's numbers up against Jamal Lewis'. Boller has thrown for 982 yards this season on 95 completions, while Lewis has rushed for 977 yards on 166 attempts. That's a blueprint for having a No. 1-ranked running game balanced out by a 31st-ranked passing game.

The Ravens on Sunday could have buried the sinking Broncos, who suddenly have lost three of their past four games after a 4-0 start. After all, Denver quarterback Danny Kanell was making his first NFL start in almost three years and was flu-ridden and being administered IV's as recently as Friday afternoon.

But instead, with the offensively challenged Ravens allowing it to happen, Denver (5-3) hung around until midway through the fourth quarter, when a 9-6 game became 26-6 in less than six minutes.

"Nothing's easy for us,'' said Boller, who played despite the pain of a mildly sprained left (non-throwing) shoulder. "But a great team is a team where when times are tough, they're going to get through it. Our guys did a great job because we had some things go against us and we kept battling.''

The Ravens, who lead second-place Cincinnati (3-4) by a game in the ho-hum AFC North, do battle. But there shouldn't have been so much warfare to wage Sunday.

In the first half, the Ravens lived in Denver territory -- 32 of their 37 first-half snaps from scrimmage were on the Broncos' side of the field. Still, Baltimore managed only three Matt Stover field goals, taking a 9-3 lead at the break. All told, six of Baltimore's 12 drives started in Broncos territory, compared with 0-of-12 for Denver in Ravens territory.

The two offenses barely broke 300 yards through three quarters (187 for Baltimore, 125 for Denver), with Kanell completing just nine of 16 for 74 yards at that point and Boller hitting 13 of 21 for 99 yards. In the first half, only one of Boller's nine completions went to a Ravens wide receiver (Travis Taylor, one catch for five yards), while Kanell managed just three completions for 21 yards in the entire 30 minutes. Denver finished with just 194 yards of offense, against the Ravens' more respectable 277.

Is it any wonder that Baltimore always comes to the same conclusion when it finds itself in these defensive slugfests? Give the ball to Jamal Lewis and pray that Ray Lewis makes a game-changing play. They did, and he did. Once again.

"They play football the way we did in 2000, nip and tuck, here and there, not making mistakes on offense,'' said Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe, a member of Baltimore's Super Bowl-winning 2000 club. "They just beat us on both sides of the ball. They pounded Jamal, and I think our defense was tired. We left them on the field entirely too long.''

With his club-record sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, Jamal Lewis jacked his league-leading yardage total to 977. His 28-yard touchdown run with 1:56 remaining in the game boosted his total nicely, but lost in the celebration is the fact that it took Lewis 30 grinding carries to amass 102 yards before he gained 32 more on his final two carries. With nine games left in the regular season, keeping Lewis from absorbing that kind of weekly wear and tear must take priority at some point.

But when? It's a difficult goal to identify, especially when the Ravens' Lewis and Lewis victory formula seems to be the only thing Baltimore can reliably count on. As Sunday again proved, these Ravens are what they are, and we might as well get used to it.

"It can be frustrating to watch our offense,'' Boller said. "But that's us right now. And you know what? Once we get over that hump and those bad things stop happening to us in the red zone, we're going to be unstoppable. With our defense, it's going to be fun. It's going to be real fun. Until then, we keep fighting and keep winning games our way.''

For now at least, that seems to be enough for both the Ravens and their fans.

Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.