Skeptics have told Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington he’s too small. It makes his role as the improbable savior of the defense sweeter.

Baltimore's defense has a lot more to celebrate after it allowed no points in a 31-2 win over Houston last week.

The Baltimore Ravens thrashed the Houston Texans 31-2 on Christmas Day, and the Ravens’ excitement got a tad out of hand. Safety Ar’Darius Washington recorded a goal-line stop in the second quarter, that could’ve led to an eruption from the Texans,

In his first start against the Steelers, Washington had to make a couple open-field tackles on tight end Darnell Washington, who measures in at 6-foot-7, 264 pounds. Washington cut him down both times as part of his team-high 12 tackles.

Safety Ar’Darius Washington saw defensive coordinator Zach Orr flying toward him. He heard him screaming, “Let’s go!” But Washington was too “turnt” himself to realize Orr, a former Ravens linebacker, was about to flip over him in excitement.

Ravens DC Zach Orr takes a hard fall celebrating an Ar’Darius Washington 4th down stop on the Texans Joe Mixon

Justin Tucker has recaptured his form. Pass Rush Coach Chuck Smith was right when he said the Ravens would get after quarterbacks this season.

Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington are both dawgs — which would make Hamilton a Great Dane and Washington a cowboy pit bull, according to linebacker Roquan Smith, allegedly the worst perpetrator of jokes about the height gap between the two safeties.

The improvement by the defense is as big of a reason as any that Baltimore will head into this weekend with a chance to win the AFC North.

Here’s how the Ravens (12-5) graded out at every position after a 35-10 win over the Browns on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore that clinched a second straight AFC North title: Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed some receivers early and throughout the game,

Ar’Darius Washington remembers well the first time someone said he was too small. A rival Pee Wee league coach boasted to Washington’s stepfather that there was no way his boys would lose to such a runt in the championship game.

The improvement of the Ravens' defense is one of the reasons they are on the verge of a second-straight AFC North title.