A look at who's rising and falling on the Baltimore Ravens heading into their Week 8 game at the Cincinnati Bengals:

RISING

Justin Forsett's big runs: The Ravens' surprising starter at running back has seven runs of 20 or more yards. That is tied with Dallas' DeMarco Murray for tops in the NFL. Forsett has a run of more than 20 yards in his last six games. To put this in perspective, the Ravens had five such runs as a team for all of last season. Forsett has surpassed that total, and it's not even the midway point of the season.

Strong starts: In winning five of their last six games, the Ravens are winning the battle at the start of the game. During this stretch, they have outscored teams, 45-10, in the first quarter. The 35-point differential ranks only behind the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens have scored on four opening drives this season, which includes touchdowns the past two weeks.

Pressure on quarterbacks: The Ravens have posted five sacks in back-to-back games for the first time since December 2006. That was the season when the Ravens set a team record with 60 sacks. Over the past two weeks, the Ravens have recorded 24 quarterback hits (15 on Tampa Bay's Mike Glennon and nine on Atlanta's Matt Ryan) and they've come from all angles. There have been 10 Ravens who have recorded a quarterback hit in the last two games: Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs, Pernell McPhee, Daryl Smith, C.J. Mosley, Brandon Williams, Haloti Ngata, Will Hill, Terrence Brooks and Brynden Trawick.

FALLING

Matt Elam's playing time: The 2013 first-round pick has watched his snaps significantly decrease because the Ravens are limiting his time on the field in obvious passing situations. Elam was on the field for 33 percent of the defensive snaps Sunday (a career-low 22 total snaps). In comparison, rookie third-round pick Terrence Brooks had double that number. Elam is the second-worst coverage safety in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Last season, Elam was on the field for 94 percent of the defensive snaps.

Disciplined play: The Ravens set a season-high in penalties for a second straight week. They were flagged nine times for 72 yards, including three holding calls on rookie left tackle James Hurst. The Ravens have committed 17 penalties the past two weeks after getting flagged 21 times in the first five games. That has dropped the Ravens to No. 5 in the NFL in fewest penalties.

Protecting the ball: The Ravens won decisively Sunday despite losing the turnover battle. They turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and one fumble) and only forced one turnover. How rare is it for the Ravens to win a game like that? The Ravens had lost 12 of the previous 16 games under coach John Harbaugh in which they had a turnover differential of minus-2 or more. They were able to withstand this on Sunday because the Falcons didn't convert a point off a turnover. Overall, the Ravens have turned the ball over seven times in three weeks.