17 win over Cincinnati Bengals
Ravens coach John Harbaugh went down on a knee and partially covered his face. Quarterback Joe Flacco focus turned to overtime but not before he had some thoughts. Cornerback Jimmy Smith started yelling at any teammates in the vicinity and couldn help but wonder if Justin Faulk USA Hockey Jersey the turn of events might ultimately cost the Ravens a playoff spot.
was a lot of frustration, Smith Justin Faulk USA Jersey said. had an up and down season and that play was kind of the topper at that moment. Green. Just like that, what once appeared to be a season salvaging victory suddenly seemed headed for a season sinking loss.
Except they still had overtime, and after stopping the Bengals on the first possession of overtime, the Ravens got a game winning 46 yard field goal from Justin Tucker, whose right foot put an end to a wild game and put his team right back in the AFC North race in front of an announced 70,992 at M Bank Stadium. The 20 17 victory their first since Oct. 6 broke a three game losing streak and put the Ravens (4 5) just 1 1/2 games behind the first place Bengals (6 4) in the AFC North.
don know if this was exciting. It would been more exciting if you were on Cincinnati side, said Flacco, who threw two first half touchdown passes but also turned the ball over three times. don know if it was more exciting as it was one of those ones where you go afterward, I glad we won this one. Ravens wouldn have officially been eliminated with a loss but their hopes of a third straight division crown would have been all but dashed. Instead, after an afternoon of struggles and after failing to protect a 17 point lead, they go to Chicago next week to play the Bears right in the thick of the AFC playoff picture with seven games to go.
No wonder safety James Ihedigbo walked up the tunnel to the locker room after the game, praising a higher power. Ihedigbo symbolized the afternoon for the Ravens. He had two interceptions and a role in the key fourth down stop in overtime that gave the Ravens the ball. However, the game tying Hail Mary actually hit off his hands before Green caught it near the back of the end zone.
victory in so many ways, Harbaugh said. think what it was all about in the end, and the thing I proud of as a coach, is the heart of our guys. I feel like they showed the heart of champions today. Where this leads us we will find out. were certainly some positive developments. The Ravens finally started fast, taking their first lead in four games early in the first quarter on a 1 yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark, and building it to 17 0 midway through authenticusahockey.com/WOMENS-OLYMPIC-KEVIN-SHATTENKIRK-JERSEY.html the second.
From backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor taking a handoff to nose tackle Haloti Ngata being inserted in a goal line situation to top wide receiver Torrey Smith being targeted 14 times and catching his second touchdown pass, the Ravens showed the desperation to jump start a struggling offense.
The defense was dominant most of the game, intercepting Dalton three times, sacking him five times (2.5 of them by Elvis Dumervil) and www.authenticusahockey.com/WOMENS-OLYMPIC-PATRICK-KANE-JERSEY.html shutting out the Bengals for the game first 34 minutes.
However, they certainly didn make an emphatic statement that they are ready to go on a torrid second half of the season run either. They managed just 189 total yards of offense and were 3 of 16 on third downs. Flacco turned the ball over three times and he easily could have been intercepted two or three more times. At one point of the fourth quarter, the Ravens had less total yards than the Bengals had in penalty yards (134).
Their ground game also was again nonexistent as they had just 85 yards rushing and Rice was held to 30 yards on 18 carries. The Ravens gained one first down on a running play and six on penalties.
you have to win by any means necessary, Rice said. heals a lot. Now, we have to get on a roll to get back where we want to be. It was a good team win. Number one, it gives you confidence. It great to get rolling with a little bit of confidence. Ravens had talked all week about how they needed to just one win and things would hopefully click. They then went out and thoroughly outplayed the Bengals for the first 45 minutes, taking a 17 3 lead into the fourth quarter.