There was enough to be concerned about and so much to correct, but the
Over the previous three hours, they did more than enough to lose a football game to the
But in the end, they dodged the type of deflating loss that they had endured several times last season, relying on their rookie kicker and the charity of their opponent. Three field goals by
Tucker converted field goals from 28, 26 and 39 yards, marking the Ravens' first win without scoring a touchdown since they beat the
“I think we did what we needed to do to win the football game, and in the
“This was one of those games that we didn't win last year, and this year we did. To me, that's the important thing and that's the big thing. Playing better? Absolutely. We have to play better, no doubt.”
Sunday's victory, coupled with the
It also gave the Ravens their first road victory in two tries this season, and in the process reversed a script that dogged them last season in road losses to the
“Games like this last year, we had a hard time winning,” said running back
It was Rice — with an assist from a rare run from quarterback
On a third-and-15 from their 15, Flacco scrambled 16 yards for the first down. With the Chiefs down to just one timeout, the Ravens ran the next three plays with Rice getting 6, 3and then 1yard on third-and-1 to pick up the first down and put away the Chiefs.
“That was just part of what we had to do to win the game,” said Flacco who was just 13-for-27 for 187 yards and an interception. “They're not always pretty around here, [but] we do what we have to do to win the football game. I've been saying that for a long time, whether that's throwing for 400 yards or having a [bad] day and throwing for 100 yards. We do what we have to do to win the game, and we were able to do that.”
They certainly had some help, as Cassel threw two interceptions and the Chiefs (1-4) fumbled twice. They now have turned the ball over a league-leading 19 times this season. But even with the help, the Ravens weren't able to shake the Chiefs until the end.
“The first half, we were flat, to be honest with you,” said wide receiver
It's fair to wonder what would have happened had the Chiefs not turned the ball over twice in a first half that ended 3-3 and was otherwise dominated by speedy running back Jamaal Charles, who had 125 of Kansas City's 179 first-half rushing yards.
The Ravens adjusted the positioning of their linebackers and defensive line, and the result was the Chiefs rushing for 35 yards in the second half, including 15 by Charles. The combination of Cassel and backup
It's also fair to wonder what would have happened had Cassel, who was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a head injury after being hit by Haloti Ngata, hadn't fumbled
“That ended up being a 10-point swing,” Harbaugh said.
It's also impossible to overlook three fourth-quarter calls that went in the Ravens' favor. On their final drive, Flacco fumbled when he was sacked by
Then there were two offensive pass-interference calls on Kansas City. The first, on
Two plays later, Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal instead, and the Ravens' lead was intact.
“I think the No. 1 thing for us coming in here was if they don't score, they don't win. That was our whole mentality,” said Ravens inside linebacker
jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com