Breaks Are Finally Going in Favor of the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens’ inaugural season was plagued by injuries, fourth-quarter collapses and a heaping amount of misfortune. They had the poorest defense in the NFL and, arguably, the worst luck.

This year they’re winning games even when they play poorly, solid proof that things just might be different for the transplanted Cleveland Browns.

Baltimore’s performance at the Meadowlands last Sunday was quite befitting a team that had never won on the road or put together successive victories. The Ravens gave up 29 first downs and 28 completions, likely signs of a loser.

Yet, somehow, they managed to come away with a 24-23 win over the New York Giants.

The Ravens (2-1) are two points away from being unbeaten. Their only loss came against Jacksonville, when they blew a fourth-quarter lead in a season-opening 28-27 setback that had fans and columnists screaming about the same old Ravens.

Coach Ted Marchibroda vehemently denied the charge, insisting the addition of free agent defensive linemen Tony Siragusa and Michael McCrary, as well as rookie linebackers Peter Boulware and Jamie Sharper, made this year’s team superior to the 4-12 version of a year ago.

Maybe he was right.

The Ravens rebounded by beating Cincinnati, 23-10, then put together the first winning streak in franchise history by defeating the Giants.

A skeptic could say the Ravens should have lost the game, given that Baltimore was outgained 390 yards to 273 and New York’s Brad Daluiso missed a conversion and two field goals.

That would be missing the point. Last year, the Ravens lose that game.

Last year, opponents made 28 of 31 field goal attempts against Baltimore. Last year, Daluiso’s 41-yard field goal attempt with 2:59 left sails through the uprights and dooms the Ravens to defeat.

Instead, it hooked wide right, leaving Baltimore just enough time to pull out its first victory on the road.

The Ravens lost eight of their final 10 games in 1996 after holding a second-half lead. In one of those games, against Cincinnati, quarterback Vinny Testaverde inexplicably lost a fourth-quarter fumble without being hit.

Against the Giants, Testaverde dropped a center snap on the opening play of the final drive. Center Leo Goeas inadvertently kicked it right to Testaverde, who picked it up and ran 11 yards. That started a 48-yard drive that ended with Matt Stover’s 37-yard field goal with 34 seconds remaining.

“I think there was a point last year when we just felt like, ‘Man, nothing is going our way,’ ” Testaverde said this week. “To go through a game like we did against the Giants--winning in the fashion that we did after not playing one of our best games--we feel like things are starting to turn around. Whatever happened to us last year is in the past.”

Baltimore was so hampered by injuries to its defensive line last year that defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis had to switch to a 3-4 defense. The offense, in turn, had to score in bunches just to keep the Ravens in the game.

“With the injuries that we had and the way things were going, we felt like we had to come out and score 35 or 40 points a game to win.” Testaverde said. “We felt that pressure. But this year I think it’s different.”

The Ravens are averaging 24.6 points per game, a figure that could improve with the addition of running back Bam Morris, who returns Monday from a four-week suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

The defense has turned things around despite featuring the youngest linebacking crew in the NFL. Second-year middle linebacker Ray Lewis had 22 tackles against the Giants, the last coming with help from Sharper on a third-and-1 before Daluiso’s final attempt. Lewis and Sharper stuffed Tiki Barber for a 1-yard loss, setting up the missed field goal off the foot of a kicker known to his teammates as “Mr. Automatic.”

“We got a few lucky bounces,” Marchibroda said. “But I still think we’re owed a few.”

They say the sign of a good team is winning on a day when you play poorly. Well, the Ravens won’t deny that’s exactly how they performed against the Giants.

“Anytime you can win a game and not play your best it’s a plus,” said Derrick Alexander, who teams with Michael Jackson to form one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league. “Once we start to really get rolling, I think it’s going to be hard for teams to beat us.”

The Tennessee Oilers, the Ravens’ opponent this week, have been impressed with what they’ve seen on game films.

“They’re a team playing to their talent,” Oilers coach Jeff Fisher said. “Their defensive team speed has improved and their secondary is playing sound.”

It’s a big game for the Ravens, who already are talking about the--get ready for this--playoffs.

“This is a real challenge for us, putting a string of wins together,” Testaverde said. “If we can win some of these games on the road, then come home and get the home-field advantage . . . I don’t want to start talking about playoffs yet, but that’s what it’s all about.”