Ravens Follow Familiar Script

The Baltimore Ravens used their standard formula for success--with a twist.

The Ravens opened defense of their Super Bowl title Sunday with a performance reminiscent of last season, smothering the Chicago Bear offense and getting just enough production from a one-dimensional attack in a 17-6 victory.

Last season, Baltimore’s offense relied heavily on its running game. This season, with the addition of Elvis Grbac and the absence of injured running back Jamal Lewis, it appears the Ravens will be passing for points.

Operating with little backing from the running game, Grbac went 24 for 30 for 262 yards. His first touchdown pass with Baltimore came with 1:48 left in the third quarter, a six-yard play to Sam Gash that gave the Ravens their first lead at 10-6.

“You’ve got to do whatever you do best, whatever it takes to win,” Raven offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden said. “That’s the way we’re going to be. We could do a lot worse than that.”

Terry Allen, signed to replace Lewis in the Baltimore backfield, gained only 37 yards in 20 carries and lost a fumble. Baltimore managed only 54 yards rushing, and the futility was exemplified when Obafemi Ayanbadejo was stuffed on a fourth-and-one from the Chicago 31 in the fourth quarter.

But the Ravens won anyway, their 12th consecutive victory since Oct. 29.

Chicago managed only two field goals, and made three first downs in the second half. James Allen, the last player to run for 100 yards against Baltimore (in 1998) had only 43 yards on 21 carries.

“Our philosophy is, if they don’t score, they don’t win,” Raven linebacker Ray Lewis said. “We’ll give up a field goal here or there. But when they get into the red zone, we knew we had to buckle down and that everything would fall in place.”

Shane Matthews went 24 for 39 for 138 yards but threw two interceptions, both in the final six minutes. “We shot ourselves in the foot,” Matthews said. “We had our chances, we just didn’t put it in the end zone.”

With Baltimore up 10-6, Jamie Sharper tipped a pass that was picked off by Lewis, who went 21 yards to the Chicago 35 with 5:24 left. After Grbac completed a 25-yard pass to Patrick Johnson, Allen scored from the 1.

“Any time you get a win under your belt, you’ll take it any which way,” Grbac said. “Obviously, we have a lot of room for improvement. To put your defense out there for as much as we did in the first half, we have to improve on that to repeat.”