Ravens Run Into Trouble

When NFL rushing leader Jamal Lewis faced the Oakland Raiders’ patchwork defense, it was a terrible mismatch.

Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens were thoroughly beaten -- and they also lost their edge in the playoff race.

Jerry Rice caught his second touchdown pass of the season, and the Raiders limited Lewis to 125 meaningless yards in a 20-12 victory Sunday, snapping Baltimore’s three-game winning streak.

The loss knocked the Ravens (8-6) back into a tie with Cincinnati atop the AFC North after the Bengals’ win over San Francisco. Baltimore hasn’t won on the road since Oct. 12, losing four in a row -- and the Ravens never got close enough to threaten the Raiders, who showed pride against an opponent with much more motivation.

“We’re building for next year, trying to make sure this season doesn’t taste so bad,” Oakland receiver Jerry Porter said. “They didn’t give our defense any credit at all. They gave us the ball in pretty good situations where we almost had to go score.”

Zack Crockett scored on a one-yard plunge set up by Phillip Buchanon’s interception return on the Ravens’ opening drive. Oakland (4-10) never lost that lead in snapping its three-game losing streak, though neither team was terribly impressive in a game dominated by defense, penalties and mistakes.

And except for a handful of impressive runs, Lewis went nowhere.

“It’s shocking,” Lewis said. “They did a better job than we thought they would, and we didn’t make the plays we had to make. We weren’t aggressive enough. We couldn’t finish our drives and plays.”

Though Lewis ran 24 times, he couldn’t get in the end zone or spark his teammates, who seemed to sleepwalk through long stretches of the game.

The Ravens struggled to establish their running game against Oakland’s injury-riddled defense.

Odd play-calling didn’t help: On at least two key third downs in the first half, Baltimore Coach Brian Billick called unsuccessful passes in short-yardage situations against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.

“They probably just tried to catch us off guard,” Raider cornerback Charles Woodson said. “You get a little fancy sometimes and don’t go with your bread and butter. We still had to stop them, though.”

Rice caught a 21-yard slant from Rick Mirer 1:20 before halftime. It was Rice’s 194th career touchdown, 64 more than Cris Carter atop the NFL career list.