Ravens Knock Wind Out of the Chargers

The Ravens were chased out of Baltimore two days early by Hurricane Isabel, and Jamal Lewis talked some smack about his matchup with LaDainian Tomlinson.

It was an eventful week, all right, and it ended with Lewis and the Ravens beating the punch-less San Diego Chargers, 24-10, on Sunday.

“You can’t imagine how big of a win that was,” Coach Brian Billick said, adding that he would have taken some heat had the Ravens lost. With Isabel approaching the East Coast, the Ravens flew to San Diego on Wednesday, two days earlier than originally scheduled.

With the exception of cornerback Chris McAlister being suspended and sent home for reportedly breaking curfew, the Ravens treated their extended stay in sunny San Diego as a business trip.

A week after setting the NFL single-game record with 295 yards on 30 carries, Lewis ran for 132 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries.

Lewis also fumbled at midfield late in the first quarter, but the ball bounced a few yards ahead, and fullback Alan Ricard picked it up and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.

Lewis needed 182 yards to break O.J. Simpson’s two-game record of 476 yards set in 1976.

Lewis irked Tomlinson during the week by saying that Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis was going to dominate the Chargers’ star running back.

Tomlinson, the NFL’s second-leading rusher last year with 1,683 yards, had a season-high 105 yards on 23 carries and scored his first touchdown in three games. He also had eight catches for 51 yards.

The Ravens (2-1) won their second straight. San Diego (0-3) has been outscored, 88-37, this season.

Including their second-half collapse last year, the Chargers have lost seven straight and 10 of 12.

The game was mostly a tedious defensive struggle until the Ravens scored twice in the third quarter to put it away.