Ravens...9 49ers...7

SAN FRANCISCO -- Now Mike Nolan knows how it feels to be stymied and stifled by that Baltimore Ravens defense he used to run.

Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and their crew suffocated San Francisco on all but a few plays, and Matt Stover made up for Baltimore’s near-equal offensive ineptitude with three field goals in the Ravens’ 9-7 victory over Nolan’s 49ers.

Nolan was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for three years before leaving Brian Billick’s staff along with top assistant Mike Singletary in 2005, rebuilding the 49ers using many of Billick’s principles.

But neither coaching staff could get more than a flicker of offense out of its players. The Ravens (3-2) didn’t get in the end zone despite outgaining San Francisco 315-163, yet they hung on with the franchise’s lowest point total in a victory since the former Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996.

The Ravens defense applied the soundest beating yet to the 49ers (2-3), who lost their third straight while failing to gain 200 yards for the fourth time.

Quoteworthy: “We want to pitch shutouts, especially against a team that shouldn’t have got a first down against us.” -- Bart Scott, Ravens linebacker