A Tussle in Baltimore

Tennessee stays undefeated beating Baltimore 13-10

The Ravens had every reason to come out of this one with the win but didn't close the deal. The numbers indicate the kind of game you expected by these two heavy weight punchers in the AFC. But in the end Tennesse did what they had to do in the 4th quarter to get the victory.

Neither team did very well on offense. Again no shock there. Most people expected this going in. In fact anyone going up against either team expects not to score much or not to move the ball with ease. That being said Le'Ron McClain had a decent day with 51 yards on 11 carries. And Willis McGahee had 64 yards on the day but at a inefficient 2.6 yards per carry. But the Ravens as a team had 132 yards rushing on the day. A good day against the Titans.

Also in Baltimore's favor was the fact that they held the successful Titans backfield to a measly 47 yards on the ground. And they held Kerry Collins and the Titans passing game to a paltry 163 yards. For Baltimore in the air Joe Flacco was 18 for 27 and 153 yards but he had 2 interceptions. He did help guide the Ravens offense to 22 first downs compared to Tennessee's 14. Also Flacco and the boys were a solid 7 for 14 on 3rd downs. This was enough to get a win. Or was it?

To me it is as simple as this. You know your opportunities to score are going to be limited in the NFL. Even more so against the leagues elite defenses. So when you put together a nice drive like the Ravens did in the 1st quarter you need a touchdown and not a 38 yard Matt Stover field goal. Especially when your defense was handling Kerry Collins and the Tennessee offense. Holding Tennessee to a first half field goal is more than enough defense to win. Going into the half with a 7 to 10 point lead instead of the 3 point tie would not have been an unreasonable expectation if the Baltimore offense took advantage of the possibilities they earned or those presented to them.

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The 3rd quarter was tough for both teams but Baltimore pieced together another nice drive and this time finished it off with a touchdown. It was now 10 to 3 Baltimore heading into the 4th quarter. Then Tennessee was able to get close enough for another Rob Bironas field goal to close the gap on Baltimore. It was now 10 to 6 Ravens, with plenty of 4th quarter left to play. Similiar to last week the Ravens had the chance to exert themselves here and get the score board more in their favor a little bit more and close the deal.

It was not to be however. The ensuing Baltimore drive after the Titans field goal ended in an abrupt breakdown at the Tennessee 37. Then the Baltimore defense had their one setback of the day by not stopping Tennessee from marching 80 yards and eating up 4 minutes and 11 seconds to take the lead 13 to 10 after Kerry Collins hit Alge Crumpler in the end zone.

With ample time still left the Ravens threw a costly interception. By the time Baltimore regained possession it was wing and a prayer time and Tennessee remained unbeaten for another week.

By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Baltimore Ravens Correspondent