What a difference a year makes.
The Ravens went 13-3, including 5-1 in the AFC North, en route to winning their first division title since 2003 last season. This fall, Baltimore’s season appears all but lost after falling to 4-6, including 0-5 in the division, after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns in front of more than 71,055 fans at M&T Bank Stadium.
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The Ravens enter Sunday’s game at San Diego (5-5) in third place in the AFC North, three games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3), who lost, 19-16, to the New York Jets in overtime on Sunday. Cleveland (6-4) is in second place after beating the Ravens, but the Cincinnati Bengals (3-7) continue to flounder in last place after losing, 35-27, to the visiting Arizona Cardinals.
“It hurts a lot,” Ravens coach Brian Billick said. “Being out of the division race is as tough as any circumstance I’ve ever been in.”
It appeared the Ravens were going to end their three-game losing streak when officials ruled Phil Dawson?s 51-yard, game-tying field goal was no good because it caromed off the crossbar and onto the field. But during the next few minutes ? a time in which several Ravens, including linebacker Ray Lewis, already were undressing in the locker room ? the officials determined the ball had hit the center support behind the crossbar, and ruled the field goal good.
A few minutes later, Dawson kicked a 33-yard field goal that spit the uprights on the first overtime possession to end the game.
Against the Browns, the Ravens lost for just the second game in 13 games when they had a 100-yard rusher (Willis McGahee, 102) and a 100-yard receiver (Devard Darling, 107) in the same game. The Ravens also dropped to 28-5 all-time when scoring a defensive touchdown, which they accomplished when Lewis scored on a 35-yard interception return in the second quarter.
“It’s hard,” Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller said. “You just have to keep fighting though. You have to keep working and it’ll come. We have to keep our heads up and go out there and battle and get ready for a tough game down in San Diego.”
Even as the Ravens are in the midst of a franchise record-tying four-game losing streak for the second time in three seasons, the players are still trying to remain positive about sustaining their slim hopes of making the playoffs.
“A loss is a loss,” Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister said. “That’s the bottom line. This loss hurts. This loss hurts just as bad as any other loss. We have to move forward at this point and get ready for our next game.”
