Two weeks, two game-winning drives.
That is precisely why the Ravens acquired quarterback Steve McNair over the offseason. The 12-year veteran has not always looked pretty running the offense and Sunday?s game against the San Diego Chargers was no exception. But just like at Cleveland last week, McNair made plays when he had to, especially in the fourth quarter.
On the Ravens? final drive, he rushed once for 12 yards and completed 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards, capped by a 10-yard touchdown to tight end Todd Heap with 41 seconds remaining. The score helped secure Baltimore?s 16-13 come-from-behind victory in front of 70,743 fans at M&T Bank Stadium.
That drive came after a mostly inconsistent game from the Ravens? offense, a unit that showed little rhythm and had a drive stall at the San Diego 2-yard line following a fumble by Daniel Wilcox with 5:18 left in the third quarter. For the game, McNair finished 17 for 30 for 158 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“It doesn?t matter if I throw 20 touchdowns, because winning the game is all that matters,” McNair said.
Despite the up-and-down play, Heap said the team had confidence McNair would guide them into the end zone.
“He?s definitely a fighter,” Heap said. “He takes hits, he gets right back up and calls a play and doesn?t even react to how they?re hitting him. It?s like he doesn?t even take the hits. He just brushes his shoulders off and goes and makes the next play.
“It?s really neat to see a quarterback handle himself the way he does. I like seeing that around here. I like having a quarterback like that around here that brings that toughness and that leadership, and we?re going to win a lot of ballgames with him as our quarterback.”
Left tackle Jonathan Ogden said it is a great feeling knowing the Ravens have a quarterback who remains composed after making a mistake and then comes back to try again.
“It?s not always pretty, but it?s been effective,” Ogden said. “If we can do on the first series what we did on the last series, we?ll be dangerous. His confidence just spreads to everyone else on the team.”
Wilcox, who finished with three catches for 17 yards and a touchdown, echoed a similar sentiment.
“Steve is always a cool cat,” Wilcox said. “He comes in and he always has that air about him and a smile on his face like, ?Let?s go guys. Let?s get it together. We need a touchdown here, and we keep fighting.? All the guys just pull together and work for him.”
