From Ray Lewis’ bone-crunching tackle on fullback Ahmad Hall to receiver Justin Gage slicing through the Ravens’ defense, there were plenty of hard-hitting moments at LP Field on Saturday.
But 40-year-old Matt Stover delivered the decisive blow when he made a a 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining to lift the Ravens to a 13-10 victory over the Titans and to within a win of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1.
The Ravens play at the winner of today’s divisional round game between the San Diego Chargers (9-8) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) on Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the AFC Championship Game on CBS. The Ravens did not face the Chargers during the regular season and lost to the Steelers twice by a combined seven points.
The 19th meeting between the Ravens and Titans — two former AFC Central rivals — proved to be every bit as physical as most of their previous games, including the Titans’ 13-10 win at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 5. There were several tense moments on Saturday, with players from both squads pushing one another after the play and lots of trash-talking at the line of scrimmage.
The Ravens stayed in the game because they forced three turnovers, including two in the first half on an interception by Samari Rolle and a fumble recovery by Jim Leonhard — both in Ravens’ territory. Leonhard also forced tight end Alge Crumpler to fumble as he neared the end zone, with the Ravens recovering on the 1-yard line.
After the Titans took a 7-0 lead on Chris Johnson’s eight-yard run, the Ravens responded when Derrick Mason caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to win two playoff games as a rookie.
The Ravens regained the lead early in the fourth quarter on Stover’s 21-yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage, but Tennessee pulled even on Rod Bironas’ 27-yard field goal with 4:23 left. But Flacco orchestrated the biggest drive of the season, as he threw a 23-yard pass on third down to Todd Heap to sustain a drive that led to Stover’s winning kick.
The team’s perseverance has been an overriding theme throughout the season for the Ravens, who rebounded from an early, three-game losing streak along with season-ending injuries to several key players, to reach the cusp of an improbable Super Bowl berth.
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