In his second NFL start, Ray Rice delivered a shot of adrenaline to the Ravens' offense.
And, more than likely, a shot of novocaine to Willis McGahee's knee.
Watching one's backup slice through and bounce around the defense, even just a handful of times, can bring a sense of renewed health and fitness to any player post-surgery. While the good news is McGahee is back in town after getting his left knee scoped in Florida a little more than a week ago, the bad news is he got to see up close what Rice was doing in his place, instead of from afar.
Not that McGahee's job, technically, is in jeopardy. John Harbaugh didn't hesitate to make that clear after the Ravens' 23-15 preseason loss to the Minnesota Vikings last night at M&T Bank Stadium. "Who's going to be the starter? It's Willis," he said. Of Rice, though, he added, "But he plays like a starter, if that's what you're asking."
Legitimate question, especially because Harbaugh included the qualifier, "if McGahee is healthy." Rice definitely is healthy. As opposed to his debut the previous week at New England, the numbers backed him up. In that exhibition opener, he totaled 29 yards on 10 touches. Yet he unquestionably showed some explosion. You had to trust your eyes rather than your statistics.
Last night, you had permission to believe your eyes and the numbers. Last night, the numbers were 94 yards on 11 touches.
That includes 42 yards the first time he touched the ball on the home field of his NFL employer, on the Ravens' second offensive play. It was breathtaking to watch in every way, from Troy Smith changing the original second-and-3 call at the line, to Rice bursting through the hole on the right side (a colossal hole, and a proud moment for the makeshift line), to his subtle shift into open space and his demonstrating enough speed to lose everybody except safety Tyrell Johnson down the right sideline.
That was the longest play of his home debut, not the most impressive. That was on the 6-yard touchdown run five plays later, when his shift to the left wasn't subtle at all - he sprang from behind his blocker, found the open lane and powered into the end zone.
In all, he gained 55 of the Ravens' 73 yards on that drive, the first of Smith's first start of the preseason. If Rice made McGahee's life a little harder, he made Smith's easier. On that seven-play drive, Smith called exactly one pass play. His own 10-yard run to set up first-and-goal was a designed play, and you have to figure the Vikings' defense had an eye on Rice by then.
