The Ravens' defense allowed a pair of long touchdown passes to Denver's Brandon Lloyd, who hauled in scoring receptions from 42 and 44 yards. But that was it. Aside from a 38-yard field goal from Matt Prater, the Broncos controlled the ball for only 23 minutes and 43 seconds compared to the Ravens 36:17.
Player of the game: Ray Rice – 133 yards rushing on 27 carries and two touchdowns. Four receptions for 26 yards.
Week 6 – Patriots 23, Ravens 20, OT
Foxborough, Mass. – Gillette Stadium
The Ravens squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the New England Patriots and lost, 23-20, on Stephen Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal in overtime.
Baltimore controlled the first three quarters, producing 296 total yards in that span to 81 total yards in the fourth. Having kept Patriots quarterback Tom Brady under wraps for much of the afternoon, the Ravens' defense let off the pressure late. Brady threw for 156 yards on 16 of 24 passes during the fourth quarter and overtime for the 30th game-winning comeback of his career.
"When I get into the fourth quarter and we're up 20-10 against Tom Brady, I'm still nervous," linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "You can't relax and you can't settle. We did and we let them back into the game."
Joe Flacco compiled three quarters of inspired football, completing 27 of 35 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. But the Ravens' quarterback was not as aggressive late in the game. Flacco threw for 59 yards on seven of 12 passes in the fourth quarter and overtime, and targeted a receiver only four times in that span.
Player of the game: Derrick Mason – eight receptions for 100 yards.
Week 7 – Ravens 37, Bills 34, OT
Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
The Ravens were on the verge of an embarrassing loss to the winless Buffalo Bills when Ray Lewis stripped the ball from Bills tight end Shawn Nelson in overtime to set up a game-winning, 38-yard field goal in a 37-34 victory.
On a day when the team honored the record-breaking 2000 Super Bowl Champion squad, this Ravens group made dubious history of its own. The Ravens' defense allowed 506 total yards — the most in nearly a decade — and Bills journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 374 yards.
"I'm not going to stand up here and say that we played well," coach John Harbaugh said. "I'm disappointed in the yards. I'm disappointed with the points. I'm disappointed with the coverage. I'm disappointed with the pressure in some ways. We have to play better than that to be the team we want to be, but I'm proud of the win."
Tight end Todd Heap hauled in two of Joe Flacco's three touchdown passes on the day, and receiver Anquan Boldin finished with six receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown.
Player of the game: Ray Lewis – 14 tackles, 13 solo, one sack, one fumble
Week 9 – Ravens 26, Dolphins 10
Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
After struggling to close out their past two games, the Ravens came up with a big fourth quarter stand that preserved a 26-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Ravens intercepted Miami quarterback Chad Henne twice in the final period, including Josh Wilson's pick with 35 seconds left that ended the game.
"You always want the onus to be on you," Wilson said. "It's time for us to step up. Offense did what they did. Now, it's time for us to in and end the game."
Running back Ray Rice finished with 180 total yards – 83 yards on 22 carries, 97 yards on seven receptions – and set the tone for the Raven's controlling offensive scheme. Baltimore held possession of the ball for 38 minutes, 22 seconds and dominated the fourth quarter with 11 minutes of possession. Joe Flacco completed 20 of 27 passes for 266 yards and touchdown passes of 32 and 12 yards to Willis McGahee and Derek Mason, respectively.
Player of the game: Ray Rice – 180 total yards, including 83 yards rushing. Also hauled in a 34-yard reception in the third quarter.
Week 10 – Falcons 26, Ravens 21
Atlanta – Georgia Dome
In a showdown between the two top-drafted quarterbacks of the 2008 draft, Joe Flacco's Ravens couldn't keep up with Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons in a 26-21 loss.
Ryan capped an 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 20 seconds left to win the game. The play was disputed by a visibly angry Ravens cornerback Josh Wilson who contended that White made illegal contact with him before catching the pass and securing the go-ahead score unguarded.
With the Ravens trailing by 13 points late in the fourth quarter, Flacco engineered back-to-back touchdown-scoring drives that gave Baltimore a one-point lead. Flacco found Derrick Mason in the end zone on a six-yard touchdown pass with 5:49 remaining and targeted Heap for a 9-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing possession.
