Billy Cundiff

Terrell Suggs stood on the sideline, and the man who is never at a loss for words could only mouth the words “Oh, my God.” Ray Rice and Torrey Smith said nothing, choosing instead to stare straight ahead and wonder in silence how a long football season full of legitimate Super Bowl aspirations could possibly end like this. Fourteen yards from the end zone and a Super Bowl berth, and seemingly in position for no worse than a game-tying field goal that would force overtime, the Ravens watched two potential touchdown passes get broken up, and then Billy Cundiff pushed a 32-yard field goal wide left with 15 seconds remaining.

Deverick Howell could only stare at the television as Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff's last-chance field goal attempt hooked left of the uprights, dealing the team and its fans a heartbreaking 23-20 loss Sunday to the New England Patriots. "I feel angry and disappointed," said Howell, who had worn his purple sneakers and loudly cheered the team on with fellow residents of Christopher Place, a residence for 60 formerly homeless men at the Our Daily Bread Employment Center on Fallsway.

Patriots 23, Ravens 20 Fourth quarter: 11:29 New England Touchdown - 1-yard run by Tom Brady. (Stephen Gostkowski extra point is good). Ravens 20, Patriots 16 Third quarter: 0:50 Baltimore Field Goal - 39-yarder by Billy Cundiff. Ravens 17, Patriots 16 Third quarter: 3:38 Baltimore Touchdown - Joe Flacco pass to Torrey Smith for 29 yards. (Billy Cundiff extra point is good). Patriots 16, Ravens 10 Third quarter: 9:06 New England Field Goal - 24-yarder by Stephen Gostkowski.

Nobody wants to hear about perspective at a time like this. It's just too soon. The disappointment is too raw. The Ravens will be watching the New England Patriots represent the AFC in the Super Bowl even though Joe Flacco outplayed Tom Brady and – for a split second – Lee Evans had his arms around the game-winning touchdown. This one's going to hurt for awhile. Just ask Billy Cundiff, who missed a short field goal in the final seconds that would have kept hope alive. There isn't going to be a Super Harbaugh Bowl in the backyard of the evil Indianapolis Colts or a rematch of the 2001 Super Bowl that has been the Ravens' calling card for too many years now. Owner Steve Bisciotti will to have to wait at least another 12 months to light up a big fat cigar and hoist his very own Lombardi Trophy.

Joe Flacco didn't have a clear view of the play. But in his gut, in that moment, he was convinced he'd just thrown a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lee Evans with 27 seconds left in the AFC championship game. The Ravens were going to the Super Bowl, and the quarterback had just made it happen. Flacco raised his arms, began to run down the Baltimore sideline through a sea of bodies, and got ready to let loose a cathartic, celebratory roar. Then he saw the back judge, Keith Ferguson, make the signal that stopped him cold: Incomplete pass.

There was no need to ask Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff how missing a potential game-tying field goal Sunday in the final seconds against New England with a Super Bowl trip on the line gnawed at him. The disappointment already resonated -- a mix of remorse and resolve -- in his voice. "The timing seemed a little bit off. Just the dynamics of the play," said Cundiff, in hushed tones, during a telephone interview with The Des Moines Register after a 23-20 loss to the Patriots in the AFC championship game.

Kevin Van Valkenburg, staff writer: I think it's probably fair to call this the most heartbreaking loss in Ravens history. If Lee Evans puts two hands on a perfectly-thrown touchdown pass, the Ravens are going to the Super Bowl. If Billy Cundiff makes an easy field goal, they're still fighting in overtime. Other than one interception, Joe Flacco played the game of his life. He absolutely carried his team. But it wasn't enough, and now begins the longest offseason in team history.

With successful attempts from 48 and 44 yards in the Ravens' 20-13 victory over the Houston Texans in Sunday's AFC divisional round, Billy Cundiff capped a perfect season with 19-of-19 field goals at M&T Bank Stadium. The flipside is that the kicker connected on 11-of-20 field goals on the road. It was a surprising result for Cundiff, who had gone 10-of-11 on the road in 2010 and 4-of-6 away from M&T Bank Stadium and Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2009 as a member of both the Ravens and Browns.

By the end of last week, Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb was hearing teammate Ed Reed's voice in his sleep. If it wasn't Reed critiquing Webb's technique or positioning, it was him giving pointers about dealing with Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson , Reed's college teammate at the University of Miami. "He was on me all week," Webb said. "Sometimes I'm mad and I want to curse him out, want to tell him, 'Get off my back.' But it all pays off during the week.

By the end of last week, Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb was hearing teammate Ed Reed's voice in his sleep. If it wasn't Reed critiquing Webb's technique or positioning, it was him giving him pointers about dealing with Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, Reed's college teammate at the University of Miami. “He was on me all week,” Webb said. “Sometimes I'm mad and I want to curse him out, want to tell him, 'Get off my back.' But it all pays off during the week.” Indeed, it did. In the Ravens' 20-13 victory over the Texans at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday, Webb tied a team postseason record, held by Reed and cornerback Duane Starks, with two interceptions of rookie quarterback T.J. Yates.