Interception

In a matter of 15 minutes last night, Donovan McNabb threw a go-ahead touchdown pass, Chad Pennington and Daunte Culpepper threw game-closing interceptions, and Brian Griese pulled victory out of the jaws of defeat. Week 7 might not have yielded great football - field goals were all the rage - but it produced great theater. Griese one-upped McNabb with a game-winning 97-yard drive as the Chicago Bears outlasted the Philadelphia Eagles, 19-16, in one of the day's most grueling battles.

Haloti Ngata recorded 31 tackles, a sack and an interception in his rookie campaign last season. Sports Illustrated recently named him one of the league's top 10 defenders under the age of 25. What do you find more satisfying - a bone-jarring hit or an interception like the one you had in last season's opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I would rather get a big hit than an interception. I don't want to hurt a guy, but I want him to feel me and know that I'm there. Do you feel like there's more pressure on you to perform?

What went right Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson had a team-high 12 tackles (seven solo), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception. What went wrong Maryland's offense was exposed in overtime, starting on the Wake Forest 25-yard line and finishing on the 47. Defining moment Late in the third quarter, Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith intercepted Jordan Steffy's pass in the end zone and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown. What it means Against probably their first competition of the same caliber, the Terps didn't match up, and the offense was the reason.

GAITHERSBURG -- Severna Park's dream of playing in its first state championship football game ended in Montgomery County last night in the Class 4A semifinals with a 13-0 loss at Gaithersburg.The host Trojans (11-1) prevailed at John Harvill Stadium, named after their legendary coach of the last 43 years, by scoring a first-period touchdown and a game-clinching 51-yard interception return by Norman Smith with 18 seconds left in the game.Gaithersburg will play the winner of today's 11 a.m. game at Poly between Eleanor Roosevelt (9-2)

En route to a 4-0 start, Overlea had allowed just 24 points.Catonsville nearly equaled that in the first quarter alone last night, and behind five first-half touchdown passes from Doug Johnson, the Comets (4-1, 3-1 league) rolled over the previously-unbeaten Falcons, 63-30, in a Baltimore County 1A-2A game at Catonsville.Johnson (six of nine, 165 yards) set the tempo early, throwing touchdowns on his first three passes to stake the Comets to a 22-8 lead. He finished the first half with five completions in seven attempts -- and all five completions went for touchdowns.

It was a laugher for the Kansas City Chiefs in more ways than one last night.Coach Gunther Cunningham said he talked to James Hasty before the game about picking off a Stoney Case sideline pass because the Tennessee Titans almost intercepted the same pass 10 days ago, and he figured the Ravens would eventually throw it again."

The defensive backs intercepted three Doug Flutie passes, yet they could have picked off six. They stuffed the Buffalo passing game for more than 58 minutes, but could not close the door on the Bills.And after Flutie had used his scrambling ability to get the Bills into contention, then killed the Ravens with a 5-yard touchdown pass to running back Jonathan Linton, Ravens cornerback Duane Starks still seemed like he was in a daze as he digested the 13-10 defeat."Flutie scrambled and somebody popped open," said Starks, who watched Linton slip between him and safety Rod Woodson before making a sliding catch near the back of the end zone.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Morgan State remains winless but is closing the gap.South Carolina State shut out the Bears, 21-0, yesterday at Dawson-Bulldog Stadium in one of those closer-than-the-score-indicates games.The Bulldogs (3-1, 1-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) scored just before halftime and carried an 8-0 margin down to the wire before adding two insurance touchdowns in the final 2: 49. The last one came as time expired after S.C. State took possession at Morgan's 32 when the Bears (0-4, 0-3)

Can't blame Vinny.Botched snaps, missed field goals, aborted punts, false starts.Wasted timeouts, untimely stumbles, dropped passes, blown interceptions.Ladies and gentlemen, your 1998 Baltimore Ravens.What other team could hold Jerome Bettis to 41 yards rushing and still leave the field hugely disappointed?Only the Ravens.What other team could twice intercept Kordell Stewart, limit him to 173 yards passing and still lose, 20-13?Only the Ravens."I don't think we got our butts kicked today," defensive end Mike McCrary said.

The Ravens met the enemy yesterday.It was wearing a Ravens uniform.The record will show that the Tennessee Oilers beat the Ravens, 12-8, but it would be misleading to call this an Oilers victory.This was a game the Ravens lost more than the Oilers won. It was an ugly game filled with mistakes on both sides.The Oilers tried to self-destruct. They were twice called for delay-of-game penalties. They had too many men on the field twice. They had first downs on the Ravens' 12, 36, 31, 19 and 25 on five drives and came away with two field goals.

Ed "Mr. Big Play" Reed made two of them in the second quarter. The first put the Ravens on the board when he came halfway across the field on a dead run to pick off Carson Palmer and return the interception 52 yards for the touchdown, his sixth career interception returned for a score. He has a total of 13 touchdowns in his career. He also punched the ball out of Chad Ochocinco's arm as the wide receiver was running deep in Ravens territory, causing a fumble that was recovered by Domonique Foxworth.

NFL Newman's late interception lifts Cowboys over Panthers Terence Newman returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown with 5:07 left, cracking open a tight game and sending the host Dallas Cowboys (2-1) to a 21-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers (0-3) on Monday night. - Box score, PG 3 Dolphins: : Quarterback Chad Pennington tore the capsule in his throwing shoulder against the Chargers on Sunday, likely ending his season - and perhaps even his NFL career. A magnetic resonance imaging Monday revealed the damage, which likely will be surgically repaired in the coming days.

SAN DIEGO -- The drought is over for Dawan Landry. The fourth-year strong safety intercepted a pass from Philip Rivers in the third quarter of the Ravens' 31-26 victory over the host San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, marking his first interception since 2006, when he picked off five passes as a rookie. "It's been a while," Landry said. "I was thinking about that a couple days ago and thinking, 'Man, it's been about two years since I got one.' Today was just my lucky day, I guess."

One of the popular phrases among reserves on the Ravens' vaunted defense is, "Don't be the weak link." Jameel McClain, a second-year linebacker, was the weak link one moment Monday night against the New York Jets and a defensive hero the next. McClain was badly out of position on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to Leon Washington with 5:50 left in the first half. On the sideline, middle linebacker Ray Lewis told McClain to get over the play quickly. Some five minutes later, McClain intercepted Sanchez's replacement, Kellen Clemens, and ran 16 yards untouched to the end zone for a touchdown.

TAMPA, FLA. - It was only fitting that a former Raven played a factor in last night's Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, the site of the Ravens' NFL title eight years ago. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who spent 10 days of the 2004 offseason with the Ravens before being abruptly cut, returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half. The longest play in Super Bowl history came at a critical time. With the Arizona Cardinals trailing 10-7, they were 1 yard from taking the lead.

Like Picasso staring at a canvas or Jimi Hendrix at an electric guitar, Ed Reed sees possibilities in a crowded football field that other players do not. He's fast and has great hands. He watches as much film on his own time as any Raven. But there's more to Reed's game. He wouldn't put it this way, but it has become obvious that the Ravens have one of the greatest improvisational artists ever to play defensive football. And when his body of work is judged, the past seven games might be remembered as his masterpiece.

You posted six solo tackles, a forced fumble and two pass breakups in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Was that your best performance of the season? I think it was OK. It could have been better. I didn't get an interception. I want an interception - bad. That's what we get paid to do - take the ball away. And I had chances. I probably had three or four. How does it feel to contribute to and solidify a secondary that was a question mark in the offseason? It feels great. [Secondary coach]

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo calls linebacker Ross Pospisil "a meek person, a humble person." First-year inside linebackers coach Steve Johns says of Pospisil, "He's a nice kid." But Johns is quick to qualify his remark by separating Pospisil's personality from his on-field persona. "He's a tough kid," Johns said earlier this week. "He's not a pushover. Don't mistake his kindness for being soft or anything like that." Wake Forest certainly won't when the Demon Deacons play the Midshipmen tomorrow in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington.

PHILADELPHIA - Written off last month, the resurgent Philadelphia Eagles are making a strong playoff push. Donovan McNabb threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns, Asante Samuel scored on an interception return and the Eagles beat the struggling Cleveland Browns, 30-10, last night for their third straight victory. Philadelphia (8-5-1) remained a half-game behind three teams in the race for the two NFC wild-card spots. The Eagles have to win their final two games - at Washington and home against Dallas - and need Atlanta or Tampa Bay to lose once to secure a playoff berth.

THREE THINGS THAT NEED TO GO RIGHT ... 1 Protect Joe Flacco. In the first meeting with the Steelers, the Ravens allowed their rookie quarterback to get sacked a season-worst five times. Pittsburgh has recorded 13 sacks in the past three games against the Ravens. 2 Win the fourth quarter. In a game that could be tight, the Ravens have to finish strong. The Ravens have outscored teams 98-33 this season in the fourth quarter. The Steelers have shut out their past two opponents 27-0 in the final period.