Lardarius Webb

After not participating the past two days, Ravens defensive end Cory Redding returned to practice on Friday. He has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Lardarius Webb (toe) and Billy Cundiff (calf) weren't on the field in the portion of Friday's practice open to the media -- unless, of course, they were wearing someone else's jersey, which is a Friday tradition. For example, Ravens defense tackle Haloti Ngata wore a purple jersey that used to belong to Jared Gaither.

1. Throw the ball successfully against the Steelers. In its past five games, Pittsburgh has allowed quarterbacks to average 263.6 yards per game and throw for nine TDs without being intercepted. This is how to beat the Steelers' defense, which ranks first against the run. 2. Continue the interception barrage. Despite injuries in the secondary, the Ravens have intercepted 13 passes in their past six games. Ben Roethlisberger hasn't thrown a pick in his past 89 attempts (covering 10 quarters)

2 Turnovers by the Ravens in the first quarter (fumble by Ray Rice and interception thrown by Joe Flacco). 3 Pass-interference penalties by the Ravens (Domonique Foxworth, Frank Walker and Lardarius Webb) in the first half. The Ravens' 11 pass-interference penalties are the most in the NFL this season. 15 The wind chill index at the opening kickoff at Lambeau Field. 17 First-half deficit by the Ravens, which tied their largest shortfall in any game this season (at Minnesota and at Cincinnati)

The Ravens continued to tinker with their secondary today as they placed rookie safety Christian Thompson on injured reserve and elevated safety Anthony Levine to their 53-man roster. Levine had been on the Ravens' practice squad. Levine, 25, spent the majority of the 2010-11 seasons on the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers and has yet to play in an NFL game. Thompson, a fourth-round pick, appeared on special teams in seven games this season. He was put on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Lardarius Webb continued a sparkling 2011 campaign, recording his third interception of the postseason when he leaped into the air to snatch a Tom Brady pass intended for wide receiver Julian Edelman in the first quarter. But the Ravens cornerback, who led the defense in interceptions with five in the regular season, took little solace in his performance in the playoffs. “Wasn't good enough,” he said simply. Webb, who finished with six tackles and one pass breakup, was also flagged for illegal contact on New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker - a costly infraction that negated an interception by strong safety Bernard Pollard on the very same play.

Just two days ago, the Ravens wrapped another successful draft, selecting a 10-player class that is being hailed as one of the weekend's best by many analysts. Next there are minicamps, offseason workouts and later a training camp to be conducted, and eventually, football games will be played. But who cares about all that? OK, fine, that stuff is important, too, I guess. But since the NFL draft is still fresh in our minds -- and since draftniks are already releasing their premature lists of the top prospects in next year's draft -- let's take a look at what the Ravens might be targeting in 2014.

Matt Vensel, Sports Blitz: My game ball goes to Cam Cameron for running the ball early and often with Ray Rice against an overmatched run defense, and props to the Ravens defense, too, for smothering Colt McCoy and putting the clamps on Peyton Hillis. Ron Fritz, head of sports: The Ravens did what they had to do on the road against a really bad team, the Cleveland Browns. Are all the Ravens' road demons exorcized? Hard to tell because the Browns were so pitiful. Kevin Van Valkenburg, staff writer: You could nitpick about a few things if you really wanted to. The Ravens red zone problems continue and Billy Cundiff needs to figure out why he's pushing every kick to the right.

The Ravens have won an NFL-best 16 consecutive games at M&T Bank Stadium, including the playoff victory last January. Here is how they've gotten to this point. Dec. 9, 2010: Ravens 30, Saints 24: Ray Rice gained a career-high 233 total yards and scored twice, and the defense contained Drew Brees' high-powered offense to beat the reigning Super Bowl champs. Jan. 2, 2011: Ravens 13, Bengals 7: Having already clinched a wild-card berth and the No.5 seed, the Ravens put forth a less than inspiring performance which was highlighted by two Ed Reed interceptions.

How our reporters, columnists and editors viewed the 31-29 win over Dallas: Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens reporter: Despite their flaws, the Ravens keep finding a way to win but this one came at a significant cost. Other than maybe Haloti Ngata, Lardarius Webb is the player the Ravens' defense could least afford to lose and he's likely done for the season. Ray Lewis, Jimmy Smith, Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Ngata were also among the players who were banged up. At 5-1, the Ravens are in a great position, but they have so much to figure out on the defensive end. Aaron Wilson, Ravens reporter: Ravens manage to pull out victory despite serious knee injury to Lardarius Webb, which is feared by the team to be a torn left anterior cruciate ligament, and a shoddy run defense for second week in a row. Disorganized Cowboys offense was prone to multiple penalties before and after the snap.