All those stirring comebacks and down-to-the-wire finishes won’t mean a thing if the Cincinnati Bengals can’t find a way to play a complete game against a tough opponent.

They didn’t do it against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, absorbing a 31-24 defeat and squandering an opportunity to move into a first-place tie in the AFC North.

Instead, the Bengals were again left wondering what went wrong. One week after rallying from a 14-0 deficit before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati came up short in an effort to climb out of a 17-point hole against Baltimore.

And now, the Bengals (6-4) are in third place behind the Steelers (7-3) and Ravens (7-3).

“In my mind, we’re better than those teams,” tight end Jermaine Gresham said. “They’re great teams and everything, but I think big mistakes killed (us) in some areas. We just have to get better. We will get better.”

The need to play a full 60 minutes against elite competition was a constant refrain in a quiet Cincinnati dressing room, where players lamented their inability to compensate for untimely mistakes and voiced a sense that they could perform at a higher level.

“It comes down to the fourth quarter,” said rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, whose would-be game-tying drive stalled at the Baltimore 17. “That’s how every game’s been for us. We’ve got to start faster. We can’t wait around until the end of the game to pick it up, come out and get back in it. It’s definitely going to be a focus for us.”

Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko added, “We played a good game today, but we didn’t finish. Usually, we finish. We need to finish.”

Joe Flacco threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Torrey Smith had six catches for 165 yards, and the Ravens won despite playing without injured middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who was inactive with a toe injury.

Baltimore yielded 483 yards and let Dalton throw for 373, but the defense picked off three passes made big plays when it counted most. After Ravens running back Ray Rice was stuffed on a third-and-1 with just over two minutes left, he remained confident.

“I just looked at the clock and I said, ‘Our defense will get it done,’” he recalled. “That’s the faith I have in our guys.”

Down 31-24, Cincinnati reached the Baltimore 7 before Terrell Suggs collared Dalton, who was called for intentional grounding. On fourth-and-goal, Dalton was sacked by Pernell McPhee.

The Bengals needed seven points because on the previous series, an apparent 9-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Jermaine Gresham was overturned by a replay that determined the receiver didn’t hold onto the ball at the end of a juggling catch. Cincinnati settled for a field goal with 5:32 remaining.

“When the receiver went to the ground, he had the ball in his right hand,” referee Ron Winter said. “The ball touched the ground and his hand came off the ball.”

Baltimore is locked in a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but the Ravens own the tiebreaker by virtue of their two wins over the Steelers.

“No. 1 in the division, that’s huge,” Suggs said. “Now we’re the master of our destiny.”

Dalton went 24 for 45 with a touchdown. Cincinnati was without standout rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, who hurt his right knee last week.

But the Bengals gave Baltimore all it could handle.

“We’ve won six games to this point and we’ll win some more,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ve just got to circle the wagons, lick our wounds and go.”

Baltimore took a 24-14 lead on a 2-yard run by Rice late in the third quarter. The score came after Ravens rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith picked off a pass and returned it 16 yards before fumbling. The loose ball was recovered at the Cincinnati 2 by teammate Brendon Ayanbadejo in a pile that included Winter.

The Bengals’ following possession ended with an interception by Lardarius Webb. On the next play, Torrey Smith split Cincinnati’s two-deep zone and caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to make it 31-14.

Dalton responded with a five-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 49-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell, who slipped behind Jimmy Smith down the right sideline.

The Bengals punted six times in the first half, two short of their season high for an entire game. Cincinnati’s offense managed only 143 yards before halftime, 47 of those on one play.

On the Bengals’ second possession, Jerome Simpson made a juggling catch for a 47-yard gain to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Cedric Benson.

The Ravens didn’t get past midfield until early in the second quarter, following a 15-yard punt by Kevin Huber. Starting at its 45, Baltimore picked up a first down before Flacco tossed a short pass to Anquan Boldin, who ran the final 20 yards for a 35-yard touchdown.

NOTES: Former Ravens kicker Matt Stover was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. … Ravens LB Jarret Johnson made his 74th consecutive start, breaking the franchise record previously held by Michael McCrary and Jamie Sharper. … Baltimore has won seven straight at home and 15 of 16. … Cincinnati has lost two straight following a five-game winning streak.

BALTIMORE (AP) — An uncharacteristic performance by the Baltimore Ravens defense was offset by an uncommonly effective outing by Joe Flacco and the team’s oft-criticized offense.

Flacco threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Torrey Smith had six catches for 165 yards, and Baltimore moved into first place in the AFC North with a nerve-racking 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis for the first time in 58 games, the Ravens (7-3) nearly blew a 17-point lead in the final 14 minutes, yielded 483 yards and let rookie quarterback Andy Dalton throw for 373.

But Baltimore got 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Ray Rice, and the defense made big plays when it counted most. After Rice was stuffed on a third-and-1 with just over two minutes left, he remained confident.

“I just looked at the clock and I said, ‘Our defense will get it done,’” he recalled. “That’s the faith I have in our guys.”

Even without Lewis, who watched from the sideline after being placed on the inactive list with a toe injury. The Ravens’ spiritual leader and leading tackler saw his unit pick off three passes and turn in a game-saving goal-line stand in the final minute.

Down 31-24, Cincinnati reached the Baltimore 7 before Terrell Suggs collared Dalton, who was called for intentional grounding. On fourth-and-goal, Dalton was sacked by Pernell McPhee.

The Bengals (6-4) needed seven points because on the previous series, an apparent 9-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Jermaine Gresham was overturned by a replay that determined the receiver didn’t hold onto the ball at the end of a juggling catch. The Bengals settled for a field goal with 5:32 remaining.

“When the receiver went to the ground, he had the ball in his right hand,” referee Ron Winter said. “The ball touched the ground and his hand came off the ball.”

Baltimore is locked in a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but the Ravens own the tiebreaker by virtue of their two wins over the Steelers.

“No. 1 in the division, that’s huge,” Suggs said. “Now we’re the master of our destiny.”

The Ravens won in part because of Smith, whose 165 yards were third-most by a receiver in Ravens history. He might have had more if Adam Jones didn’t grab hold of Smith’s long dreadlocks at the end of a 28-yard completion in the second quarter.

Jones was initially flagged for a horse-collar tackle, but officials corrected themselves and did not mark off any yardage because it’s legal to tackle a runner by pulling his hair.

Even though it wasn’t a banner day for the Baltimore defense, its three interceptions set up two touchdowns.

“Whenever we can get turnovers, it definitely makes everybody’s job easier,” cornerback Cary Williams said. “It’s just being able to capitalize on opportunities, and we did that today.”

Dalton went 24 for 45 with a touchdown. Cincinnati was without standout rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, who hurt his right knee a week earlier in a loss to Pittsburgh.

But the Bengals gave Baltimore all it could handle.

“We’ve won six games to this point and we’ll win some more,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ve just got to circle the wagons, lick our wounds and go.”

One week earlier, the Bengals came up short in rallying from a 14-0 deficit against Pittsburgh. It was more of the same against the Ravens.

“It comes down to the fourth quarter. That’s how every game’s been for us,” Dalton said. “We’ve got to start faster. We can’t wait around until the end of the game to pick it up, come out and get back in it. It’s definitely going to be a focus for us.”

Baltimore took a 24-14 lead on a 2-yard run by Rice late in the third quarter. The score came after Ravens rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith picked off a pass and returned it 16 yards before fumbling. The loose ball was recovered at the Cincinnati 2 by teammate Brendon Ayanbadejo in a pile that included Winter.

The Bengals’ following possession ended with an interception by Lardarius Webb. On the next play, Torrey Smith split the Bengals’ two-deep zone and caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to make it 31-14.

The Bengals responded with a five-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 49-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Andre Caldwell, who slipped behind Jimmy Smith down the right sideline.

But the Ravens held on, rebounding after a 22-17 loss at Seattle last week. Baltimore has won 12 straight following a defeat.

“It’s good to bounce back,” Suggs said, “but let’s not take any more steps back.”

The Bengals punted six times in the first half, two short of their season high for an entire game. Cincinnati’s offense managed only 143 yards before halftime, 47 of those on one play.

On the Bengals’ second possession, wide receiver Jerome Simpson made a juggling catch for a 47-yard gain to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Cedric Benson.

The Ravens didn’t get past midfield until early in the second quarter, following a 15-yard punt by Kevin Huber. Starting at its 45, Baltimore picked up a first down before Flacco tossed a short pass to Anquan Boldin, who ran the final 20 yards for a 35-yard touchdown.

NOTES: Former Ravens kicker Matt Stover was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. … Ravens LB Jarret Johnson made his 74th consecutive start, breaking the franchise record previously held by Michael McCrary and Jamie Sharper. … Baltimore has won seven straight at home and 15 of 16.

Playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis for the first time in 58 games, the Ravens (7-3) nearly blew a 17-point lead in the final 14 minutes, yielded 483 yards and let rookie quarterback Andy Dalton throw for 373.

But Baltimore got 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Ray Rice, and the defense made big plays when it counted most. After Rice was stuffed on a third-and-1 with just over two minutes left, he remained confident.

“I just looked at the clock and I said, ‘Our defense will get it done,’” he recalled. “That’s the faith I have in our guys.”

Even without Lewis, who watched from the sideline after being placed on the inactive list with a toe injury. The Ravens’ spiritual leader and leading tackler saw his unit pick off three passes and turn in a game-saving goal-line stand in the final minute.

Down 31-24, Cincinnati reached the Baltimore 7 before Terrell Suggs collared Dalton, who was called for intentional grounding. On fourth-and-goal, Dalton was sacked by Pernell McPhee.

The Bengals (6-4) needed seven points because on the previous series, an apparent 9-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Jermaine Gresham was overturned by a replay that determined the receiver didn’t hold onto the ball at the end of a juggling catch. The Bengals settled for a field goal with 5:32 remaining.

“When the receiver went to the ground, he had the ball in his right hand,” referee Ron Winter said. “The ball touched the ground and his hand came off the ball.”

Baltimore is locked in a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but the Ravens own the tiebreaker by virtue of their two wins over the Steelers.

“No. 1 in the division, that’s huge,” Suggs said. “Now we’re the master of our destiny.”

Even though it wasn’t a banner day for the defense, the three interceptions set up two touchdowns.

“Whenever we can get turnovers, it definitely makes everybody’s job easier,” cornerback Cary Williams said. “It’s just being able to capitalize on opportunities, and we did that today.”

Dalton went 24 for 45 with a touchdown. Cincinnati was without standout rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, who hurt his right knee a week earlier in a loss to Pittsburgh.

But the Bengals gave Baltimore all it could handle.

“We’ve won six games to this point and we’ll win some more,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ve just got to circle the wagons, lick our wounds and go.”

One week earlier, the Bengals came up short in rallying from a 14-0 deficit against Pittsburgh. It was more of the same against the Ravens.

“It comes down to the fourth quarter. That’s how every game’s been for us,” Dalton said. “We’ve got to start faster. We can’t wait around until the end of the game to pick it up, come out and get back in it. It’s definitely going to be a focus for us.”

Baltimore took a 24-14 lead on a 2-yard run by Rice late in the third quarter. The score came after Ravens rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith picked off a pass and returned it 16 yards before fumbling. The loose ball was recovered at the Cincinnati 2 by teammate Brendon Ayanbadejo in a pile that included Winter.

The Bengals’ following possession ended with an interception by Lardarius Webb. On the next play, Torrey Smith split the Bengals’ two-deep zone and caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to make it 31-14.

The Bengals responded with a five-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 49-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Andre Caldwell, who slipped behind Jimmy Smith down the right sideline.

But the Ravens held on, rebounding after a 22-17 loss at Seattle last week. Baltimore has won 12 straight following a defeat.

“It’s good to bounce back,” Suggs said, “but let’s not take any more steps back.”

The Bengals punted six times in the first half, two short of their season high for an entire game. Cincinnati’s offense managed only 143 yards before halftime, 47 of those on one play.

On the Bengals’ second possession, wide receiver Jerome Simpson made a juggling catch for a 47-yard gain to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Cedric Benson.

The Ravens didn’t get past midfield until early in the second quarter, following a 15-yard punt by Kevin Huber. Starting at its 45, Baltimore picked up a first down before Flacco tossed a short pass to Anquan Boldin, who ran the final 20 yards for a 35-yard touchdown.

NOTES: Former Ravens kicker Matt Stover was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. … Ravens LB Jarret Johnson made his 74th consecutive start, breaking the franchise record previously held by Michael McCrary and Jamie Sharper. … Baltimore has won seven straight at home and 15 of 16.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

“Obviously I think that at the end we would have liked to have made it a little less exciting, if we could have,” Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said.

A 17-point, fourth-quarter lead all but disappeared for the Ravens as Dalton got the Bengals to the Baltimore 7-yard line in the game’s final minute, seeking a tying touchdown. But an intentional grounding call on Dalton pushed the Bengals backward and he was sacked on a fourth-down play from the 17-yard line.

“We just need to play better early so we don’t have to come back from behind at the end,” Dalton said.

Dalton threw for a touchdown and amassed 373 passing yards in his first game against the Ravens. But he also threw three interceptions and had a would-be touchdown pass in the fourth quarter overturned on an instant-replay review.

“We’ve got to play smarter,” Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said. “We didn’t play smart enough today to win the football game. We had too many critical errors at critical times.”

The Ravens rebounded from a loss a week earlier at Seattle and improved their record to 7-3. They’re tied with Pittsburgh for first place but hold the tiebreaker advantage thanks to their two victories over the Steelers this season. They’re 3-0 against the Bengals, who dropped into third place with a record of 6-4, and Steelers. The Ravens and Bengals play in Cincinnati in the regular season finale.

“We have to go play and win,” Lewis said. “If we win, it [the playoff race] takes care of itself.”

The Ravens have stumbled this season against some of the less-imposing opponents on their schedule. But they have played their best in their biggest games, and that trend continued. Flacco threw touchdown passes to Smith and fellow wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Smith had six catches for 165 yards, and Rice ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

“We stumbled a little early but we kind of hit our stride by making big plays,” Flacco said. “Torrey came up huge and we were able to capitalize on a couple of those turnovers and make a couple of those big plays.”

Ray Lewis was on the Ravens’ inactive list because of a toe injury. He missed his first game since 2007, ending a string of 57 straight starts. That didn’t prevent Lewis, dressed in black sweat clothes and a black cap, from delivering his customary pregame motivational speech to his teammates on the field.

“We like him out there [on the field] better,” Harbaugh said.

The Bengals were without injured rookie wide receiver A.J. Green. Even so, they had the early lead after the first of running back Cedric Benson’s two rushing touchdowns. The Ravens managed only one first down and 27 yards of total offense in the first quarter, and some boos could be heard from the home crowd.

But the Ravens got second-quarter touchdowns on Flacco’s 35-yard pass to Boldin and a one-yard run by Rice. They might have had another touchdown late in the first half when Smith made a catch and sprinted toward the end zone but was tackled — legally, under NFL rules — by his long hair, which hangs out of the back of his helmet. Flacco threw an interception soon thereafter. The Bengals were thwarted on their final drive of the first half when Dalton lofted a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Ravens safety Ed Reed.

The Ravens added to their lead with kicker Billy Cundiff’s third-quarter field goal. The Bengals had an immediate response with Benson’s three-yard touchdown run, but the Ravens restored their lead to 10 points in the final moments of the third quarter. Dalton threw a pass directly to Ravens rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith, who made the interception but had the ball knocked from his hand on his return as he neared the goal line. Referee Ron Winter was knocked down in the pileup of players trying to recover the fumble. Winter took a few seconds to get back to his feet after the play but continued to officiate. The Ravens’ Brendon Ayanbadejo recovered the fumble and Rice cashed in with a two-yard touchdown run.

Dalton’s third interception came on a pass on which Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb made a diving catch. The Ravens scored on the next play on Flacco’s 38-yard pass to Torrey Smith. Dalton answered with a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Caldwell. But the Bengals got only a field goal with just more than 5¹/
₂ minutes to play after an apparent touchdown pass from Dalton to tight end Jermaine Gresham was nullified on a replay review. The officials ruled that Gresham lost possession of the ball as he tumbled to the ground.

Joe Flacco needed one more possession to try to rally the
Baltimore Ravens with another memorable comeback.

The Ravens’ defense couldn’t give Flacco that chance.

And for the third time this season, Baltimore was left
explaining another flop against a losing team.

“Despite everything that happened early, late we still had an
opportunity to come back and win the game and we didn’t get it
done,” Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “I take a lot of
responsibility, me, myself and the rest of the defense. … I’m
just disgusted to lose like this.”

Flacco completed 29 of 52 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown,
but the Ravens couldn’t overcome three turnovers, two missed field
goals and a big day from Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch in the Seahawks’
22-17 win on Sunday.

A week after staking claim to the lead of the AFC North with a
thrilling last-minute win at Pittsburgh, the Ravens lost in the
Pacific Northwest in an all-too-similar fashion this season.

After routing Pittsburgh in their opener, the Ravens (6-3) were
dominated in a loss at Tennessee. Just a few weeks ago, after an
impressive win over AFC South-leading Houston, the Ravens were
beaten by Jacksonville.

Go ahead and add Seattle (3-6) to the list.

The magic Flacco had in last week’s win over the Steelers was
gone.

He was rarely able to challenge the Seahawks secondary downfield
due to strong coverage that forced him to throw underneath. When he
did have opportunities to pick up big yards, Flacco missed open
receivers.

Ray Rice had only 27 yards rushing and David Reed fumbled twice
on kickoff returns leading to six points for Seattle.

“We understand that we are going to be a target of a lot of
criticism right now. We understand that, we understand that it’s
going to be local, it’s going to be national,” Ravens coach John
Harbaugh said.

“We understand the fans are very disappointed in the game, we’re
very disappointed in the game. We had an opportunity here to do
something to separate ourselves a little bit in our division and we
didn’t finish.”

These types of losses by the Ravens are rare occurrences since
Harbaugh took over in 2008. Sunday’s defeat was the fourth loss by
the Ravens against a sub-.500 team since Harbaugh took over, and
two of them have been after Week 2 _ Sunday’s loss to Seattle and
three weeks ago against the Jaguars.

And some of the Ravens offensive decisions may be questioned
after this loss.

Rice, who was visibly upset after the Ravens had to settle for a
35-yard field goal from Billy Cundiff late in the third quarter,
had just five carries for 27 yards. The Ravens had eight total
carries by their running backs. Rice did catch eight passes for 54
yards, but receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin had five
combined catches.

“They are big guys, their corners, and they were pressed on us
most of the day. They kind of went into a two shell a lot of the
second half and forced us to do some of those things,” Flacco said.
“But I felt like we moved the ball pretty well on offense when we
had the ball, obviously we didn’t take advantage of some things and
we did make some mistakes

Steven Hauschka matched a franchise record with five field
goals, but it was those five kicks that gave Baltimore hope late.
After Lynch’s 1-yard TD run on Seattle’s second possession, the
Seahawks got inside the Baltimore 25 on five other occasions,
settling for field goals each time.

Baltimore had a chance with a 10-play, 65-yard drive, helped
along by two defensive penalties and capped by Flacco’s 11-yard TD
pass to tight end Ed Dickson with 5:52 remaining, cutting the lead
to 22-17.

Flacco set a career high in attempts, while Dickson had a career
high with 10 catches and two touchdowns, including a second-quarter
TD catch from Rice.

But Flacco and the Ravens never got the ball back. Following the
score, Seattle immediately got a pair of penalties and started with
a first-and-20 at its 10. They got back to a manageable third-and-5
at its 25 and Tarvaris Jackson found Golden Tate for 24 yards with
4:37 left.

Then Seattle got a highlight reel moment from Lynch. He caught a
short pass 3 yards short of a first down and faked out both Ray
Lewis and Jarret Johnson to get the needed yards. Seattle ran out
the clock, finally taking a knee at the Ravens 17 as the final
seconds ticked away.

“Coaches love nothing more than to get that situation in the
fourth quarter and run the clock out,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll
said. “And think about who you did it against. That’s really cool
that happens.”

Along with Reed’s two fumbles, Cundiff missed field goal
attempts of 52 and 50 yards in the first half.

Seattle also forced a turnover when rookie K.J. Wright dropped
off the line, batted Flacco’s pass for Boldin into the air and into
the arms of David Hawthorne, who returned the interception inside
the Ravens 10 to lead to another Hauschka field goal in the third
quarter.

Baltimore goes home to face Cincinnati (6-3) with a chance to
move back on top of the AFC North.

“It’s pretty high, we had a long trip out here, feeling
confident and to come in here and not be able to get that game
separation from everyone else in your division when you really had
a good shot to do that, it doesn’t feel good,” Flacco said.

“But we know that we have to improve, and we have a couple of
good games coming up in a short time and we have to be able to
rebound and comeback strong, and it starts with Cincinnati.”

Notes: Seattle lost G John Moffitt (knee), WRs Sidney Rice
(concussion), Doug Baldwin (concussion), DB Atari Bigby
(hamstring), DE Anthony Hargrove (hamstring) and SS Kam Chancellor
(concussion) during the game. None returned. … Baltimore gave up
just one sack of Flacco despite 52 pass attempts. … Baltimore’s
offense didn’t have a play for longer than 19 yards.

___

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PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — The Steelers look to avenage a 35-7 Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at home on Sunday night.

To do so, the Steelers will have to deal with a similar team, according to what Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday. Tomlin said that not much has changed with the Baltimore Ravens since the two teams met in Week 1.

Tomlin said Ray Rice is still a central point of the Baltimore offense and the Steelers need to do a better job against him this week as opposed to Week 1. Rice rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in Week 1.

Tomlin continued to say what Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and his receivers were able to do in the second half of last week’s game against Arizona was impressive. The Ravens were down 24-6 at halftime to the Cardinals and came back to win, 30-27. Flacco passed for 336 yards and wide receiver Anquan Boldin had 145 of them.

Tomlin later added that there wasn’t a single player in the Steelers locker room that thought Baltimore was going to lose to Arizona, even after seeing the halftime score.

Tomlin said the Ravens defense is the same core of guys everyone’s used to seeing and they’re playing great. Accordingly, Tomlin said their special teams units are “rock solid.”

“They play ball the way they play ball and they impose it on you,” Tomlin said.

Some other quotables from Tomlin’s Tuesday press conference on Baltimore’s defense:

• “They’re slaying people.”
• “They’re very rarely out of place.”
• “They’re the best in the world right now.”

Tomlin said he’s not comfortable with putting the Steelers defense in the same conversation as Baltimore’s defense at this point in time.

BALTIMORE (AP)—The Baltimore Ravens got the bounce-back victory they needed, in record-breaking fashion.

After rallying to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 30-27 on Sunday, Baltimore hopes to ride the momentum of its big second half into next week’s AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Down by 21 points in the second quarter against Arizona, the Ravens (5-2) staged the biggest comeback in franchise history and won the game on Billy Cundiff’s 25-yard field goal as time expired.

The victory eased the sting of their 12-7 defeat at Jacksonville on Monday night and set up Baltimore for its duel on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

“We still have the Steelers in front of us next week,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We have to get ready for that now. That’s the challenge.”

If the Ravens are to beat Pittsburgh on the road, they can’t afford to fall 21 points behind. Overcoming that kind of deficit at home against Arizona (1-6) is one thing; doing it at Heinz Field is quite another.

On Sunday, however, Baltimore found that one great half of football was good enough for an important win.

“I think we just turned our level up just a little bit,” said linebacker Ray Lewis(notes), who missed a few plays in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury but returned the next series.

Outscored 24-3 in the second half, the Cardinals (1-6) lost their sixth straight. Four of those defeats have been by four points or fewer.

“It’s hard right now,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Our guys are very disappointed after today’s game because it was an opportunity to do something nobody thought we could do. But our guys believe in what we’re doing. If you look at what we did the first half, it shows that if we do it the right way, we can be a good football team.”

In the second half, the Cardinals made only six first downs and were penalized nine times for 87 yards.

The Ravens, on the other hand, played to form.

“Those guys came out in the second half with a different approach,” said Arizona’s Patrick Peterson(notes), who returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown but was flagged for pass interference prior to the second of Ray Rice’s three touchdown runs.

“They just made more plays than we did in the second half,” Peterson said. “We definitely thought there was a couple of bad calls in the second half, but that’s how the game goes.”

Using a fumble by Joe Flacco and Peterson’s sensational punt return, Arizona scored three touchdowns during a five-minute span of the second quarter to take a 24-3 lead.

Baltimore answered with a 24-point run and moved in front 27-24 when Rice scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

Arizona pulled even with a 45-yard field goal by Jay Feely with 8:55 left, but the Ravens won it with a 37-yard, beat-the-clock drive in the final minute.

After the Cardinals were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, Baltimore took over at the Arizona 44 with 52 seconds left. A 36-yard completion from Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith moved the ball to the 5, setting the stage for Cundiff’s game-winner.

The Ravens’ previous biggest comeback was from 19 points down against Tennessee in 2006.

“We woke up, plain and simple,” said former Arizona star Anquan Boldin(notes), who caught seven passes for 145 yards and was a key contributor in the rally.

Flacco went 31 for 51 for 336 yards, and Rice ran for 63 yards on 18 carries. Against Jacksonville, Rice was limited to 28 yards on eight carries.

“We had to get over Monday,” Rice said.

Kevin Kolb threw for 153 yards and a touchdown, and Peterson became the eighth player in Cardinals history to have at least two punt returns for touchdowns in a single season. The last one to do it was Vai Sikahema in 1986.

Down 24-6, the Ravens began the second half with an 80-yard drive in which Flacco went 5 for 5, including a 37-yarder to Boldin that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Rice to make it 24-13.

“I felt like the way we came out at halftime is what turned it around,” Baltimore linebacker Jameel McClain(notes).

Late in the third quarter, Boldin caught passes 21, 23, 27 and 9 yards during an 88-yard march that ended with another 1-yard TD run by Rice.

The momentum turned even further in Baltimore’s direction immediately after the ensuing kickoff. On first down, Kolb was hit by Terrell Suggs while throwing a pass that was intercepted by McClain and taken 8 yards to the Arizona 22. Three plays later, Rice ran in from the 3.

Two holding penalties against the Ravens extended the Cardinals’ drive that ended with a field goal that tied it at 27.

Mistakes by Baltimore also played a big part in Arizona’s big second quarter. But the Cardinals couldn’t hold on.

Asked to assess the mood at halftime, running back Beanie Wells said, “We just didn’t want to let up. We wanted to keep on fighting. We wanted to go out there and prove that we’re a good football team. We came up short, unfortunately.”

Notes: The Cardinals placed TE Todd Heap (hamstring) on the inactive list. Heap played 10 seasons in Baltimore before signing with Arizona as a free agent this year. … It was McClain’s first career INT. … The loss dropped Arizona into a last-place tie with St. Louis in the NFC West.

“What are you going to say after a half like that?” said linebacker Jarret Johnson

The Ravens responded to the adversity in the best possible manner, scoring 24 second-half points and beating the Arizona Cardinals, 30-27, on Sunday when Billy Cundiff booted a 25-yard field goal as time expired.

The emotion of the announced crowd of 71,022 went from anger and frustration to exhilaration as the Ravens, who trailed 24-3 with less than four minutes left in the second quarter and 24-6 at halftime, completed their biggest comeback in team history to improve to 5-2 on the season.

“We woke up, plain and simple,” said Anquan Boldin, who Coach John Harbaugh called the catalyst of the comeback after the wide receiver caught seven passes for 145 yards and drew a couple of key pass interference penalties that led to touchdowns against his former team.

“We know we played poor as an offense in the first half, and we felt like this team wasn’t better than us, point-blank. Even though they were up 24-3, we felt like we were able to go out and put drives together and put points on the board.”

Cundiff’s decisive three points were set up by quarterback Joe Flacco’s 36-yard pass down the right sideline to rookie Torrey Smith with just 48 seconds to play. Smith, who beat Richard Marshall, had bobbled a pass in the second quarter that was intercepted by Marshall, leading to Early Doucet’s 10-yard touchdown catch and the Ravens’ 21-point deficit.

The play represented redemption not only for Smith, but also for Flacco, who shook off a shaky first half and a consistent Cardinals pass rush to complete 31 of 51 passes for 336 yards. Operating in the no-huddle offense for the majority of the second half, Flacco directed scoring drives on four of the Ravens’ seven second-half drives.

Running back Ray Rice ended three of those with touchdowns, getting in from the 1-yard line twice, and from the 3 once. Along with his career-high three touchdowns, Rice, who had only eight carries in the Ravens’ dreadful 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Monday, rushed 18 times for 63 yards and caught seven passes for 36 yards.

It was his three-yard touchdown run five seconds into the fourth quarter that gave the Ravens’ 24 consecutive points and a 27-24 lead. Jay Feely tied the score with a 45-yard field goal with six minutes remaining, but after getting the ball at midfield in Cardinals’ territory with less than a minute to go, the Ravens answered with the game-winning field goal.

“We just kept believing, kept believing,” said Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis who said that he had no problem with the booing from the home crowd. “They are the same fans that are going to switch around and start cheering as soon as we put some points on the board. And it happened. You have to truly respect them for saying, ‘This ain’t what we’re used to,’ and it’s not.

“For us to come out and give the ball away and let a team get up on us, that’s just not us. For them to show their displeasure, that’s okay. We’re man enough to come back and say, ‘We know how to come back and get you back in the game.’ That’s to drive and create spots and put points on the board, and we did that.”

But after taking the 24-3 lead late in the third quarter, the Cardinals, who have now lost six in a row to fall to 1-6, managed only three points the rest of the game.

— Baltimore Sun

The Arizona Cardinals could have sulked over debatable calls or blamed an offense that went stone cold in the second half.
Instead, after falling to the Baltimore Ravens 30-27 on Sunday, the Cardinals acknowledged that they’re simply going to have play better to win close games.
Arizona soared to a 24-3 lead late in the first half, but the Ravens staged the biggest comeback in their history and won on a 25-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff as time expired.
Outscored by three touchdowns in the second half, the Cardinals (1-6) lost their sixth straight. Four of those defeats have been by four points or fewer.
“It’s hard right now,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Our guys are very disappointed after today’s game because it was an opportunity to do something nobody thought we could do. But our guys believe in what we’re doing. If you look at what we did the first half, it shows that if we do it the right way, we can be a good football team.”
In the second half, the Cardinals made only six first downs and were penalized nine times for 87 yards.
The Ravens, on the other hand, played to form.
“Those guys came out in the second half with a different approach,” said Patrick Peterson, who returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown but was flagged for pass interference prior to Ray Rice’s second touchdown run.
“They just made more plays than we did in the second half,” Peterson said. “We definitely thought there was a couple of bad calls in the second half, but that’s how the game goes.”
Using a fumble by Joe Flacco and Peterson’s sensational punt return, Arizona scored three touchdowns during a five-minute span of the second quarter to take a 24-3 lead.
Baltimore (5-2) answered with a 24-point run and moved in front 27-24 when Rice scored his third touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Arizona pulled even with a 45-yard field goal by Jay Feely with 8:55 left, but the Ravens won it with a 37-yard, beat-the-clock drive in the final minute.
After the Cardinals were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, Baltimore took over at the Arizona 44 with 52 seconds left. A 36-yard completion from Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith moved the ball to the 5, setting the stage for Cundiff’s game-winner.
The Ravens’ previous biggest comeback was from 19 points down against Tennessee in 2006.
“We woke up, plain and simple,” said former Arizona star Anquan Boldin, who caught seven passes for 145 yards and was a key contributor in the rally.
Flacco went 31 for 51 for 336 yards, and Rice ran for 63 yards on 18 carries. In a 12-7 loss to Jacksonville on Monday night, the 5-foot-8 running back was limited to 28 yards on eight carries.
Kevin Kolb threw for 153 yards and a touchdown, and Peterson became the eighth player in Cardinals history to have at least two punt returns for touchdowns in a single season. The last one to do it was Vai Sikahema in 1986.
“Once I got past the first surge, I pretty much knew it was going to be me and the kicker, and I didn’t know where he was,” Peterson said. “Once I broke the last tackle, I just saw nothing but the end zone.”
The Ravens began the second half with an 80-yard drive in which Flacco went 5 for 5, including a 37-yarder to Boldin that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Rice to make it 24-13.
“I felt like the way we came out at halftime is what turned it around,” Baltimore linebacker Jameel McClain.
Late in the third quarter, Boldin caught passes 21, 23, 27 and 9 yards during an 88-yard march that ended with another 1-yard TD run by Rice.
The momentum turned even further in Baltimore’s direction immediately after the ensuing kickoff.
On first down, Kolb was hit by Terrell Suggs while throwing a pass that was intercepted by McClain and taken 8 yards to the Arizona 22. Three plays later, Rice ran in from the 3.
Two holding penalties against the Ravens extended the Cardinals’ bounce-back drive that ended with a field goal.
Mistakes by Baltimore also played a big part in Arizona’s big second quarter.
With the game tied at 3, the Ravens’ five-minute misadventure began when Flacco fumbled upon being sacked by O’Brien Schofield. Darnell Dockett recovered at the Baltimore 2, setting up a 1-yard scoring run by Beanie Wells.
Peterson then broke six tackles on his punt return. Thirteen seconds later, Richard Marshall picked off a pass that bounced off Smith’s chest. That led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Kolb to Early Doucet for a 24-3 lead with 3:46 remaining in the second quarter.
A field goal by Cundiff cut the gap to 18 points at halftime.
Asked to assess the mood at halftime, Wells said, “We just didn’t want to let up. We wanted to keep on fighting. We wanted to go out there and prove that we’re a good football team. We came up short, unfortunately.”
Notes: The Cardinals placed TE Todd Heap (hamstring) on the inactive list. Heap played 10 seasons in Baltimore before signing with Arizona as a free agent this year. … Ravens LB Ray Lewis missed a few plays in the first half with a right shoulder injury. … Baltimore has won six straight at home. … It was McClain’s first career INT. … The loss dropped Arizona into a last-place tie with St. Louis in the NFC West.

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Cardinals vs. Ravens: Injury report

Up next: CARDINALS (1-5) AT RAVENS (4-2)
When: Sunday @ 10 a.m. | Full 2011 schedule
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
TV: Channel 10 (Sam Rosen, Brian Billick)
Radio KTAR 92.3 (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley)
Spanish: KBMB 710 AM (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolandu Cantu)
Noteworthy: The Ravens lost to the Jaguars on Monday night to snap a three-game winning streak, while the Cardinals have lost five consecutive games. … Todd Heap will play the first game against his former team, as will Anquan Boldin. … Arizona hosts the Rams next week and then plays three straight road games (at Eagles, at 49ers, at Rams). … the Cardinals are 1-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore.
» » Complete Ravens coverage from The Baltimore Sun

More Cardinals with Kent Somers

NFL power rankings – Week 8

2011: Cardinals fans | Cheerleaders | Practices

OWINGS MILLS – An edgy, angry atmosphere surrounded the Baltimore Ravens’ training complex all week following an embarrassing setback against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Practice sessions carried more intensity than usual, becoming chippy at times.

Scrutiny and criticism of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and Joe Flacco increased markedly.

And second-guessing about the Ravens (4-2) reached a loud crescendo that maintained its noise heading into today’s game against the Arizona Cardinals (1-5) at M&T Bank Stadium.

“Yeah, we’ve got a chip on all of our shoulders,” fullback Vonta Leach said. “Everybody is a little edgy. We played a bad game. You’re going to feel a certain way after something like that.”

Now, the Ravens have their chance to issue a rebuttal after all of their fault lines were on display in a 12-7 loss to the Jaguars where the offense failed to generate a first down for nearly 40 minutes and narrowly avoided a shutout with a touchdown with two minutes remaining.

“It’s a must-win game,” All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said. “People understand that we were embarrassed when we went to Jacksonville. Defensively, we have to keep doing what we’re doing and do whatever we can to help our offense and the whole team to win games.”

Humbled by the Jaguars, the Ravens are now facing a Cardinals team that’s just as desperate for a victory.

The Cardinals have lost five consecutive games this season, and haven’t won a road game since their season opener last year against the St. Louis Rams for a string of 10 consecutive losses away from home. Arizona has also lost 16 of its past 22 games.

The Ravens have won 13 of their past 14 home games, five consecutive home games and are 22-5 at home under coach John Harbaugh. And they hold a 19-3 record against losing teams in the Harbaugh era.

The Ravens haven’t lost two games in a row in over two years and have been installed as a favorite by nearly two touchdowns today.

“You want to prepare for every game the same, but it’s more of a must-win because you don’t want to lose two games in a row,” linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “When you have a game like that, you’re always anxious to go right back out there and put that loss behind you as quickly as you can.”

All of that said, the Ravens still managed to lose to the Jaguars. Who’s to say they can’t lose again to the Cardinals?

If determination to not lose again matters, then the Ravens should be able to hold off the Cardinals today.

“We need to get that taste out of our mouths,” Ngata said. “Hopefully, we can get this win at home and get that momentum going before we go out to Pittsburgh next week.”

The Ravens are headlined by the top-ranked defense in the NFL, allowing only 272.7 yards of total offense per contest and also ranking atop the charts in points surrendered per game (13.8) and third-down defense.

The offense is a different story altogether, an inconsistent unit that ranks 20th in total offense, 19th in rushing and 17th in passing.

Cameron’s play-calling is being attacked externally after Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice only carried the football eight times for 28 yards against Jacksonville.

What’s the feeling internally?

“We’re in this thing together,” Leach said. “It’s not Cam, it’s the whole offense as a whole. Everybody’s in this together. We put ourselves in this, and we’re going to get ourselves out of it.”

Retained after last season after his status was debated internally, Cameron directed an offense against Jacksonville that only generated 16 yards of total offense in a half for a franchise-worst, gained 146 yards of total offense for the second-lowest total in franchise history. They averaged just 2.8 yards on 53 offensive plays.

Cause for alarm?

There’s nothing to worry about,” said wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who faces his old football team today. “For us, we know what we’re capable of.”

”We had one bad performance, and everybody thinks we’re the worst in the league right now. If we come back and have a good performance, then you’re back on top again.”

The Ravens have won nine games in a row following a loss, and nine games in a row against NFC opponents at home with a 15-1 mark against NFC squads since 2003.

Following their 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans earlier this season, the Ravens bounced back by stomping the St. Louis Rams 37-7.

Their resiliency and resolve will be tested again today.

“You can’t afford to let games slip between your fingers,” Harbaugh said. “By the same token, everybody gets beat in this league. Everybody gets humiliated, everybody gets the snot kicked out of them at one time or another in life and in football. So, you have to get back up and go to work.”

Coming near an embarrassing Monday night performance, the
Baltimore Ravens (4-2) head back home to fight the Arizona
Cardinals (1-5) in a game that may be a must win of the Ravens.Last
week, the Baltimore Ravens dropped out of beginning of the process
which has a 12-7 loss to your Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Cardinals (1-5) at Ravens (4-2) | Sunday | 10 a.m. | M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

TV: Channel 10 (Sam Rosen, Brian Billick); Radio: 92.3 KTAR-FM (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley), 710 KBMB-AM (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolando Cantu). Latest line: Ravens by 13.

Noteworthy: The Ravens lost to the Jaguars on Monday night to snap a three-game winning streak, and the Cardinals have lost five consecutive games. … If healthy, Todd Heap will play the first game against his former team, as will Anquan Boldin. … Arizona hosts the Rams next week and then plays three consecutive road games (Eagles, 49ers, Rams). … The Cardinals are 1-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore.

The Arizona Republic

More on this topic

Top football games to watch this weekend

Up next: CARDINALS (1-5) AT RAVENS (4-2)
When: Sunday @ 10 a.m. | Full 2011 schedule
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
TV: Channel 10 (Sam Rosen, Brian Billick)
Radio KTAR 92.3 (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley)
Spanish: KBMB 710 AM (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolandu Cantu)
Noteworthy: The Ravens lost to the Jaguars on Monday night to snap a three-game winning streak, while the Cardinals have lost five consecutive games. … Todd Heap will play the first game against his former team, as will Anquan Boldin. … Arizona hosts the Rams next week and then plays three straight road games (at Eagles, at 49ers, at Rams). … the Cardinals are 1-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore.
» » Complete Ravens coverage from The Baltimore Sun

More Cardinals with Kent Somers

NFL power rankings – Week 8

2011: Cardinals fans | Cheerleaders | Practices