The Baltimore Ravens are in control of their destiny in the AFC North and
the race for a first-round bye. Maintaining that edge, though, will likely be
difficult if they turn in another lackluster performance.

A matchup with the ailing Cleveland Browns on Saturday would appear to give
the Ravens a good chance to stay on track for the division crown and the No. 2
seed, with Baltimore having dominated the series of late.

The Ravens (10-4) have put themselves in control with a sweep of division
rival Pittsburgh and a victory over Houston on Oct. 16, giving them a leg up on
those 10-4 teams.

Baltimore, though, missed out last week on a chance to move ahead of the
Steelers and Texans, both of whom lost. With a playoff berth already wrapped up,
the Ravens were blown out 34-14 in San Diego.

Pittsburgh fell 20-3 to San Francisco on Monday night, and Houston was upset
28-13 at home by Carolina.

“It’s a gift, but we wish we didn’t have to get it that way,” Ravens
linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We’ve just got to take care of business.”

Baltimore, winner of nine in a row at home dating to last December, appears
to have a good chance to do that with Cleveland (4-10) visiting M&T Bank
Stadium. The Ravens have won seven straight over the Browns, tied for the
longest win streak against an opponent in team history. They’ve also won seven
consecutive games over the New York Jets.

Baltimore’s latest victory in the series came Dec. 4 as Ray Rice ran for a
career-high 204 yards in a 24-10 win. Ricky Williams added 76 yards rushing as
the Ravens piled up 290 on the ground.

Cleveland has made adjustments as it looks to slow down Rice. The Browns
allowed 147 rushing yards in a 14-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 8, but limited
Arizona to 74 in a 20-17 overtime defeat last week.

“The goal (is) to make sure we minimize his effect on the game,” coach Pat
Shurmur told the team’s website. “We’ve done some things schematically to help
us, and we just keep emphasizing that everyone has to play better. I’ve seen
that.”

At 3-4 on the road, winning this game might prove vital to Baltimore’s
chances of accomplishing its regular-season goals. The Ravens close out their
schedule at Cincinnati on Jan. 1.

“We’re playing two teams that know us very well, two division foes, so it’s
going to be interesting,” Suggs said. “We’ve got to get back to doing what we do
best, and that’s playing Ravens football.”

Suggs, who has a career-high 13 sacks, chased down Colt McCoy for one of
those, but the Browns quarterback likely won’t play this week. McCoy has been
out since taking a hit to the head against Pittsburgh earlier this month.

The controversy surrounding Cleveland’s failure to check McCoy for a
concussion has led the NFL to put certified trainer in every press box. McCoy
still had symptoms of a concussion Wednesday and has yet to be cleared to return
to the field.

“Like anybody that wants to play, he’s anxious to get back out there,”
Shurmur said. “But he understands there is a process that you have to go through
before he will be able to play again.”

With McCoy out, Seneca Wallace is expected to start again after he threw for
226 yards and a touchdown versus the Cardinals. His 76-yard scoring pass to Greg
Little gave the Browns a 17-7 third-quarter lead, but they couldn’t hold it and
suffered a season-high fourth consecutive defeat and sixth in a row on the road.

Wallace’s one start against the Ravens came in the team’s most recent trip
to Baltimore on Sept. 26, 2010. He threw for 141 yards and a TD in a 24-17
defeat, while counterpart Joe Flacco passed for three touchdowns.

Flacco has eight TDs and one interception over his last six matchups with
the Browns, who might need a strong performance from Peyton Hillis to help snap
their losing streak.

In his fourth game since returning from an injured hamstring, Hillis ran for
a season-high 99 yards and a touchdown last week. He rushed for a then-career
high 144 yards in Baltimore last September but has been held to a combined 80
over the past two matchups.

The Ravens might have a new kicker for this game as Billy Cundiff is dealing
with a sore left calf. On Wednesday, the team signed Shayne Graham, an 11-year
veteran who has played for six other teams.

SAN DIEGO — Before the opening kickoff Sunday night, the Baltimore Ravens knew that the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets had both lost, meaning that for a franchise-record fourth consecutive year, they were going to the playoffs.

But that’s never what this regular season has been about for these Ravens. Their goal has always been to win the AFC North and get home-field advantage for the playoffs. But thanks to an abysmal performance where the Ravens allowed San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers to go down the field with little resistance all night, that goal just got a lot harder to attain.

The humbling 34-14 loss at Snapdragon Stadium before an announced 67,242 conjured all the old concerns, from the Ravens’ inability to deal with a quarterback with a quick release and dangerous receivers, to Joe Flacco’s continued inconsistency to the team’s struggles on the road.

The last one has become perhaps the biggest concern with the Ravens (10-4) now needing help to win the division and get a home playoff game. The Pittsburgh Steelers could take first place of the AFC North outright with a victory Monday night over the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chargers, who have won three straight to sit one game back of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, scored on their first three drives to take a 17-7 halftime lead and then put the game away with two touchdowns in the third quarter.

San Diego scored 27 straight points before Flacco hit rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith on a late 36-yard touchdown pass.

Rivers connected for a 28-yard touchdown pass with Malcom Floyd, who beat rookie Jimmy Smith in the right corner to give the Chargers a 24-7 lead. Smith and fellow cornerback Cary Williams were picked on all night by Rivers.

Flacco followed the Floyd touchdown by throwing his first of two third-quarter interceptions, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Ryan Mathews to give San Diego a 31-7 lead.

Rivers, who wasn’t sacked once by the team that leads the league in that category, was 17 for 23 for 270 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers’ 34 points were seven more than Baltimore has given up in a game this season. Flacco was 23 for 34 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

— Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore Ravens held on to the top slot when it comes to the best NFL defenses in fantasy football this season. Through the games of Week 13, the Ravens are the toast of the fantasy football world, adding to those totals with a game against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 4. Maybe more remarkable was how the Kansas City Chiefs moved from worst fantasy football defense up to No. 24 on the list. They aren’t near the top for the full season though.

Best Fantasy Football Defenses

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens now have 41 sacks to lead the entire NFL through 12 games. That’s a pretty good way to lead the world of fantasy football, but the team also has 13 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and 5 return touchdowns (combining defensive and kick). That’s good enough for 146 total points through just 12 games.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are just behind the Ravens when it comes to fantasy football points, and the team has posted 145 points through 12 games. Those points have come in part because of a defense that has allowed just 159 points and a return team that also has 2 touchdowns. The defense sports 29 sacks, 16 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, a safety and a defensive touchdown.

Chicago Bears

The Bears already have three return touchdowns from Devin Hester(notes) to combine with 4 defensive touchdowns and a safety. That is a lot of points not coming from the offense, and a big reason the Bears have won so many games. The team also has 24 sacks, 16 interceptions, 9 fumble recoveries and a blocked kick.

Houston Texans

Houston has had an exceptionally good season on defense, and with 35 sacks, 17 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries has made a mark in fantasy football. The team also has 2 blocked kicks, a defensive touchdown and a return touchdown to its credit in 2011.

New York Jets

The Jets are holding on to the No. 5 spot in fantasy football by just one point over the Green Bay Packers. New York spreads it around to, with 24 sacks, 14 interceptions and 9 fumble recoveries. The team also has 2 safeties, a blocked kick, 3 defensive touchdowns and a return touchdown through the first 12 games.

More From YCN :

5 Best Fantasy Players of 2011

Week 12 Top Defenses

5_Frustrating_Players

5_Great_Fantasy_Players

Tim_Tebow_Rewards_Owners

Sources:

Week 13 NFL Scores

Defensive Team Leaders

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Pregame scribbles before today’s Ravens-Browns matchup.

1. I keep trying to figure out how the Browns can beat Baltimore — I can’t find a way. There is one possibility: The Out of Nowhere Game. That’s the game most teams win each year that makes no sense. Last season, the Browns won at New Orleans. In 2009, they beat Pittsburgh. In 2008, they embarrassed the New York Jets. Chris Palmer was 2-2 vs. Pittsburgh and 3-25 vs. the rest of the NFL in the 1999-2000 expansion seasons.

2. I still don’t see it happening.

3. At the start of the season, the lack of depth at linebacker worried me. They were counting on D’Qwell Jackson, Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong. Jackson had played only six games in the previous two seasons. Fujita had missed 12 games in the previous two years. Gocong had stayed healthy. Now, Fujita is done for the year with a broken hand, missing the final five games. The Browns are down to Kaluka Maiava and Titus Brown, who has battled high ankle sprains the last two years.

4. Jackson is having a season worthy of Pro Bowl consideration, as he’s played 100 percent of the snaps. Fujita had played 95 percent, Gocong 76 percent. When Gocong left the game, the Browns usually went with five defensive backs and two linebackers. Maiava (76 total snaps) and Brown (22 snaps) had played little this season.

5. This a big day for long snapper Christian Yount, who takes over for the waived Ryan Pontbriand. Yount was considered one of the best snappers in college football last year at UCLA. Draft and college football expert Phil Steele rated him the fourth-best snapper in college football. He was picked up by Tampa Bay (it seems only the Browns actually draft a snapper), and played seven games before being cut. He was filling in for veteran Andrew Economos, who had been injured and has been the Bucs’ snapper since 2007. Yount being dropped from the roster apparently had nothing to do with his performance.

6. Pontribriand will be paid his $825,000 salary this season. It’s the final year of a 5-year, $4.5 million contract that he had signed. He made about $7 million snapping for the Browns since 2003.

7. This from Ken Moll of Scouts Inc. as he wrote about the game with Baltimore: “The Browns’ Colt McCoy is a talented young quarterback who has size limitations. He has adequate arm strength but can be inconsistent when sitting in the pocket and trying to power the ball into tight spaces. To deliver the ball efficiently, McCoy is best on the edges while scrambling, in bootlegs or dash schemes. Look for (the Ravens) to play more base-combination zone coverages with disciplined four-man rush packages to force McCoy to move the chains from the pocket.”

8. While McCoy has made some good throws rolling out, he also has thrown six of his eight interceptions on the right sideline. The coaches have been telling him to either run out of bounds or throw the ball away when on one of those desperate sprints.

9. As Pat Shurmur prepares to face Pittsburgh and Baltimore for the first time, here’s a look back at the record of some recent Browns coaches: Eric Mangini (1-3, beat Pittsburgh); Romeo Crennel (3-13, he was 3-5 vs., Baltimore, 0-8 vs. Pittsburgh); Butch Davis (6-11, he beat Baltimore five times!); Chris Palmer was 2-2 vs. the Steelers, 0-4 vs. Baltimore.

10. Finally, I am curious to see if Peyton Hillis can have a big game. I’d love to see him finish strong just so the Browns have a viable option at running back next season, especially if Hillis continues with his good attitude that has returned the last few weeks.

The Baltimore Ravens are currently 6-2, tied for first place in the AFC North, and a top contender to dethrone the Green Bay Packers. Baltimore’s rousing come from behind victory over Pittsburgh on November 6th gave the Ravens a season sweep of their chief rivals. The Ravens must not allow a post-Pittsburgh letdown to set in as they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.

Seattle is struggling. They have problems at quarterback and have been unable to consistently run the football. Seattle does however have one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums and boisterous fan bases. Tavares Jackson is unlikely to upend the Ravens, but an overwhelming crowd response could give Baltimore headaches in the Emerald City.

The Ravens had unexpected let downs following big wins earlier this season. Baltimore followed up week one’s 35-7 thrashing of the Steelers with a perplexing effort in a 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The game was brushed aside by the Ravens as a tough road game against a solid team led by veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Now we see that the Titans simply aren’t a very good team. Tennessee has been outscored by 13 points on the season and has dropped lost three of the past four games.

The Ravens had another stupefying let down in a Monday night game against hapless Jacksonville in Week seven. The 12-7 loss to the Jags came on the heels of two dominant home efforts against Houston and the New York Jets. In the loss the Ravens failed to record a first down until well into the third quarter. I know it’s always difficult to win on the road in the NFL but the Ravens road lapses have been extreme in nature and too frequent for a true title contender.

Baltimore can make a statement about his position as an AFC power by going to Seattle and shutting down the Seahawks and quieting the crowd in the process. If the Ravens come out slow and the false start happy Michael Oher gets another case of the yips it could be a dog fight. The Ravens should look to establish Ray Rice on the ground and get Joe Flacco into an early rhythm in order to post some early points and take the Seattle crowd out of the game.

* Information gathered from Yahoo! Sports.

Dan Soderberg is a freelance writer, lover of pancakes and lifelong baseball fanatic. You can read some of Dan’s other work athttp://mudville9.blogspot.com/ . Follow Dan on Twitter @dan_soderberg

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — It’s almost impossible to get an accurate read on the Baltimore Ravens, whose fluctuation from exceptional to awful is now happening on a half-to-half basis.

The Ravens (5-2) have routed the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and Houston Texans. They’ve also lost to Tennessee and Jacksonville, team’s with a combined 6-9 record.

Baltimore’s strange Jekyll and Hyde personality came to the forefront on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. After falling behind by 21 points in the second quarter, the Ravens scrambled to pull out a 30-27 win over a team that has now lost six straight.

Coach John Harbaugh said Monday there’s no mystery to the Ravens.

“When we play good fundamental football, we’re a good football team. It comes down to that,” he said. “It’s technique, it’s attention to detail, it’s getting a little momentum. That sure helps you on offense, when you get the chains moving and make a couple first downs.”

The Ravens had none of that last Monday in Jacksonville, when they failed to get a first down before halftime and lost 12-7.

Against the Cardinals, Baltimore’s six first-half possessions were: punt, field goal, turnover, punt, turnover, field goal.

“It doesn’t feel too good when you go out there and you’re not playing well as an offense and not putting points on the board,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “We’ve been inconsistent.”

After halftime, however, Baltimore outscored Arizona 24-3 to complete the greatest comeback in the history of the franchise.

Next up: A rematch on Sunday night with the Steelers (6-2), who have won six of seven to regain first place in the AFC North.

“We know how to play that game, they know how to play that game,” Harbaugh said. “We looking forward to it, I do know that.”

The Ravens can’t afford to play as they did in Jacksonville or in Tennessee, and they can’t expect to win if they put themselves in a 21-point hold at Heinz Field.

“It’s going to be intense,” linebacker Jameel McClain said.

When the offense has struggled at times this season, the defense has been supportive. So after Flacco lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first half, although the fickle fans in the stadium began to boo Flacco, the only screaming on the sideline was encouragement.

“The sentiment was basically we are a team, and we’ve got team players,” Harbaugh said. “The consummate team player does not criticize one another, does not point fingers at one another, we don’t blame one another. That’s not what a team does. A team trusts one another, believes in one another, supports one another, has each other’s back. When you do that, guys are going to come through. Our guys are very mature about that.

“When you build a team, the kind of team we’ve built, you can withstand adversity. Stay together, hang together, play together, try to find a way to win. Whether it’s within a game or from one week to the next. To me, we’ve proven as a team that’s one thing we’re very good at.”

To their credit, the Ravens never panicked.

“It’s about us understanding what we have to do,” safety Bernard Pollard said. “We’re fighters. We’re warriors. Anytime you see teams do down 21 points, 27 points, they give up. We struggled, but we came together as a team. We fixed what needed to be fixed, as far as the first half, and we shut them down.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Locked in a tight game against a wounded opponent, the Baltimore
Ravens cranked up the defense and supplemented their rejuvenated
running attack with a couple of long passes to pull away to another
double-digit home win.

Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards and ran for a score, Billy
Cundiff kicked five field goals, and Baltimore beat the Houston
Texans 29-14 Sunday.

The Ravens (4-1) remained alone atop the AFC North with their
third straight win. Although Baltimore’s run of nine straight games
with a takeaway ended, the Ravens held Houston scoreless over the
final 21 minutes and limited standout running back Arian Foster to
49 yards on 15 attempts.

Flacco had two turnovers, but he also had two completions over
50 yards to put Cundiff in position to score. Cundiff connected
from 43, 48, 25, 33 and 40 yards to tie a Ravens record for field
goals in a game.

Even though the Texans (3-3) were without wide receiver Andre
Johnson and linebacker Mario Williams, they led briefly in the
third quarter. But Baltimore was too tough down the stretch,
allowing only 58 yards and three first downs in the final 15
minutes while outscoring Houston 13-0.

“I think it was really encouraging to see how (we) responded to
a tight game in the fourth quarter,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh
said. “To come out and win the fourth quarter in that fashion is a
huge statement.”

Still, Houston trailed only 19-14 until the Ravens went on a
66-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ricky
Williams with 4:01 left.

Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes and Anquan Boldin had eight
catches for 132 yards, including a 56-yarder.

“Anquan was able to do some things in the slot,” Flacco said.
“There was just enough separation to enable me to get the ball in
there. He made some big catches, especially on that big long
one.”

Ray Rice ran 23 times for 101 yards to help Baltimore win at
home for the 13th time in 14 games. The Ravens are 3-0 at M&T
Bank Stadium this season, beating Pittsburgh, the New York Jets and
Houston by a combined 98-38.

Matt Schaub went 21 for 37 for 220 yards for the Texans, 0-5
against Baltimore since entering the NFL in 2002. The 14 points
were the fewest by the Texans since a 10-point performance against
the New York Giants on Oct. 10, 2010.

Schaub wouldn’t use the absence of Johnson, Williams or fullback
James Casey (chest) as an excuse.

“It’s part of the game. You deal with it, move on,” he said.
“The next guy’s got to be ready to make a play.”

Baltimore had 32 yards rushing in the first half and finished
with 113. Houston, meanwhile, converted half its 10 third-down
tries in the first half but was 1 for 6 after halftime.

“Early on we were getting them to third-and-long and they were
converting. It was a little bit frustrating,” Ravens linebacker
Jarret Johnson said. “We just kept grinding.”

Rice began the third quarter with an 18-yard run after gaining
only 16 yards on eight carries before halftime. That sparked a
47-yard drive to a 48-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead.

Houston moved in front for the only time with a six-play,
80-yard drive. Schaub had completions of 20 yards to Kevin Walter
and 16 yards to Foster before throwing a perfect 32-yard touchdown
pass to Jacoby Jones, who got behind safety Ed Reed in the end
zone.

Baltimore went back ahead on the following series, using a
51-yard pass from Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith to set up a 25-yard
field goal and a 16-14 advantage.

After a Houston punt, Flacco found Boldin open down the left
sideline for a 56-yard gain, and Cundiff kicked his fourth field
goal.

The Texans’ next series ended when safety Bernard Pollard, a
former Houston starter, broke up a third-down pass to Foster at the
Baltimore 30.

Houston never threatened after that.

“We were right there in the game where we wanted to be at 19-14,
on the road against this team,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We didn’t
make the plays and they did.”

Flacco lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first
half, but he also scored a touchdown to help the Ravens take a 10-7
lead.

The Ravens moved 97 yards in 16 plays on their first possession
and went up 7-0 on a 1-yard run by Flacco, who went 7 for 8 for 82
yards on the drive. It was the first touchdown against Houston in
the opening quarter this season.

Midway through the second quarter, Kubiak kept his offense on
the field on a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 20. Foster was stopped
for no gain, but Houston got the ball back when Tim Jamison sacked
Flacco, forced a fumble and recovered it at the 17.

Three plays later, Texans guard Wade Smith recovered a fumble by
Ben Tate in the end zone.

NOTES: The Ravens held a moment of silence before the game to
mark the passing of Patricia Modell, wife of former owner Art
Modell. They also had flags flying at half staff. … With his
first-quarter sack of Schaub, Ray Lewis became the first player in
NFL history with 40 sacks and 30 INTs. … Houston failed to score
on its first possession for the first time in five games.

Baltimore Ravens 29, Houston Texans 14

BALTIMORE, Maryland — A couple of long passes, Billy Cundiff’s right leg and an efficient performance by the Baltimore defense was enough to give the Ravens another double-digit win at home.

Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards and ran for a score, Cundiff kicked five field goals, and Baltimore pulled away to a 29-14 victory over the short-handed Houston Texans.

The Ravens (4-1) did enough on defense to earn their third straight win and remain in first place in the AFC North. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are both 4-2 and the Cleveland Browns are 2-3.

Baltimore’s run of nine straight games with a takeaway ended, but the Ravens held Houston scoreless over the final 21 minutes and limited standout running back Arian Foster to 49 yards on 15 attempts.

Flacco had two turnovers, but he also had completions of 51 yards and 56 yards to put Cundiff in position to score. Cundiff connected from 43, 48, 25, 33 and 40 yards to tie a Ravens record for field goals in a game.

Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes and Anquan Boldin had eight catches for 132 yards.

Even though the Texans (3-3) were without wide receiver Andre Johnson and linebacker Mario Williams, they led briefly in the third quarter. Houston trailed only 19-14 until the Ravens went on a 66-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams with 4:01 left.

Ray Rice ran 23 times for 101 yards to help Baltimore win at home for the 13th time in 14 games. The Ravens are 3-0 at M&T Bank Stadium this season, beating Pittsburgh, the New York Jets and Houston by a combined 98-38.

Matt Schaub went 21 for 37 for 220 yards for the Texans, 0-5 against Baltimore since entering the NFL in 2002.

Rice began the third quarter with an 18-yard run after gaining only 16 yards on eight carries in the first half. That sparked a 47-yard drive to a 48-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead.

Houston moved in front for the only time with a six-play, 80-yard drive. Schaub had completions of 20 yards to Kevin Walter and 16 yards to Foster before throwing a perfect 32-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, who got behind safety Ed Reed in the end zone.

Baltimore went back ahead on the following series, using a 51-yard pass from Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith to set up a 25-yard field goal and a 16-14 advantage.

After a Houston punt, Flacco found Boldin open down the left sideline for a 56-yard gain, and Cundiff kicked his fourth field goal.

The Texans’ next series ended when safety Bernard Pollard, a former Houston starter, broke up a third-down pass to Foster at the Baltimore 30.

Flacco lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first half, but he also scored a touchdown to help the Ravens take a 10-7 lead.

The Ravens moved 97 yards in 16 plays on their first possession and went up 7-0 on a 1-yard run by Flacco, who went 7 for 8 for 82 yards on the drive. It was the first touchdown against Houston in the opening quarter this season.

Midway through the second quarter, Texans coach Gary Kubiak kept his offense on the field on a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 20. Foster was stopped for no gain, but Houston got the ball back when Tim Jamison sacked Flacco, forced a fumble and recovered it at the 17.

Three plays later, Texans guard Wade Smith recovered a fumble by Ben Tate in the end zone.

Late in the half, Cundiff kicked a 43-yard field goal.

New England Patriots 20, Dallas Cowboys 16

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Tom Brady got the offense going just in time to lead the New England Patriots to the winning touchdown in the final minute of a 20-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Brady threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left and the Patriots’ top-ranked offense overcame the Cowboys’ stingy defense.

Dan Bailey’s 26-yard field goal had broken a 13-13 tie with 5:13 left. Each team ran one series before the Patriots got the ball after a punt with 2:30 remaining. Brady then completed eight of nine passes for 78 yards on an 80-play drive capped by his pass to Hernandez in the middle of the end zone.

New England (5-1) won despite its first two lost fumbles of the season and Brady’s two interceptions. He finished the game 27 of 41 for 289 yards with two touchdowns.

Dallas (2-3) ended a five-game road winning streak after a bye despite coming back from a 13-3 deficit midway through the second quarter. Tony Romo was 27 of 41 for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Until the final drive, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was headed for his second straight strong game against the Patriots.

He held that job with Cleveland when the Browns beat the Patriots 34-14 last Nov. 7. Since then, the Patriots had scored at least 30 points in 13 consecutive games. That streak ended Sunday, but New England still won.

The regular-season win was Brady’s 20th straight at home and the Patriots 31st in a row at Gillette Stadium.

They took a 3-0 lead on their first possession on a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. It began when Kyle Arrington intercepted a pass that Dez Bryant failed to reach for on a medium-range slant pattern.

The Cowboys tied it on Bailey’s 48-yard field goal after Terence Newman intercepted a pass by Brady that was tipped by defensive end Kenyon Coleman.

New England turned the ball over again on the kickoff after the field goal when Gerald Sensabaugh recovered a fumble by Matthew Slater, the first fumble lost by the Patriots this season. But Dallas gave the ball right back five plays later when Tashard Choice fumbled and Gerard Warren recovered.

The Patriots capitalized with a 26-yard field goal by Gostkowski with 12:07 left in the half for a 6-3 lead. They made it 13-3 on their next possession on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Wes Welker. Officials ruled initially that Welker had gone out of bounds as he reached the ball out toward the goal line but that was overturned on video review.

That put Brady into eight place in NFL history with 276 touchdown passes, one more than Vinny Testaverde.

Dallas cut the lead to 13-10 at halftime, marching 93 yards on 11 plays to score on Romo’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Witten, the star tight end’s first catch of the game, with 33 seconds left.

The Cowboys tied it on Bailey’s 22-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26, New Orleans Saints 20

TAMPA, Florida — The New Orleans Saints lost a game to Tampa Bay and their coach to injury.

Josh Freeman threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns, Earnest Graham rushed for 109 yards in place of injured starter LeGarrette Blount, and Tampa Bay outlasted New Orleans for a 26-20 win.

The win pulled the Bucs (4-2) into a first-place tie with the Saints in the NFC South and snapped New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

A bad tone was set on the first drive for the Saints when Payton toppled to the ground during a collision with New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham in the first quarter. Payton got his left leg caught under Graham as he was tackled on the sideline, suffering a torn ligament and a broken bone.

The Saints had a chance to take the lead late, but quarterback Drew Brees was intercepted in the end zone on a fourth-down pass. Brees became the first passer ever with four consecutive 350-yard games, but also threw three interceptions.

New Orleans had four turnovers in the game. Tampa’s defense also held the Saints under 30 points for only the second time this season and shut down New Orleans’ rushing attack.

The Bucs led 23-13 heading into the fourth period until Mark Ingram’s 12-yard run capped a seven-play, 82-yard drive and pulled the Saints to within a field goal.

Tampa pushed it back to 26-20 with a field goal of its own with 7:54 left, opening the door for Saints. But facing a fourth-and-2 on the 4, Brees’ pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Quincy Black. The Bucs then put the ball in Graham’s hands and were able to run out the clock.

After the collision with Graham, Payton stayed on the ground for several minutes receiving medical attention before being moved to the end of the bench. He coached from there until late in the half when he was carted to the locker room. It was announced at halftime that Payton tore the MCL in the leg and also sustained a fractured tibia. He was not on the sideline the remainder of the game.

The Saints’ first drive of the game also ended with Ingram’s fumble that was scooped up by Tampa’s Da’Quan Bowers and led to a field goal three plays later.

Brees’ touchdown pass to Marques Colston on their next possession briefly put the Saints up 7-3, but there was little to smile about after that as the Bucs reeled off 17 points.

Minus a few misfired throws early, Freeman was spot-on throughout, connecting with Arrelious Benn over the middle for a 65-yard score and later with Preston Parker in traffic from 18 yards.

Brees was intercepted twice in the half, including one off a deflection by Bucs safety Tanard Jackson. He was playing in his first game since being reinstated by NFL after being suspended more than a year for violating league’s substance abuse policy.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Beating the Baltimore Ravens on the road is a difficult task, even for a healthy team riding a crest of momentum.

So here come the Houston Texans, limping into town Sunday without their two best players and bringing a sore-armed quarterback whose final throw last week sealed a maddening loss to Oakland.

The Texans (3-2) listed 18 players on their midweek injury report. Andre Johnson, Houston’s leading receiver, is recovering from surgery on his right hamstring; Mario Williams, Houston’s sack leader, is gone for the season with a torn pectoral muscle; and Matt Schaub saw limited practice time because of a tender shoulder.

A year ago, Johnson had nine catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns in Houston’s 34-28 overtime loss to Baltimore. Williams never got to quarterback Joe Flacco, but the Ravens yielded four sacks while trying to nullify the big defensive end.

Baltimore (3-1) is delighted both won’t be around for the rematch.

“We know they’re going to have guys come in,” running back Ray Rice said. “But when you think about the next man up, you cannot replace an Andre Johnson, you cannot replace a Mario Williams. Those guys are names in the NFL that everyone knows. If we were playing them, we would have to account for those two guys.”

Flacco, who’s been sacked eight times in four games thus far, won’t have to look over his shoulder for an oncoming Williams.

“They’ve got a lot of good guys over there on defense, but anytime you take a guy like that out of the game, I don’t want to say it makes it easier, but it will definitely help us out a little bit,” Flacco said.

Baltimore has won 12 of its last 13 home games — including blowouts this year over Pittsburgh and the New York Jets by a combined 69-24 score.

And now, following a bye, the rested Ravens face a depleted Houston team coming off a 25-20 defeat to the Raiders in which Schaub threw an interception in the end zone as time expired.

“The more you think about it and the more you dwell on it, the more you’re hurting yourself for this week,” Schaub said. “So we’ve got to continue on and go to the next play.”

Which very well might be handoff to Arian Foster, who ran for 100 yards last season against Baltimore. No one has done it since.

“You have to hit him. He’s one of the most complete backs you can see,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “We know with Andre being out and them going through some things offensively, they’re going to run the ball on us. I think we’re up for the challenge.”

A year ago, Foster won the NFL rushing title while running behind Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach. Now, after signing as a free agent with Baltimore in August, Leach is blocking for Rice.

“He’s one of my better friends in the NFL today,” Foster said of his former leading man. “I can’t wait to see him.”

Leach was replaced in Houston by James Casey, who has a chest injury and might be forced to sit out Sunday’s game.

“Well, next guy steps up,” said offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, a line that just might turn out to be the theme of Houston’s 2011 season. “It’s like anybody else — if we have somebody go down, we’re going to miss them, but somebody’s got to go out there and compete. Maybe our versatility isn’t what it was before, but we’ll make do.”

Schaub threw for 416 yards last week, but he realizes nothing will come easy against a defense that features Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed and Lewis, who’s having another standout season at age 36.

“He’s still Ray Lewis. He still plays instinctive, reacts to what he sees. He’s seen virtually everything that you can throw at him,” Schaub said. “You just have to know where he is, much like No. 20 (Reed) back end. You’ve got to know where he’s at and 55 (Suggs) up front. They have a ton of playmakers, and you’ve got to account for them wherever they are.”

Baltimore scored three defensive touchdowns against the Jets and has forced 14 turnovers, tied for second in the league behind Buffalo (16).

“We’re trying to get off the football field,” Reed said. “We’re trying to cause havoc, we’re trying to put pressure on you, we don’t want you to score.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens rouses the crowd during the game against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. / GETTY

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BALTIMORE – Beating the Baltimore Ravens on the road is a
difficult task, even for a healthy team riding a crest of
momentum.

So here come the Houston Texans, limping into town Sunday
without their two best players and bringing a sore-armed
quarterback whose final throw last week sealed a maddening loss to
Oakland.

The Texans (3-2) listed 18 players on their midweek injury
report. Andre Johnson, Houston’s leading receiver, is recovering
from surgery on his right hamstring; Mario Williams, Houston’s sack
leader, is gone for the season with a torn pectoral muscle; and
Matt Schaub saw limited practice time because of a tender
shoulder.

A year ago, Johnson had nine catches for 140 yards and two
touchdowns in Houston’s 34-28 overtime loss to Baltimore. Williams
never got to quarterback Joe Flacco, but the Ravens yielded four
sacks while trying to nullify the big defensive end.

Baltimore (3-1) is delighted both won’t be around for the
rematch.

“We know they’re going to have guys come in,” running back Ray
Rice said. “But when you think about the next man up, you cannot
replace an Andre Johnson, you cannot replace a Mario Williams.
Those guys are names in the NFL that everyone knows. If we were
playing them, we would have to account for those two guys.”

Flacco, who’s been sacked eight times in four games thus far,
won’t have to look over his shoulder for an oncoming Williams.

“They’ve got a lot of good guys over there on defense, but
anytime you take a guy like that out of the game, I don’t want to
say it makes it easier, but it will definitely help us out a little
bit,” Flacco said.

Baltimore has won 12 of its last 13 home games – including
blowouts this year over Pittsburgh and the New York Jets by a
combined 69-24 score.

And now, following a bye, the rested Ravens face a depleted
Houston team coming off a 25-20 defeat to the Raiders in which
Schaub threw an interception in the end zone as time expired.

“The more you think about it and the more you dwell on it, the
more you’re hurting yourself for this week,” Schaub said. “So we’ve
got to continue on and go to the next play.”

Which very well might be handoff to Arian Foster, who ran for
100 yards last season against Baltimore. No one has done it
since.

“You have to hit him. He’s one of the most complete backs you
can see,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “We know with Andre
being out and them going through some things offensively, they’re
going to run the ball on us. I think we’re up for the
challenge.”

A year ago, Foster won the NFL rushing title while running
behind Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach. Now, after signing as a free
agent with Baltimore in August, Leach is blocking for Rice.

“He’s one of my better friends in the NFL today,” Foster said of
his former leading man. “I can’t wait to see him.”

Leach was replaced in Houston by James Casey, who has a chest
injury and might be forced to sit out Sunday’s game.

“Well, next guy steps up,” said offensive coordinator Rick
Dennison, a line that just might turn out to be the theme of
Houston’s 2011 season. “It’s like anybody else – if we have
somebody go down, we’re going to miss them, but somebody’s got to
go out there and compete. Maybe our versatility isn’t what it was
before, but we’ll make do.”

Schaub threw for 416 yards last week, but he realizes nothing
will come easy against a defense that features Haloti Ngata,
Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed and Lewis, who’s having another standout
season at age 36.

“He’s still Ray Lewis. He still plays instinctive, reacts to
what he sees. He’s seen virtually everything that you can throw at
him,” Schaub said. “You just have to know where he is, much like
No. 20 (Reed) back end. You’ve got to know where he’s at and 55
(Suggs) up front. They have a ton of playmakers, and you’ve got to
account for them wherever they are.”

Baltimore scored three defensive touchdowns against the Jets and
has forced 14 turnovers, tied for second in the league behind
Buffalo (16).

“We’re trying to get off the football field,” Reed said. “We’re
trying to cause havoc, we’re trying to put pressure on you, we
don’t want you to score.”

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

Entering Sunday, Ray Rice was tied for 12^th in the NFL with 66 carries to go along with 16 catches. Because something good happens seemingly every time Rice touches the ball, I’ve heard numerous people say that the Ravens need to get him the ball even more. That may be true, but it’s appropriate to point out that Rice has seen a significant increase in touches compared to the first four games of last year. His 82 touches are 11 more than he had through four weeks last year when he had 60 rushes and 11 receptions. And that holds true even though Rice has played sporadically in fourth quarters because really only one of the Ravens’ games this season has been still in doubt at that point in the game. 

Since the Ravens signed Bryan McCann during the bye week, there hasn’t been an opportunity to ask coach John Harbaugh about where the young cornerback fits in the team’s plans. That question will obviously be more pertinent if several of the injured members of the secondary return this week as expected. But I’d have to imagine that the Ravens, who signed McCann to a two-year deal, are hoping that he plays his biggest role in the return game. The Ravens have used Lardarius Webb and Ed Reed on returns, and their beat-up secondary simply can’t afford to lose either with an injury. I understand the importance of special teams and I know injuries happen, but they seem to happen a lot to Ravens on kickoffs and punts. Jimmy Smith, Haruki Nakamura and David Reed have all been hurt on special teams.

The Ravens have dealt with their share of injuries, but they certainly are catching a break with the timing of their matchup against the Houston Texans. Not only did the Ravens have a bye week to potentially get back some of their ailing players, but the Texans may have lost their best defensive player yesterday in a 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders as outside linebacker Mario Williams left in the second quarter with a pectoral injury. Williams had gotten his fifth sack of the season earlier in the game. The severity of Williams’ injury is unknown, but with All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson (hamstring) expected to miss the game, the Texans could be without their top offensive and defensive player.

I’m a little late – OK about a week  – with this observation, but I thought one of the best moments during the Ravens’ 34-17 victory over the New York Jets eight days ago was that stretch where they ran the ball 11 straight plays spanning the third and fourth quarters. Fullback Vonta Leach and a couple of the offensive linemen kept motioning to the sidelines as if to say to them, “Let’s keep this going.” With Leach facing off against his old teammates this week, I can’t imagine he won’t be in the ears of the Ravens’ coaches, encouraging them to run it early and run it often. 

Wasn’t fullback Le’Ron McClain’s main gripe when he was with the Ravens that he didn’t get to handle the ball enough? He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason and through five games, McClain has seven carries for 17 yards, and three catches for 19 yards. And that’s on a team that lost their starting running back (Jamaal Charles) in the first quarter of Week 2 with a knee injury. Just for comparison’s sake, McClain had 13 rushes for 33 yards and seven catches for 52 yards through the first five games with the Ravens last season.

BALTIMORE – Thirty minutes into the first game of the season, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis stood before his teammates and delivered an inspirational and insightful speech that set the tone for the entire season.

Baltimore held a 21-7 lead over the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the identical score at halftime of their playoff game in Pittsburgh nine months earlier. In that one, the Ravens came apart in a 31-24 defeat.

Lewis placed himself in the middle of the locker room and emphatically spiked the comparison.

“Everybody was saying, ‘We’ve been here before,’” Lewis said. “And I was like, ‘We haven’t been here before, because 2010 is 2010, and 2011 is a whole new year.’ If you understand it that way, then you understand that this is a new team.”

And so it is. The retooled Ravens went on to hammer the Steelers 35-7, and they enter this Sunday’s bye with a 3-1 record, alone atop the AFC North and charging toward a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome retooled the team during a whirlwind off-season shortened by the NFL lockout.

Almost every move he made has thus far appeared to be the right one, beginning with a salary cap purge of wide receiver Derrick Mason, tight end Todd Heap, running back Willis McGahee, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le’Ron McClain.

At this point in the season, the Ravens don’t miss any of them. Not even a little bit.

Ricky Williams has proven to be a capable backup to running back Ray Rice; Lee Evans and second-round draft pick Torrey Smith have made up for the loss of Mason; Vonta Leach is an upgrade from McClain; Terrence Cody has proven to be just as immovable on the line as Gregg; and the tight end tandem of Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta has made it easy for Ravens fans to scrap the “HEAP!” cheer that resonated throughout M&T Stadium for the past decade.

Newsome also added safety Bernard Pollard and a pair of offensive linemen who made an immediate difference.

The signing of free agent tackle Bryant McKinnie enabled Michael Oher to move back to the right side — where he is more effective — and free agent guard Andre Gurode has been invaluable during Ben Grubbs’ absence with turf toe.

Oh, and the defence under first-year co-ordinator Chuck Pagano has been spectacular.

As Lewis said, this is indeed a new team. And it’s not outlandish to believe the Ravens could become even more formidable with the sooner-than-later return of Evans (ankle injury) and cornerbacks Chris Carr (hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (ankle).

“The scary part is, I think we can only get better,” Rice said. “What you’re seeing is a token of hard work. Guys are not afraid to work.”

The Ravens aren’t good enough to just show up and win. That was proven in Week 2, when they followed up their emotional victory over the Steelers with a 23-13 defeat at Tennessee. Then came a 37-7 rout in St. Louis and a surprisingly easy 34-17 win over the New York Jets.

Against the Jets, Baltimore scored three touchdowns on defence and allowed only seven first downs to hit the first quarter of the season tied with five teams for the best record in the AFC.

“We can’t ask for anything else,” Lewis said.

Moments after the Jets game, there was an aura of cautious confidence in the locker room.

“We feel good,” centre Matt Burk said.

“Certainly we wish we were 4-0, but we’re 3-1. We take pride in what we’ve done to this point, but when we come back from the bye it’s a whole new deal. There’s still a long, long way to go in this thing. They didn’t pass out the Lombardi Trophy after this game. Good teams get better as the season goes. We’ll see where this thing goes and where this journey takes us.”

The goal is to get to Indianapolis, site of the Super Bowl, and the easiest way to get there is to play at home leading up to the game.

The Ravens were eliminated at Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2010, and in 2009 their post-season run ended in Indianapolis.

Baltimore has won 12 of its past 13 at home, including two this season in which it outscored the two participants in the 2010 AFC title game by a combined 45 points.

“We’re only going to get better, but getting better is a choice. It’s based on how hard we decide to work,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m excited, I’m proud of these guys, yet, hey, we have a long way to go.”