AFC Divisional Round Recap: Ravens Reverse Titans' Fortunes

When the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans squared off, both teams were unable to manufacture points despite one team's statistical dominance over the other. In the end, costly mistakes by the home team and its starting QB and a late-quarter comeback would propel the away team to a surprising 13-10 victory.

Sound familiar?

In a rematch of their Week 5 contest, the sixth-seeded Ravens and the top-seeded Titans put on a repeat performance in the AFC Divisional Round, but with reversed roles and the opposite outcome.

This time, Kerry Collins would be the QB to make the crucial mistakes to cost his team the game, not rookie Joe Flacco. This time, the Titans offense would run roughshod over the Ravens defense, yet fail to put points on the board when necessary. This time, the Titans defense would render the Ravens offense virtually ineffective until the final quarter.

This time, the Titans would have no one to blame but themselves for the loss, rather than the Ravens.

To be fair, Collins played reasonably well, as he completed 26 of 42 passes (61.9%) for 281 yards and a QB rating of 71.6. However, his second-quarter INT thrown to former Titans CB Samari Rolle in Baltimore territory was one of several mistakes made throughout the game that marred an otherwise great team performance. The absence of C Kevin Mawae proved to be great when two snaps on crucial possessions were mishandled. Additionally, key fumbles by the Titans in the red zone took away scoring opportunities on promising drives, giving the Ravens new life.

Though the Ravens were able to control the clock in their last meeting, Baltimore's three-headed monster was nowhere to be seen this time, as Le'Ron McClain and Willis McGahee provided minimal gains while banged-up rookie Ray Rice was used primarily as a blocker. Instead, the Titans' dynamic duo of Chris Johnson and LenDale White would help Tennessee win the time of possession battle, but failed to be the difference-maker in spite of their numbers.

The Ravens defense limped through the majority of three quarters, yet managed to provide key stops that would give their rookie QB every opportunity to keep them in the game. The turning point came when Flacco converted a crucial 3rd-and-2 with a long completion to Todd Heap to keep the drive alive; the play was marked by a delay of game penalty that was seemingly missed by the officiating crew, as the ball appeared to have been snapped a full second after the play clock expired.

In spite of the penalty, Tennessee's defense still allowed Baltimore to advance the ball on that play as well as an additional 20 yards in the plays that followed, giving veteran Matt Stover enough range to complete a 43-yard kick that would prove to be the game-winner.

With the victory, Joe Flacco became the first rookie QB in NFL history to win two road playoff games, and the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship game to face the second-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Thus far, the Steelers have defeated the Ravens in two close games this season, both with questionable calls that directly impacted the finish. Their third meeting will prove to be epic, as the Ravens have only beaten the Steelers once in their last 8 meetings in Pittsburgh, while the Steelers are 2-4 in their last six AFC Title games.

Regardless of statistics, records, and other measurable quantities, the only numbers that will matter on Sunday is the score when the clock strikes zero. The road to Tampa goes through Pittsburgh, and both the Ravens and Steelers will relish every moment of it, from kickoff until the final gun.