I’ve never seen a game won on the first defensive play of the game before tonight… but it happened in Baltimore.
The Ravens blitzed free safety Ed Reed off the right edge, and he got to Jets QB Mark Sanchez in time to knock the ball out of the QB’s passing hand… the result being an instant 7-0 lead for the Ravens as the fumble was scooped up and returned for a Ravens score.
And so it went throughout the rest of the game… Sanchez under constant pressure and turning the ball over to the Ravens…Here Haloti Ngata hits Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to force a fumble during the first half of the Ravens’ Sunday night game against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. LB Jarret Johnson scored a touchdown on the recovery.
If it wasn’t dynamic free safety Ed Reed stripping the ball away from Sanchez from behind on the Jets’ first play from scrimmage, it was All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata drilling the beleaguered quarterback in the back with a crushing blow to force another fumble returned for a touchdown. And cornerback Lardarius Webb delivered another embarrassing moment for Sanchez as he burst in front of an errant pass intended for wide receiver Santonio Holmes, returning the interception 73 yards for a touchdown. Victimizing Sanchez with unpredictable blitzes and constant pressure, the Ravens scored three defensive touchdowns to establish a new franchise record during a 34-17 victory Sunday night before 71,247 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Sanchez fumbled four times, losing three of them. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his team’s defensive performance topped even their showing in the 35-7 season-opening win over Pittsburgh.
“I’ve been around football a long time. I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Jets head coach Rex Ryan said of the Ravens’ defensive performance, likening this year’s unit to the heralded 2000 and 2006 Ravens defenses he helped put togther.
Sanchez was limited to 11-of-35 passing for 115 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 30.5 passer rating.
The Ravens needed all of their defensive prowess with quarterback Joe Flacco almost as erratic as Sanchez. Flacco completed only 10 of 31 passes for 163 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 37.4 passer rating. Flacco threw 12 consecutive incompletions from the beginning of the second quarter until early in the fourth quarter, when he finally hit rookie wide receiver LaQuan Williams for a first down. He had an interception returned 35 yards for a touchdown by inside linebacker David Harris in the second quarter on a short pass intended for running back Ray Rice. Flacco went two entire quarters without a completion.
The Ravens held the Jets to nine yards and one first down in the first quarter. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano sent Reed on a blitz in the first quarter, something the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year has done less frequently in recent years due to neck and hip injuries. Reed timed it perfectly, blasting past the line of scrimmage to knock the ball away from Sanchez with inside linebacker Jameel McClain scooping up the fumble and returning it six yards for a touchdown.
The Jets immediately answered with a 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Joe McKnight where he streaked up the middle past blocked linebacker Albert McClellan and ran away from safety Tom Zbikowski. It’s the longest return in Jets history and the longest play surrendered by the Ravens in franchise history.
Following a 38-yard Billy Cundiff field goal set up by a 52-yard reception by Rice where he lined up in the slot and beat safety Eric Smith, the Ravens scored on their next possession as well. Rice capped an eight-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run to the left to stake the Ravens to a 17-7 advantage.
After yet another Sanchez fumble, this one a bad snap from rookie center Colin Baxter as he struggled in place of injured Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold, Cundiff hit his first field goal.
The Jets scored one more time in the second quarter on a 40-yard Nick Folk field goal to bring the game to within 10 points at halftime.
The Ravens took control for good in the third quarter when Webb ran in front of Holmes to pick off Sanchez for the touchdown. The Ravens contained Holmes, who had typically haunted the Ravens with 35 career receptions for 641 yards and eight touchdowns during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens limited Holmes to three receptions for 33 yards.
It was a terrific “statement win” for John Harbaugh and the Ravens, who essentially have just qualified for AFC championship consideration by kicking the tar out of Rex Ryan’s Jets— and without the benefit of a typical Joe Flacco quality performance as a passing quarterback.
No, this game was one for the books as the Ravens beat Rex Ryan at his own game— defense. The offensive side of the ball was a mere formality. It’s a rarity when your defense outscores your offense. But last night, it was almost like the two combatants planned it that way. Live by the sword, die by the sword, etc. And something tells me it’s still a personal thing with Rex Ryan, who was passed over for head coach consideration by the Ravens in favor of John Harbaugh. This soap opera will have future chapters, I’m sure…
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