ATLANTA Of this i am now convinced: The Falcons, 26-21 winners previously pointed out Baltimore right here Thursday night, own a real shot at playing in extremely Bowl XLV in Dallas. With seven wins currently within the tote in the wide-open NFC, a powerful home-field advantage as completely as a possibly galvanizing, season-altering tally vs. the Ravens atop their rsum, what isn't really to like regarding the Falcons?
But here's my question: What do we recognize regarding the Ravens Thursday? This was obviously a group some considered could possibly be the most effective in football entering the evening. And allow there be no doubt: The Ravens are usually that good, specifically this season, without the dominant group emerging. Their best fixture well, I have a tendency to not recognize if we've noticed their best, which makes them so intriguing.
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And frustrating.
We found out Thursday the Ravens are able of your sustained, championship-style comeback effort. within the very first half, the Ravens appeared overmatched, flat, out-of-sorts. The Falcons experienced been successful the fight in all three phases. Then, the Ravens, in the quarter-and-a-half burst, caught as much as and passed Atlanta, a late kick that seemed to own them residence free, holding a 21-20 lead with 1:05 left and Atlanta stuck on its personal 20-yard line, a minimum of 40 yards to have a trip for any genuine field-goal attempt.
"Eighty yards? I mean, you ask for that (scenario)," Ravens SLB Jarret Johnson(notes) pointed out afterward, getting the seem at from your defense.
Here was the Ravens' chance to near out the game. And with Falcons incompletions within the very first two performs from your series, the Ravens seemed poised to undertake just that. But then Atlanta QB Matt Ryan(notes), as he do all night, found an opening within the Ravens' coverage, attaching with WR Michael Jenkins(notes) for twenty-four yards alongside the left sideline for the penultimate of twelve productive third-down conversions in twenty efforts within the evening. Four performs later, Ryan found White, whom Baltimore experienced no reply for all evening, for the game-winning 33-yard touchdown.
"We allow them escape," Ravens ROLB Terrell Suggs(notes) pointed out afterward, echoing a widespread sentiment within the Baltimore locker room.
If the Falcons escaped, however, it experienced been consequently of fact they set by themselves in placement to toe nail the Ravens in the wire. Time and again, Atlanta moved the chains, specifically within the very first half, once they converted 8-of-12 3rd downs and held the ball for 21:14 toward the Ravens' 8:46. within another hand, the Ravens converted just 1-of-4 3rd downs within the very first 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Ravens QB Joe Flacco(notes) completed just 5-of-8 passes for 31 yards.
Finally, trailing 13-0 previously within the 3rd quarter as well as in real danger of being blown out, the Ravens bounced back, with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron pushing the proper buttons on Baltimore's very first scoring drive. The very first two performs from your generate experienced been works far from the left part at DE John Abraham(notes), who experienced an exceptional fixture rushing the passer, and netted eight yards apiece. Later within the drive, Cameron dialed up a change to WR Dont Stallworth, who sprinted 19 yards since the Ravens took advantage from your Falcons' aggressiveness. Flacco also stood out on this drive, scrambling for any very first straight down next the Falcons collapsed the pocket and the insurance coverage vacated the area, and he ended the generate getting a five-yard strike to WR Anquan Boldin(notes) within the proper corner from your endzone for the Ravens' very first touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, the offense really strike its stride, with Flacco showing special poise and awareness, a number of times evading the rush and finding open receivers. First, he found WR Derrick Mason(notes) within the proper corner from your endzone for any six-yard TD with 5:42 left. Then, next an Atlanta punt, he led the Ravens on an eight-play, 72-yard generate capped by a nine-yard TD pass to TE Todd Heap(notes) within the midsection from your endzone.
But Ryan, in the breakout performance, and White, one from your NFC's superior receivers, would hold the final word.
Which delivers us back once again to these Ravens. In bursts, they're brilliant. At other times, they seem just like a group a slight lower in the AFC's best. The incapacity to own far from the area on 3rd downs Thursday was specifically troubling; this kind of problems would be the street to indigestion, lamenting and dashed extremely Bowl dreams. It wasn't just as quickly as that Ryan shipped the ball promptly as well as to an open receiver.
But this was only a Thursday evening two weeks before Thanksgiving, in the difficult setting in opposition to an NFC foe which usually delivers it at home. RB Ray Rice(notes) pointed out the fact that Ravens experienced but one generate within the 2nd quarter "and we experienced been even now within the game."
"It's only a small bump for us," Rice said, noting the fact that short 1 week of preparation experienced no consequence within the Ravens. " everyone went available and fought. We'll make an work to see individuals guys once again later straight down the road."
Try they will, and possibly they may. For almost two quarters, the Ravens appeared just like a extremely Bowl team. The difficulty was, the Falcons experienced the very first fifty percent and the final generate under control, appreciate it very much. Slow and steady and magnificent when entirely necessary won the fixture for Atlanta.
"We experienced to begin coming out and playing a small little bit faster," Mason said. "Atlanta is an amazingly good team, and we cannot get caught in conditions such as this anymore."
