Pop go the Titans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A not-so-raw rookie and a trustworthy veteran lifted the Baltimore Ravens to the brink of the Super Bowl.
With the help of a brutal defense that knocks opponents silly, of course.
After all, these are the Ravens, who love nothing more than to win grudge matches. And, this one was worthy of the WWE.
Baltimore survived 13-10 on Saturday against the No. 1-seeded Tennessee Titans thanks to Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining.
The unflappable Flacco was certain the 40-year-old kicker would get his team into next weekend's AFC title game at either Pittsburgh or San Diego.
"I just watched on the big screen," said the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games. "I didn't watch it live for whatever reason."
Maybe Flacco's reason was simply that he never flinches. Nor does his team, which took the wild-card route to the NFL championship in 2000 and just might do it again.
"We've been confident in ourselves all year," the first-round draft pick from Delaware said. "It seems like we've been on the road for the longest time. It doesn't matter to us. We're going to go out there and battle the crowd, battle the other team, and give it our best."
Their best has them at 13-5 after Stover, the last member of the Ravens who played when the franchise was in Cleveland, nailed his field goal.
"I would say this would be the No. 1 (kick in my career)," Stover said, then added, "but we've got some more kicks, too. So let's just be humble about that."
Humble after a rumble.
Two teams with an extreme dislike for each other never stopped pounding it out in the wind and rain.
The difference: Baltimore forced 3 turnovers and never gave away the ball.
It was so rugged that the highlight-reel play was All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis' explosive second-quarter hit on Titans fullback Ahmard Hall near the sideline. Hall's helmet flew off and both players began jawing at each other.
The nasty words never stopped flowing. But the Ravens backed it up with just enough points, climaxed by the winning kick.
"It's a little shocking," said Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck. At the end of the day, realistically you have 2, 3 turnovers inside the 20, you're not supposed to win."
Tennessee wasted a half-dozen scoring opportunities with errors. One came on Samari Rolle's interception at the Ravens' 12 on a popup Kerry Collins threw under pressure from a blitz in the second period.
Another was Collins' fourth-down fumble in Baltimore territory, which the quarterback recovered. The third was LenDale White's fumble at the Baltimore 17 in the final minute of the half. The fourth, and most damaging, was Alge Crumpler's fourth-quarter fumble at the 6-yard line, which was recovered by Baltimore's Fabian Washington at the Ravens' 1.
"We really have no one to blame but ourselves," Collins said. "This one's going to hurt for a while."