Baltimore vs. Indianapolis
Ray Lewis Wins Home Finale as Ravens Handle Colts 24-9 in Wild Card Playoff Game
Ray Lewis’s final game in Baltimore was a happy occasion, and his storied career will continue on for at least one more game.
It’s fitting that Lewis’s finale at M&T Bank Stadium was part of a defensive effort that didn’t allow a touchdown by the Indianapolis Colts. The Baltimore Ravens won 24-9 in their one home game of the 2012 NFL playoffs and earns them a trip to Denver in next week’s divisional round.
Coming out of halftime with a 10-6 lead, Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes in the second half to put the game out of reach—much to the delight of the 71,379 in attendance on an unusually balmy 49-degree day in early January.
In the end, it was Lewis—lined up at fullback for Flacco’s final kneel-down to end the game—who was able to leave the field triumphantly after coming to Baltimore with the Ravens in 1996.
Ironically, the team Lewis helped beat on Sunday was the one that left Baltimore in the early 1980s. Lewis had a game-high 13 tackles in his first game back from a triceps injury that cost him the final 10 games of the season.
He left the stadium following a victory lap around the field to salute the fans.
"My only focus was to come in and get my team a win. Nothing else was planned," the 37-year-old Lewis said. "It's one of those things, when you recap it all and try to say what is one of your greatest moments. I knew how it started, but I never knew how it would end here in Baltimore. To go the way it did today, I wouldn’t change nothing.”
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On the offensive side, Flacco became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win a postseason game in each of his first five seasons. Baltimore’s playoff streak of five is also the longest active streak in the NFL.
Baltimore picked up 439 yards on offense, which is the most in team playoff history. Flacco was 12-of-23 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. His average of 23.5 yards per completion is the second-best mark in NFL playoff history.
Anquan Boldin, playing in his first playoff game for the Ravens, had a huge day, grabbing five passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.
"I told (Flacco) before the game I was going to get 200 yards," Boldin laughed. "It's huge for us. It's huge for this city, they've supported us this entire year and they expect a lot from us. In return, we want to give it to them."
Bernard Pierce, on the strength of a 43-yard run, led Baltimore with 103 yards on the ground. Ray Rice added 68 but fumbled twice. He also had a 47-yard reception. Vonta Leach had one carry but made it count for a 2-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Paul Kruger had 2.5 sacks, and Cary Williams recorded an interception of Andrew Luck, who was playing in his first playoff game.
"It's great making the playoffs, but you can't make mistakes and expect to beat a playoff team like we did," said Luck. "We'll have to look back at those and hopefully fix them."
For the defense, it was the ninth playoff game since 2000 that Baltimore allowed 10 or fewer points. No other team in that span has done it more than four times.
GAME RECAP
The first quarter of the game was scoreless, thanks in part to a big play by Kruger. On 3rd and 5 from the Baltimore 30-yard line, he sacked Luck, causing a fumble that was recovered by Pernell McPhee and ended the scoring threat.
In the first drive of the second quarter, the Ravens got the ball and reached the Colts 5-yard line before settling for a 23-yard field goal attempt by Justin Tucker. He hit it to open the scoring at 3-0.
Later in the second, Adam Vinatieri tied the game at 3 with a 47-yard field goal. The Ravens responded, however, thanks to a Flacco pass to Rice that went from midfield all the way to the 2-yard line. On the next play, Leach ran it into the end zone for a 10-3 Ravens lead.
Vinatieri ended the half with a 52-yard field goal to make it 10-6 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the big play of the Ravens’ second drive was a 46-yarder from Flacco to Boldin. Two players after that, Flacco found Dennis Pitta for a 20-yard score to increase the lead to 17-6. Another Vinatieri field goal made it 17-9 after three quarters of play.
Rice fumbled to start the fourth quarter, but Vinatieri missed a 40-yard field goal try to keep the score level. On the ensuing possession, Pierce ran for a 43-yard gain to get the ball into the red zone. Two plays later, Flacco delivered the dagger—finding Boldin for an 18-yard TD grab to make it 24-9.
UP NEXT
The top-seeded Denver Broncos are up next for the Ravens. Denver won 34-17 in Baltimore in Week 15, and the Ravens are still stinging from that matchup.
“I wanted Denver because they beat us,” Boldin said. “We’ll make it different.”
"We saw them earlier in the year and now we get them back again, but with all of our guns back,” Lewis added.
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is 2-0 against the Ravens in the postseason. After a 2-3 start, the Broncos finished 13-3 and on an 11-game winning streak to earn the AFC’s top seed. The teams will meet Saturday night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The winner of that contest will face either the Houston Texans or New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.