Ghosts of Ravens Past: A Lesson From Each Prior AFC Championship Game
Fifth time's the charm? Baltimore Ravens fans certainly hope so.
The Ravens are in the AFC title game for the fifth time in their relatively brief history, set to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon for a trip to Super Bowl LVIII. Baltimore will become just the fourth team to make at least five AFC title game appearances in the new century and they'll pine for their third Super Bowl appearance in just under three decades of existence.
Marc L. Baer, USA TODAY SPORTS
In those four previous showings, the Ravens have posted a 2-2 record. There's a lesson they can take from each of them, win or lose ...
2000: Ravens 16, Raiders 3
The Game: It's said that defense wins championships and that was never more true than in Baltimore at the turn of the century.
Despite mustering only 282 yards and losing two turnovers to an elite Oakland Raiders defense two years from its own Super Bowl run, the famed defense paced by Ray Lewis allowed the Ravens to coast to a multi-possession victory. Thanks to five takeaways, four sacks, and punishing hits (i.e. the late Tony Siragusa removing Oakland starter Rich Gannon from the game), the Ravens' vaunted defense made an early 10-0 lead look insurmountable.
The magnum opus perhaps came in the third quarter, when Baltimore recovered from an interception to stuff Oakland at the two-yard line, allowing a mere field goal before earning another Matt Stover triple to put the game away.
The Lesson: Don't make the defense do everything.
Baltimore's major offensive strike was a 96-yard touchdown reception for Shannon Sharpe, one that removed Oakland's will early, but they mostly sputtered otherwise, to the point where a staunch goal-line stand was necessary to set the stage for an eventual Super Bowl blowout of the New York Giants. Despite the triumph, Baltimore nonetheless embarked upon an offensive makeover in the offseason. Though they added some future stalwarts (i.e. first-round pick Todd Heap), it killed off any idea of immediately competing for more Lombardi Trophies.
Lamar Jackson has bought himself more time and leeway than the exiled Trent Dilfer ever could. But Sunday could stand as a legacy game as he seeks to eliminate one of the few legitimate criticisms against his case for inclusion among the passing elite. If he's able to take down the mighty recurring efforts of Kansas City, he could permanently seal a spot among the passing legends of the new decade.
2008: Steelers 23, Ravens 14
The Game: Baltimore officially returned to the spotlight in 2008, Joe Flacco's first season under Charm City center. While they perhaps always destined to learn a thing or two against the experienced, hated Pittsburgh Steelers, they hung with the Steel Curtain for as long as they could.
Though Baltimore consistently trailed by a healthy margin, they would have a chance to win the game in the final stages after forcing the Steelers into numerous field goals to keep the score at 16-14. However, in one of the defining plays of the long-running Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry, Troy Polamalu intercepted a Flacco pass and ran about 80 yards to go 40, his pick-six serving as the final touch.
Flacco's fling of desperation was one of five Baltimore turnovers and the penultimate of three that were lost in the final three-plus minutes.
The Lesson: Be clean on special teams and take advantage of mistakes.
Baltimore was able to stay in the game (a defensive struggle that featured a combined 24 first downs) thanks to their ability to take advantage of Pittsburgh's errors in the third phase of the game: the Ravens scored their first touchdown, courtesy of a Willis McGahee rush, after Jim Leonhard took back a punt 45 yards into the Steeler red zone. Early in the fourth, the Ravens further narrowed the gap to two when they took advantage of a short field provided by a 21-yard punt from Mitch Berger, needing just eight plays to earn another McGahee touchdown.
Alas for Baltimore, Flacco's untimely rookie mistake rendered those cash-ins relatively null and void. But, as favorites in Sunday's game, the Ravens need to make sure they're fine-tuned in every stretch of the gridiron imagination. Having Justin Tucker boot triples helps, but they better keep the Chiefs' third stage in check.
2011: Patriots 23, Ravens 20
The Game: To that special teams end, perhaps Ravens fans/readers require little reminder of the way the 2011-12 AFC title game ended. To that end and to preserve the sense of relative joy and anticipation of this day, we'll simply say "Billy Cundiff," and move on.
The Lesson: Put them away when you have a chance.
The John Harbaugh Ravens perhaps carry one of the most bittersweet reputations in recent NFL memory: since he arrived in 2008, Baltimore hold the third-best record in the AFC. One of the teams they trail, the New England Patriots, left most of the conference behind in their way but Baltimore at least held a candle to Bill Belichick's brilliance: in the eternally stoic Belichick's near-quarter-century reign of terror, only Harbaugh's Ravens (and, of course, Tom Coughlin's Giants) got the best of Belichick's group in multiple postseason meetings.
But Harbaugh and Co. could've not only put a dent in the New England machinery but perhaps ended things a bit earlier than anticipated. In other words, perhaps things should've never come down to Cundiff's memorable misfire.
Following a Torrey Smith touchdown reception, Baltimore was primed for an upset with a 17-16 lead. The ensuing kickoff provided further hysterics, as LaQuan Williams forced a fumble from Danny Woodhead that placed the Ravens inside the New England 30. But a failed drive that made it to the red zone was stifled by a sack, forcing Cundiff to provide a short triple that proved to be their last points of the season. A penalty that wiped out a Terrell Suggs interception of Tom Brady on the next drive also didn't help, as the Patriots took advantage to the tune of a scoring drive that served as the winning margin.
Though favored, Baltimore is facing a Chiefs group that is well-versed in the art of winning, a mastery evident by the fact that this is their fifth consecutive appearance in the semifinal. Will that nip this would-be dynasty in the bud and perhaps start their own? Or will they forced to play Dragonslayer again?
2012: Ravens 28, Patriots 13
The Game: Baltimore's relative mastery of the Patriots was purely on display during their last Super Bowl run.
Few, if any, were capable of working their way back from a Brady-induced deficit but the Ravens did so in the second half of their last AFC Championship Game showing. Trailing 13-7 at intermission, the Ravens enjoyed the company of a Dennis Pitta touchdown that provided them a permanent lead before two Anquan Boldin touchdowns sealed the deal over the final 15.
The Lesson: Win the fourth.
The recurring champions of AFC past have made a reputation of succeeding when the odds are stacked against them and Baltimore has certainly done that. But, once again, this is a chance to take down a potential dynasty before it has a chance to truly get rolling. Special attention will be required, especially when it comes to the game's most vital minutes.
A fateful January afternoon allowed the Ravens to be kings for at least day, as a vital quarter-hour allowed them to pave the path to glory. All four New England drives in the final period ended in a turnover, one on downs and three of the traditional variety (Dannell Ellerbe and Cary Williams interceptions of Brady and Bernard Pollard forcing a fumble from Stevan Ridley). Even without the Boldin touchdowns, they were set up handsomely but securing a two-possession victory was the tastiest cherry on top.
