It was a familiar script for the Baltimore Ravens (9-4) Monday night. A big lead heading in to the fourth quarter and a struggling second half offense. That’s summed up the Ravens for much of the season and the Houston Texans (5-8) just followed in the path of other teams.
Quarterback Joe Flacco got the offense off to a fast start that could have been faster if Derrick Mason would have caught a perfectly thrown ball down the middle of the field. Instead, Mason dropped it. Towards the end of the quarter, however, Flacco was able to get the offense going away and running back Willis McGahee finished off the drive with a one-yard run.
In the second quarter, Mason made up for his earlier drop and got in to the end zone twice to give the Ravens a 21-0 lead. Houston was able to score on a 46-yard pass bomb to superstar wide receiver Andre Johnson from quarterback Matt Schaub. The Ravens then seemed to have a commanding 21-7 lead at the half.
Rookie wide receiver David Reed gave Baltimore a jolt to begin the second half. Reed returned Neil Rackers’ kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Ravens’ lead to 28-7. Of course, Houston was just getting started.
On their next four possessions, the Texans scored each time. Two field goals and two touchdowns. The last two touchdowns came on 99- and 95-yard drives, each ending with a touchdown pass from Schaub. During the half, Baltimore’s defense was on the field for 51 plays so by the end of the game the unit was exhausted.
The key offensive play for Baltimore, opening an opportunity for the Texans to tie the game, came on a third-and-2 with under three minutes to go and no timeouts for Houston. Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron opted to throw ball instead of handing the ball off to stud running back Ray Rice. The incomplete pass stopped the clock and gave Houston extra time to drive down the field and score the game-tying touchdown.
The defense bailed out Cameron by picking off Schaub on Houston’s first overtime possession. Josh Wilson made the biggest play of the season when he ran the interception in to the end zone to win the game for Baltimore 34-28.
Cameron will again come under fire for passing on third-and-2, but the play calling still needs to improve moving forward.
Next up for the Ravens is a big game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
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