Streaking Broncos make statement with rout of Ravens

BALTIMORE -- The Denver Broncos no longer can be considered a notch below the best in the AFC, nor can they be viewed as a team that can succeed only when Peyton Manning puts up dazzling numbers.

Their 34-17 rout of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday showed just how good these Broncos can be.

Chris Harris returned an interception 98 yards for a momentum-turning touchdown, and Denver cruised to its ninth straight victory in surprisingly easy fashion.

"You come to the Ravens' house and beat them handily, it's definitely a statement game," Harris said. "We definitely wanted to show to everybody that we're an elite team."

Manning threw for 204 yards and a score in his ninth consecutive win against Baltimore and first with the Broncos (11-3).

But he was merely a role player in this one, because Denver's defense dominated the Ravens, who sputtered in their first game with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator.

This was supposed to be a test for Denver, which was 0-5 in Baltimore and was eager to face a quality opponent on the road.

"Pat Bowlen has owned the team for 29 years and has averaged 10 wins a season, but it's the first time he's won in this building," Broncos coach John Fox said. "I was proud to see that for him."

Down 10-0 late in the first half, the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the Denver 4 when Harris stepped in front of Anquan Boldin, picked off a pass by Joe Flacco and sprinted down the right sideline with Flacco in pursuit. The quarterback tripped up Harris, who tumbled into the end zone, leaving Flacco flat on his stomach and with a cut lip.

"He just ran the out route and I was waiting to see when he was going to look back at the quarterback," Harris said. "As soon as he looked back, I looked back and the ball was there. I just made a play on the ball."

It was the longest regular-season interception return in Broncos history, and it turned a close game into a rout.

"I made a mistake. No other way to say it," Flacco said.

"Baltimore had some momentum there on the drive and looks like they're probably going to get the touchdown -- plus they get the ball the first series of the second half," Manning said.

"So just a huge play. The turnover is good, the fact that he took it all the way to the house for a touchdown was even bigger. Big play, big swing in the game, in the momentum. I thought it kind of jump-started everything in the second half for us."

The Ravens (9-5) were playing their first game under Caldwell, who replaced the fired Cam Cameron. Baltimore's offense sputtered in the first half, gaining only 119 yards and committing two turnovers that led to 10 Denver points.

Baltimore has lost three straight -- including two in a row at home for the first time since December 2007. The Ravens trailed 31-3 in the fourth quarter before Flacco threw touchdown passes of 31 and 61 yards to tight end Dennis Pitta.

"We couldn't get anything going until late," coach John Harbaugh said.

Caldwell's debut was a resounding flop. Flacco went 20 for 40 for 254 yards, lost a fumble and threw an interception. Ray Rice ran for 38 yards on 12 carries and the Ravens produced a meager 56 yards rushing.

For three weeks, Baltimore has needed one win to clinch a fifth straight trip to the playoffs. The Ravens still lead the AFC North, but their lead has shrunk to one game with two to play.

"We're a 9-5 football team and we feel like we're 0-14 right now," Flacco said.

Baltimore's previous two defeats were by three points apiece. This one wasn't even close, and the stadium was near empty in the middle of the fourth quarter.

"As (part of) the Ravens Nation, as a player, I am embarrassed for our city," safety Ed Reed said.

Denver, on the other hand, appears poised to reach the postseason with confidence and momentum. The AFC West champions haven't lost since Oct. 7, at New England. The Broncos, who can still capture the top seed in the conference, finish with home games against Cleveland and Kansas City.

Baltimore's first offensive series under Caldwell lasted three plays and ended badly. Flacco fumbled on a third-and-1 plunge and the Broncos recovered at the Denver 47, which led to a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

In the first quarter, Baltimore totaled 21 yards on 12 plays, punted three times and lost a fumble.

Denver went up 10-0 when Jacob Hester ran in from the 1 to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive. Baltimore answered with three more unproductive plays before punting. On their fifth drive, the Ravens finally got their initial first down -- on a 14-yard run by Bernard Pierce with eight minutes left in the half.

Pierce eventually left the game with a concussion, as did wide receiver Torrey Smith, who hit his head after attempting to make a leaping catch near the sideline in the third quarter.

Denver pulled away with two third-quarter touchdowns. Manning threw a 51-yard scoring pass to Eric Decker, and after the Ravens went three-and-out, Knowshon Moreno ended a 39-yard drive with a 6-yard run to make it 31-3.

Decker caught eight passes for 133 yards and Moreno finished with 118 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Notes

Rice passed 1,000 yards rushing for a fourth straight season. Terrell Suggs returned for Baltimore after missing one game with a torn biceps and made one tackle. Hester's score was the second rushing touchdown of his career and the first since his rookie season in 2008. Pitta had seven catches for 125 yards.

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Monday Observations: Ponder newly in bloom, Vikings make statement

Every week we hear so much about all of the young quarterbacks starting in the NFL these days, but hear so little about Christian Ponder. He's like the forgotten man of the last three or four quarterback classes, but that may soon be changing.

Ponder has already enjoyed his share of euphoria this season, leading a wild, comeback overtime victory in Week 1 and then performing expertly in Minnesota's 24-13 upset of San Francisco on Sunday in the surprise upset of the week. Few would have figured the Vikings to be 2-1 right now, but Ponder seems considerably more at ease than he did as a rookie, understanding when to check the ball down, when to throw it out of bounds and displaying a knack for making things happen in the clutch.

Ponder finished 21-for-35 for 198 yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers, the trendy top pick in everyone's silly power rankings, and their vaunted defense. He did not turn the ball over on a day when Alex Smith finally, inevitably, did, and he also had a huge score in the second quarter with his legs. Coach Leslie Frazier showed great confidence in the quarterback, as Ponder threw a touchdown pass on fourth down to complete a fairly epic opening drive, and later he made a spectacular lob pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph again in the end zone to give the Vikings a 23-13 lead they would not surrender.

"From a decision-making standpoint, it may have been his best game," Frazier told reporters in his postgame press conference. "He did a lot of good things on the move, and even in the pocket."

Several times during the game, Frazier said he was remarking in his headset about Ponder's growth. Where in the past he may have held the ball too long, now Ponder knew when to toss it away. "He's growing up, he's getting it," Frazier said.

"I just feel so much more comfortable in what I'm doing," said Ponder, the 12th overall pick in 2011, in his postgame comments. "And then it helps when the guys around you are playing so well."

Ponder was a like a jitterbug on Sunday, in the best way possible. His athleticism gave the 49ers fits. "That's a big part of my game," Ponder said afterward. On the first touchdown, Ponder rolled left, faded back a good 12 yards, then placed the ball right in Rudolph's mitts in the back of the end zone. On Minnesota's second scoring drive, he scampered 23 yards, right up the middle of the field, before launching himself over the goal line, fully extended, for the score. He joked afterward he was thinking "Run, Forest, run!" while sprinting through the heart of the Niners' ferocious defense. Keep in mind, the 49ers don't yield scoring runs very often.

"I know it creates issues anytime a quarterback is nimble and able to create those plays on the run that he did," said Frazier, a former defensive coordinator. On Sunday it seemed to tire out and frustrate the 49ers' front as the game went on.

On the season, Ponder is completing 70 percent of his passes, with four TDs and no interceptions, for 713 yards and a 105 rating. He has completed at least 60 percent of his passes in all three games. As a rookie, he had a 70 rating and completed just 54 percent of his passes.

Protecting the football remains paramount, and he is also becoming more adept at slinging the ball to Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson out of the backfield, to alleviate pressure and allow for yards after the catch.

"I'm not going to force things downfield when I can throw it short to one of those guys and then they can make a big play downfield," Ponder said.

Not to get ahead of ourselves here, but if the Vikings can get this kind of quarterback play on a regular basis, maybe, just maybe, we need to begin taking them more seriously. The running game, led by the quick-healing Adrian Peterson, is getting fearsome again, and Minnesota's rebuilt offensive line somehow was able to manhandle the 49ers' punishing front seven, leading Ponder to assert the unit "dominated the best front seven in the NFL." Jared Allen can still get after the passer, and the Vikings believe they can still be an elite run stopping team.

Frazier bristled at the notion all week that his team might not be able to match, or even withstand, San Francisco's brutally physical approach, and stressed that point with his players and coaches. "That really burned me up," he said. But the Vikings managed to exceed their rivals in that very area.

Put all that together, along with the Packers, Lions and Bears all seeming a bit less menacing than just a year ago, and perhaps the NFC North will be a little more wide open this season.

"It's a big win," Frazier acknowledged. "It validates the confidence we have as a staff in our players. ... It should be something we build on."

I know it's early and all, but anyone else think the Atlanta Falcons might run away with the NFC South? Wasn't that long ago that some -- OK, me -- thought it might be among the best in football. Um, yeah, not so much.

The Falcons, now 3-0 after a third straight thrashing of an AFC West team, look like a juggernaut. Everyone else is the pits.

The Bucs are certainly taking a turn for the better, and new coach Greg Schiano has improved some aspects of their play; they play hard all the way now and they're tougher.

But they still have some major issues to overcome, quarterback Josh Freeman continues to look like he might be regressing and I don't think you can project them in the playoffs.

The Panthers were the team I believed would make power moves this season and enter that wild-card equation. Carolina's players and coaches believed that as well.

But now they are 1-2, Cam Newton has become Mr. Mope, the offense has been absolutely putrid in two of the first three weeks, they still have defensive issues, and from what I hear, owner Jerry Richardson was fuming about Thursday night's lethargic prime-time home loss to the Giants, and Newton's antics in particular.

Don't even get me started on the Saints. They are a total disaster right now on both sides of the ball, and the impact of losing coach Sean Payton seems greater by the week.

Drew Brees is playing out-of-control football in key moments, forcing plays, and there is no one there to keep him in check with Payton absent. The defense has been nothing short of brutal against both the run and the pass.

When you look at how badly teams like Carolina struggled against, say, Tampa and how New Orleans struggled against Carolina, then you look at how Atlanta's offense matches up with some of the teams in this division, you have to like the Falcons' chances.

It's fair to say Robert Griffin III and that Redskins offense aren't fooling anyone much anymore in the passing game. And that defense, following the loss of anchors Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker for the season, is in big trouble.

Teams are selling out to crash their ends, pound Griffin -- whose slight frame makes it hard for me to believe he gets through this season if he keeps taking so much abuse -- and take away the read option. The Redskins don't have much of a vertical game, and the Bengals, about as inept defensively as anyone in the NFL through two weeks and missing the few guys in their secondary who can play, had Washington at six -- yes six -- passing yards in the first half.

Griffin was a dervish running with the ball, and once the Bengals got up big the 'Skins managed a passing game in the second half, but their opponents are going to get more difficult and, with an already poor offensive line losing oft-injured left tackle Trent Williams on Sunday, you have to worry about the kind of abuse Griffin will take when he faces like the likes of the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys.

On the other side of the ball, the Redskins were banking on a stellar pass rush to offset a miserable secondary. But without Orakpo and Carriker they aren't the same, and the issues on the back end are being magnified. Already Lance Moore, Danny Amendola and now A.J. Green have exploded against this secondary.

This wasn't a team built to be able to survive many injuries, and I suspect we'll see a lot of Alfred Morris and the stout run game to protect Griffin and try to keep the defense off the field.

•  I don't care what John Skelton's ankle looks like this week, ain't no way Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt can change quarterbacks now. You have to ride Kevin Kolb, who surpassed Tony Sparano in the revenge performance of the week for his dismantling of the previously undefeated Eagles.

•  Blaine Gabbert has been at his best in late-game, two-minute-drill situations. The Jaguars QB pulled off another miracle ending Sunday, with receiver Cecil Shorts again on the other end of the big play.

•  The Bills were dealt a huge blow with the loss of C.J. Spiller for at least a few weeks, but the good news is that Fred Jackson remains well ahead of schedule to return from a knee injury and is aiming to play this week.

•  The wildcat, with Tim Tebow, isn't fooling anyone. Mark Sanchez has a tough enough time playing, but he's repeatedly re-entering games in poor down-and-distance situations after Tebow gets stuffed on the previous play. Someone tweet me the first time Tebow lines up in the slot and accomplishes anything.

•  Jason Witten is not right. The Cowboys tight end is dropping a lot of balls and he's not a consistent factor in games. You have to wonder if that spleen is bothering him, or something else isn't right.

•  The Rams better hope they get tackle Rodger Saffold back soon, because the state of that offensive line threatens to undermine the strides being made by Sam Bradford.

•  No one had a more heartbreaking loss Sunday than the Lions, on multiple levels. If there is any positive to be taken from it, however, they may have found the makings of a run game with Mikel Leshoure in the mix.

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Unflappable Flacco shrugs off drops, achieves statement victory

Take away the drops, and Flacco's stats are 7 of 10 for 92 yards on the final drive. (US Presswire)

PITTSBURGH -- Joe Flacco doesn't get happy, doesn't get mad, doesn't seem to register emotion like a human being registers emotion. He plays football with bland detachment, like a librarian stacking books instead of a quarterback trying to avoid James Harrison.

And that ticks some people off. They don't get it. They can't relate to it. It's spooky to watch, but when it works -- and it worked Sunday night -- it's beautiful to watch. Beautiful and still spooky, because normal people don't handle stress like Joe Flacco handles it.

But a normal person, even a normal NFL quarterback -- even a very good NFL quarterback -- wouldn't have been able to handle the stress Flacco handled Sunday night. There might be only two other quarterbacks in the NFL who could have led the game-winning drive engineered by Flacco on Sunday night, a 92-yard lesson in perseverance that gave the Ravens a last-second, 24-20 victory against the Steelers in a pivotal AFC North game.

Those two other quarterbacks are named Brady and Rodgers, by the way.

Flacco doesn't have the Super Bowl bling of Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but he has that ability. His window is closing in Baltimore -- star defensive players Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, not to mention star receiver Anquan Boldin, are in their 30s and can't play at this level for too much longer -- but the window is open this year. And if the Ravens get it done, I promise you this comeback in Pittsburgh will be seen as the launching pad.

This was the kind of victory that can catapult a team into the stratosphere, and the AFC is there for the taking. Unlike the NFC, with the Packers clearly the dominant team, the AFC has no frontrunner. Well, it had no frontrunner until Sunday night, when the Ravens emerged from the pack thanks to their maddeningly cool, sometimes downright cold, quarterback. Joe Cool? Joe Freezing.

He needed every sub-zero degree of body temperature he could muster on a final drive when he was facing 92 yards, the crowd, the Steelers and the butterfingers in his own huddle. And he was facing all of that with only 2:24 to play.

"Joe was the same in the huddle every single play," Ravens receiver Torrey Smith said. "He's the same person he always is."

Before that drive was done, three different Ravens would drop passes from Flacco -- including Smith, who couldn't reel in a 37-yard pass in the end zone with 35 seconds left. The first drop, though, was by running back Ray Rice, who botched an outlet pass with 1:30 left and the Ravens on their own 42. Two plays later, on fourth-and-1 from the Steelers 49, Flacco hit Boldin for 10 yards.

"Nobody blinked," Rice said of the drops. "Joe Flacco is going to put the ball in the right place."

After Flacco's fourth-down pass came a short completion to tight end Ed Dickson, then the drop in the end zone by Smith. This was the second ball Smith dropped on the night, the first coming in the second quarter on an out pattern that hit Smith, who wears No. 82, between the "8" and the "2." Had Flacco been throwing a lawn dart, it would have pierced Smith's sternum. It might have killed him.

Flacco? He didn't even look angrily at Smith. Flacco never looks angrily at anyone. He looks sleepy, like he can't be bothered or doesn't even care, although that's obviously not the case. But it is how it looks, and like I said, it's spooky.

So anyway, after the drops by Rice and Smith, Flacco locked in on his best receiver, one of the more sure-handed receivers in the NFL -- Boldin. On second-and-10 from the Steelers' 26, Flacco found Boldin open over the middle hitting him in stride with 16 seconds left at the Steelers' 10.

Boldin dropped it.

Had a doctor strapped a blood-pressure sleeve on Flacco's right arm, at that moment, it probably would have registered 110 over 70. Which is perfect blood pressure. Or maybe it wouldn't have detected any numbers at all. Ice water doesn't generate much pressure, probably. Who knows?

All we know is this: On the next play, the play after Boldin's drop, on third-and-10 from the Steelers' 26, with 16 seconds left and the crowd of 64,851 standing and screaming and the temperature dropping to 40 degrees, Flacco threw a laser into the back of the end zone to the same guy who dropped a potential touchdown moment earlier. This time, Torrey Smith held on.

This time, Joe Flacco showed some emotion. He smiled. May even have screamed. Forgive him, but this was an exciting moment.

The Ravens are now 6-2, tied atop the AFC North -- and all of the AFC, come to think of it -- with the surprising Bengals, a team Baltimore still must play twice. The Ravens have swept the Steelers, meaning Pittsburgh will have to catch the Ravens and then pass them outright to finish ahead of Baltimore in the playoff race.

Don't put anything past the Steelers, though. This is one tough, tough team. They were playing with a makeshift core of linebackers, without receiver Hines Ward after a devastating helmet-to-helmet hit by Ray Lewis early in the second quarter, and with a new punter. But they nearly won this game, rallying from a 16-6 deficit in the fourth quarter, taking a 20-16 lead on Ben Roethlisberger's running 25-yard strike to Mike Wallace with 4:59 left.

After a Baltimore three-and-out, the Steelers had the chance to run out the clock or pad their lead. They reached the Ravens' 29 when Mike Tomlin made a passive-aggressive choice that didn't work at all. Faced with a 46-yard field goal, he hesitated before sending out the kicking team, sending them out so late that Pittsburgh was called for delay of game -- taking the decision out of his hands.

At that point, a punt was the prudent choice, and the Steelers punted. And it worked, with injured Daniel Sepulveda replacement Jeremy Kapinos killing a punt at the Ravens 8.

Now a touchdown would win it for the Ravens. Still, Tomlin liked his odds.

"I made the decision to make them work the length of the field," Tomlin said. "Ultimately, that was probably the best option for us."

Against 28 or 29 quarterbacks, that would have been the winning option. But Flacco's not normal, man. He was dreadful most of the game on first and second downs, when the pressure's low. But on third down, with no margin for error? He was incredible on third down, leading the Ravens to a 14-of-21 conversation rate. That touchdown pass to Smith? That was third down. And it was to Torrey Smith, the most buttery of the Ravens' butterfingers. Flacco's cool like that. He's cold.

"It's not my job to get down on Torrey," Flacco said.

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