Too many times the sport of football is compared to war. This comparison is rather idiotic seeing as how nobody dies during a football game, the winners don't take over the losers afterwards, and the sport has an actual exit strategy called overtime should nothing be decided at the end of 60 minutes of play. Though if there were ever a football game that could be compared to a war, the battle between the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon in Nashville may have been it.
At the conclusion of every single play there seemed to be another injured player laying on the ground, or limping his way to the sidelines, never to be seen on the field again. It was as though the winner would be decided by counting how many players each team had left at the end of the game, not the scoreboard. When all the battles were finished, though, it was the Ravens who would emerge with a 13-10 victory thanks to a last minute field goal from Matt Stover.
The Ravens were able to win the game in spite of the fact that their defense allowed the Titans to rack up 397 yards of offense, all while their offense only managed 212 yards and nine first downs. The reason for this was because the Titans shot themselves in the foot repeatedly.
Tennessee committed 12 penalties and turned the ball over three times, including a devastating fumble by Alge Crumpler in the third quarter after the Titans had driven to the Ravens goalline. There was still plenty of time left in the game at that point, but with points as hard to come by as they were in this game, neither team could afford to miss out on any opportunities.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco didn't have the greatest game of his young career, completing half of his passes for 161 yards, but he didn't throw any interceptions and did throw a beautiful 48-yard touchdown strike to Derrick Mason in the first quarter. He also became the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games in the history of the NFL.
Titans running back Chris Johnson was having a spectacular day for Tennessee, putting together 100 yards through the air and on the ground along with scoring the team's lone touchdown in the first half, but a foot injury kept him sidelined during the second half and the Titans were never able to re-establish their ground game after that.
Baltimore will now travel to the winner of tomorrow's Steelers/Chargers game to play in the AFC Championship, and a win there will send them to the Super Bowl.
Copyright NBC Local Media
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