Ravens’ defense forces five turnovers during 30-7 win over Chiefs..
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on January 9, 2011
After Jamaal Charles busted to the end zone to finish off a 41-yard touchdown run, it seemed as if the Chiefs were ready to make it a game.
That is, until the Ravens’ defense took over.
Baltimore forced 5 takeaways, as they cruised to a 30-7 win over Kansas City on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.
Once Joe Flacco hit Ray Rice for a 9-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left before halftime, the Ravens’ defense did the rest.
The Chiefs tried to go for it on 4th & 1 from the Baltimore 33, but Charles was stuffed for a 4-yard loss as they never got into scoring position again for the rest of the game.
Ed Reed received the game ball afterwards, as he played despite a personal family tragedy as his brother is missing after disappearing into the Mississippi River on Friday.
Reed said that his family wanted him to play today:
“Just being there for strength, respect for what’s going on. They just gave me the team ball for my family. My family kept me focused. My older brother called me and told me, `Do what you do. You handle your business, we’ll take care of everything over here.”’
Flacco shook off a slow start to complete 25 of 34 passes for 265 yards & 2 touchdowns for a playoff-high 115.4 rating.
The Ravens will advance to play the Steelers in the Divisional Round on Saturday, as the two teams will meet for a 3rd time in 2 of the past 3 seasons.
In 2008, Pittsburgh beat Baltimore all three times en route to their Super Bowl XLIII win over Arizona.
