Mattie T’s In-game blog: (Divisional Playoffs: Ravens vs. Titans)

Tennessee will have to play today’s game without all-pro center Kevin Mawae, who is out with an elbow injury.

2nd-year pro Leroy Harris will take Mawae’s place in the starting lineup.

Tennessee won the toss but will defer at a rainy & noisy LP Field, we’re ready to rock!

1st quarter:

Nice shoestring tackle by Tony Brown, who brings down Le’Ron McClain for a 4-yard loss on 2nd down. Baltimore is forced into a 3 & out on their first offensive posession of the game.

First big penalty of the game goes against Tennesee, as William Hayes is called for unnecessary roughness.

Collins completes his first pass of the day, a 17-yard hookup to Justin McCairens for a Titans 1st down.

So far in 2 runs, Chris Johnson has negative yardage.

Kerry Collins makes a mistake, as Tennessee commits a delay of game call on 3rd & 10. You would expect that from a rookie like Joe Flacco, but not from a seasoned veteran quarterback who has been to a Super Bowl.

Flacco is able to escape a sack & actually gained positive yardage on the play.

Nice job by rookie wideout Marcus Smith, who was able to make a nice grab after Cortland Finnegan tipped it. It’s coming back though, as Baltimore was called for an illegal shift.

Early in this game, it looks like Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is not going to risk Flacco making any unnecessary mistakes, as he has called two run plays on 3rd & long.

Nice screen pass by Collins to rookie Chris Johnson, who fakes out Bart Scott on his way to a 28-yard reception.

Collinbs overthrows Justin Gage on 3rd down, but Ravens cornerback & ex-Titan Samari Rolle is called for illegal contact..resulting in a Tennessee first down.

This time, Collins hits Gage for a 20 yard gain, which sets up 1st & goal.

On the next play, Chris Johnson cuts right & stretches the ball into the end zone for his 1st postseason touchdown.

After an offside penalty against Baltimore, Rob Bironas’ extra-point try is good.

Tennessee strikes first & leads 7-0 with 4:38 left in the 1st quarter.

Nice play by Flacco, as he avoided a near sack from Jevon Kearse & dumped it off to McClain, who took the screen pass for a 8 yard gain.

Bad news already for Baltimore, as Willie Anderson is seen on the sidelines getting attention to his neck.

Flacco’s first pass of the day is good, an 8 yard slant pass to former Titan Derrick Mason.

Double bonus for the Ravens, as Tennessee’s Jason Jones is called for a personal foul for a “blow to the head” of Flacco.

What a great throw by Flacco on 3rd & 13 as he scrambles to his right & bombs it downfield to Derrick Mason, who made the catch & dove into the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown.

Matt Stover’s extra point ties it 7-7 with 1:20 left in the 1st quarter.

Chris Johnson is showing off his great speed, as he broke open a 32-yard run, which will set up 1st down on Baltimore’s 32 yard line.

That play ends the 1st quarter, as this game is tied 7-7.

2nd quarter:

Kerry Collins is knocked to the ground for the first time today as Bart Scott breaks up a screen pass intended for Chris Johnson.

Tennessee is going for it on 4th & 8 from Baltimore’s 30 yard line, as windy conditions could prevent the kickers from making any field goals from 40 yards or deeper today.

The play is a disaster, as Collins fumbles the snap & is forced to fall on it, which now gives Baltimore great starting field position. Collins lost 8 yards on the recovered fumble, so the Ravens will start from their own 38.

Willie Anderson is back in the game, which is good news for Ravens fans.

Flacco completes another pass to Derrick Mason, as Baltimore is now into Tennessee territory & is starting to gain momentum.

Le’Ron McClain is down after his 3-yard run. Willis McGahee is on the sideline & ready to enter the game…so far, McGahee has just 2 carries for 7 yards.

Flacco’s 2nd down pass is ruled incomplete, as his arm was moving forward before William Hayes hit him.

Flacco then just misses throwing a near 3rd down interception to David Thornton, who easily could’ve ran that ball back for a touchdown.

Great punt by Sam Cook, as he pins the Titans on their own 1 yard line.

Bad start to Tennessee’s drive as Jake Scott is called for a false start, which moves the ball a half-yard back.

Ed Reed just missed tackling Chris Johnson, who made a nice cutback move in his own end zone to complete a minimal 2-yard gain.

WOW! Ray Lewis just made a thunderous hit on Ahmad Hall, who lost his helmet but somehow managed to hold onto the football for a 12 yard gain & a Titans first down.

Tennessee is called for yet another personal foul, this time on David Stewart. That’s the third personal foul this half on the Titans.

Justin Gage is having a big 1st half, as he has hauled in 3 catches for 54 yards.

Collins is sacked for the first time today, courtesy of Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs. However, Suggs is injured on the play as he’s lying on his back & getting medical attention.

Miscommunication on 3rd down, as Kerry Collins gets a quick snap from Leroy Harris & is forced to hand off to LenDale White on a draw. The play does not count, as Tennessee is called for an illegal shift.

Baltimore blitzes on 3rd down, which forces Collins to throw off his back foot & winds up getting intercepted by ex-Titan Samari Rolle.

Flacco avoids a Titans blitz & makes a great throw to ex-Titan Derrick Mason downfield, but Mason stepped out of bounds.

Collins to Gage again, as the twosome have developed a nice rhythm in the 1st half.

Bo Scaife makes a 14-yard catch, which now puts the ball inside Baltimore territory.

On a key 3rd & 4 play, LenDale White gets a 1st down BUT fumbles the ball, which is recovered by Baltimore. Tennessee has now had 2 huge turnovers which has cost them chances to put points up on the board.

Halftime from LP Field with the game tied 7-7.

Tennessee has outgained Baltimore 256-94, but has 2 turnovers & 9 penalties so far for 69 yards. Joe Flacco has yet to commit a turnover or get sacked so far in his first six quarters of postseason play.

Looking forward to a great 2nd half, which will start with Tennessee receiving the football.

3rd quarter:

Nice start to the 2nd half by Chris Carr, who returns the opening kickoff to the Titans’ 40 yard line.

Ravens send a fierce 3rd down blitz on Kerry Collins, who is forced to hurry his throw which ends up being an incompletion.

Todd Heap almost made his 1st catch of the game, but was hit by David Thornton which caused the ball to drop to the ground.

Chris Johnson is starting the 2nd half on the sidelines with a foot injury, so LenDale White will receive a majority of the carries until Johnson returns.

Collins makes a 3rd down completion to Bo Scaife, who is a few yards short of a 1st down.

John Harbaugh challenges the play, as he didn’t think Scaife had full possession of the ball before going out of bounds.

Harbaugh indeed does win the challenge, as it is ruled incomplete. So instead of a 46-yard field goal attempt, Rob Bironas will have to attempt it from 51 yards.

Looks like that extra 5 yards cost Tennessee dearly, as Bironas hooks it wide left which means that Baltimore starts their next drive at their own 41-yard line.

Flacco tries to go deep to Mark Clayton, but Cortland Finnegan is with him step by step & makes a great defensive play to break the pass up.

Kerry Collins tries his first deep ball of the day, but overthrows Justin Gage. Chris Johnson is still on the sidelines for the Titans, which is going to be a huge concern if Tennessee wins & advances to the AFC Championship Game.

Nice play by Samari Rolle, as he’s able to 1-hand tip the intended slant pass for Gage.

Lorenzo Neal lays a wicked forearm on David Thornton during his 7-yard screen pass catch & run.

Baltimore has used 2 timeouts so far, which leaves them with just 1 for the remainder of this game. I don’t think we’ll see anymore challenges from John Harbaugh, unless it goes into overtime.

Nice play by Nick Harper, as he’s able to break up a Derrick Mason catch that would’ve been good enough for a 1st down.

This has been an excellent defensive battle so for today, but you have to question how effective Tennessee’s offense can be for the rest of this game if Chris Johnson cannot return.

Justin Gage makes a 7-yard catch before stepping out of bounds, which puts him over 100 yards receiving on the day.

Samari Rolle is down on the ground in pain after an incomplete pass by Kerry Collins & slowly walks off the field under his own power. This has to concern Baltimore since Terrell Suggs has not yet returned to the game after getting injured in the 2nd quarter.

Another 3rd down blitz, as Collins has seen more pressure as this game has gone on.

Nice punt return by Brian Leonhard, who returns it 29 yards to Tennessee’s 41 yard line.

Another defensive player is down, this time it’s Jevon Kearse from the Titans. Both teams have taken their fair share of injury blows in this game.

Mark Clayton makes an INCREDIBLE catch into double coverage, as Clayton comes back & wins the jump ball battle inbetween two Tennessee defenders.

More bad news for the Titans, as Albert Haynesworth is injured & walks off the field under his own power.

Now, Le’Ron McClain is hurt as he is limping off the field. That’s 3 straight plays which has resulted in injury to 3 different players.

That will end the 3rd quarter with the game still tied 7-7, but Baltimore is knocking on the doorstep to take their 1st lead of the day.

4th quarter:

On a big 3rd & goal play from the 7-yard line, Joe Flacco scrambles to his right before finding Willis McGahee, who was able to gain 3 yards before being brought down.

Matt Stover’s 21-yard field goal attempt is good, which gives Baltimore a 10-7 lead with 14:14 left in the game.

Nice kickoff return again by Chris Carr, who returns it to Tennessee’s 36-yard line.

Kerry Collins connects with LenDale White on a 14-yard pass hookup, which now moves the ball to midfield.

White rumbles to his right for another 1st down, as the Titans are desperately trying to get something going together offensively.

Big 3rd down grab by Justin Gage, who continues to have a big game & gives Tennessee a first down at the Baltimore 26.

Ray Lewis misses a chance to tackle LenDale White (and almost committed a horse-collar tackle), but Bart Scott doesn’t as he hits White hard for no gain.

Ravens once again blitz Collins, who is forced to throw it out of bounds.

Another huge catch by Justin Gage, who completes another 3rd down grab to keep the Titans’ drive alive.

Alge Crumpler makes the catch on 2nd down, but is upended & loses the football, which is recovered by Baltimore. That is the 3rd turnover today by the Titans which have all cost them chances to score points.

For the postseason, that is Baltimore’s 8th takeaway, which leads all NFL playoff teams.

Baltimore is now pinned back at their own 1-yard line & will now simply look to burn some time off the clock.

Big 3rd & 10 now for Baltimore from their own 1-yard line. Flacco is back in the shotgun & actually appeared to step on the backside of the end zone before throwing an incomplete pass. (Shades of Dan Orlovsky, anyone?)

Ravens will now punt from their own end zone, which is returned for minimal yardage by Brandon Jones. However, Tennessee will start their next drive inside Baltimore territory with 7:34 left in the game.

Brandon Jones makes his 1st catch of the game, a 11-yard gain which is good for a Titans 1st down.

Nice run by LenDale White, who takes it to the 18-yard line which presents Tennessee with yet another goal-line opportunity. Will they be able to hold onto the ball down here?

White is hit hard on 2nd down by Bart Scott. This game has lived up to its’ billing as a great brand of physical, hard-nosed football.

Big 3rd & 10 for the Titans as we’re under 5 minutes for the game…Collins hits Gage once again, who appears to be just short of a 1st down.

Jeff Fisher decides to go with Bironas with the game on the line. Looks like this one is going to go down to the wire!!!!

Bironas’ 27-yard field goal attempt is good, which now ties the game 10-10 with 4:23 remaining in regulation. Joe Flacco is about to embark on one of the biggest drives of his short professional career, as Baltimore’s playoff hopes now is in his hands.

McGahee runs the ball twice for 8 yards, which sets up a huge 3rd & 2 with the clock approaching 3 minutes to go in regulation.

What a grab by Todd Heap!! Flacco didn’t get called for a delay of game, which allowed him to make the pass to Heap, which goes for 23 yards & a 1st down depsite Heap losing his helmet.

Derrick Mason almost reeled in a great 1-handed grab, but is just short. 2 minutes left in this one in a tied game!!!!

On 2nd & 15, Jevon Kearse jumps offsides for the 12th Tennessee penalty today.

Willis McGahee then takes a draw play & runs 11 yards for a Baltimore 1st down.

It’s now 3rd & 9 with 1:04 remaining, as Matt Stover is looking at a 50-yard attempt if the Ravens are unable to gain anymore yards.

Flacco makes a 3rd down completion to Mark Clayton, which is just short of a 1st down. It does make things a bit easier though for Stover, as Tennessee calls a timeout with 57 seconds remaining.

Stover’s kick is good!!! Ravens now lead 13-10 with 53 seconds remaining. The Titans have just 1 timeout left to try & go downfield to either tie, or win this game. Will it be a Week 5 repeat for Kerry Collins?

Michael Griffin returns the kickoff to the Titans’ 35-yard line.

Collins hits Brandon Jones for a 5 yard gain, but the clock continues to move. Incomplete pass on 2nd down, which sets up 3rd & 5.

Haruki Nakamura ALMOST comes away with an interception, but it ends on 4th & 5 as Collins throws an incomplete pass.

Postgame:

The #6 seeded Baltimore Ravens are now in the AFC Championship Game & will look to become the third team in the last 4 years to win 3 straight road games to reach the Super Bowl.

Congratulations to Joe Flacco, who now becomes the first rookie quarterback in league history to win his first two playoff games..which were both on the road, and against division-winning teams.

Game ball goes to Ravens kicker Matt Stover, who made two go-ahead field goals in the 4th quarter (including the game-winner with 53 seconds left) to lift Baltimore to a 13-10 win.

The turning point of this game was in the 3rd quarter when Alge Crumpler lost a goal-line fumble with the Titans trailing 10-7. Crumpler helped the Titans beat Baltimore back in Week 5 with a late touchdown catch…let me tell ya, that thing called Karma ain’t pretty baby!

Baltimore will now either travel to San Diego or Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game next Sunday.