Ravens nip Titans to advance to AFC championship game

It wasn’t pretty, but “winning ugly” is what Baltimore Ravens football is all about.  Behind their punishing defense, the Ravens used a first quarter TD pass from rookie QB Joe Flacco and two Matt Stover FGs to outlast the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.  With the victory, the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship game against the winner of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers/San Diego Chargers game.

Unheralded Flacco, a product of FCS/1-AA powerhouse Delaware, became the first rookie QB in NFL history to win two playoff games and he did it the same way he’s been winning games all year—by minimizing mistakes, playing within his abilities and doing whatever it takes to win.  His “blue collar” toughness and unflappable composure under pressure has quickly earned him the respect of his teammates and has made him the perfect offensive leader for a team that seeks to physically dominate teams.  Even his postgame comments sound like those of a seasoned veteran:

"We've been confident in ourselves all year. It seems like we've been on the road for the longest time. It doesn't matter to us. We're going to go out there and battle the crowd, battle the other team, and give it our best."

After a physical contest in rainy, windy and blustery conditions at Nashville’s LP Field, veteran kicker Matt Stover—the last remaining member of the team from their days in Cleveland-- calmly nailed a 43 yard FG in the final minute to gain the victory for Baltimore.  Afterwards, he called it the most significant kick of his career:

"I would say this would be the No. 1 kick in my career. But we've got some more kicks, too. So let's just be humble about that."

Baltimore’s defense forced three Tennessee turnovers, while the Ravens’ offense took care of the ball and didn’t give up any.  After the game, Ravens’ linebacker Bart Scott demonstrated the championship mentality of the defensive unit:

“We just continued to fight and refused to let them in the end zone. We made the plays we had to ... the ball came out. We'll take it any way we can get it."

When asked about the obvious comparisons to the defensively dominant 2000 Superbowl championship Ravens, Scott affirmed this team’s unique identity:

"It's great to make our own history, our own path. That team has its own identity and we're trying to create our own."