Ray Lewis Saves Baltimore With 'One of The Greatest Plays' of His Career

SAN DIEGO -- Ray Lewis waited 59 1/2 minutes Sunday to make a spectacular play he had created in his mind's eye, a scene crafted through hours of film study dissecting the Chargers' prolific offense. But the play was no fluke: That same game film all but promised the Ravens linebacker that San Diego would give the ball to spark-plug running back Darren Sproles in a short-yardage situation.

And with the ballgame on the line.

With 37 seconds remaining and Baltimore trying to hold off a Chargers' game-winning scoring threat, there it was -- quarterback Philip Rivers, on 4th-and-2 at the Ravens' 15-yard line, handing off to Sproles on a counter-draw play.

Lewis had envisioned shooting the gap untouched and completing the body-slamming tackle for a loss he knew was possible from watching all that video. And when he made that dream play happen to secure a Ravens victory at Qualcomm Stadium, Lewis called it one of his all-time bests.

"That was probably one of the greatest plays of my career, because of my team -- because of what we did as a team," said the six-time All-Pro linebacker, whose repertoire of game-breaking stops could fill a DVD collectors' series.

How great was it?

Said Ravens coach John Harbaugh after his team's 31-26 win: "He made the greatest football play I've ever seen. Ray Lewis made the last play of the football game to win a football game when you have to."

Five times on Sunday, the Chargers (1-1) reached the red zone against the NFL's third-ranked defense. Five times, the Ravens (2-0) kept them from scoring a touchdown, limiting San Diego to four Nick Kaeding field goals.

On the last try, Lewis blasted through a center-guard gap -- totally unblocked -- and leveled Sproles for a 5-yard loss.



"It's just amazing -- you go from film study, and nothing changes. They stayed to their form. And early in the game, that same play ... he just kept bouncing, just bouncing outside. But you know, when the game was on the line, as soon as Philip dropped down, I shot [the gap]," an adrenaline-pumped Lewis recalled minutes later. "And [Sproles] was there. He was there."

That tackle did not come off one of the many blitzes the Ravens had used all day to harass Rivers, which he shrugged off, for the most part, to pass for a career-high 436 yards. Rivers turned in the fourth-most productive passing day in Chargers' history, tying him with Dan Fouts.

"No, it wasn't a called blitz at all. I just read the play, and when I read it, it's either I make it, or they make it. Bottom line," Lewis recalled. "And in that situation, I tell my team, 'I'm never gonna ask you to do nothing that I won't do myself.' And that is to take a risk.

"So I took a risk. And I shot it ... game's on the line -- shoot it. Here we go."

And if you're a Chargers fan, you're probably asking: Norv Turner, why would you take the ball out of the hands of your hottest player, Rivers, on such a crucial 4th-down play? Why go with a running play, one that may have worked in the fourth quarter in Week 1 against Oakland, but hadn't gone far in Week 2 against the Ravens' fortified front seven?

"It didn't look like a 4th-and-2 to me," the Chargers coach explained. "I thought it looked more like 4th-and-1 to me. We threw the ball and they were very soft on the third-down play.

"If you look at the play, we got great movement on the outside. Ray made a great play."

The injury-ravaged Chargers came into this key AFC matchup without two of their biggest stars on offense and defense -- running back LaDainian Tomlinson was inactive (sprained ankle), and the team lost nose tackle Jamal Williams for the season because of a triceps injury.

Two starting offensive linemen, center Nick Hardwick (ankle) and right guard Louis Vazquez (knee) also were out after sustaining injuries in a Week 1 victory over the Raiders in Oakland.

So while San Diego was limited on the ground all day, rushing for only 53 yards, Rivers looked to Sproles through the air, connecting with him seven times for 124 yards. That included an 81-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, in which Rivers dumped a screen to Sproles to defeat a Baltimore blitz. Rivers also completed six passes to wide receiver Vincent Jackson for 141 yards, including a 35-yard scoring catch.

The Chargers put up 474 total yards against the Ravens' aggressive defenders. But once San Diego ventured inside Baltimore's 20-yard line, trouble followed.

Three times, Rivers and his crew were penalized for delay of game in the red zone, including a crushing mistake on 1st-and-inches at the Ravens' goal line with 19 seconds remaining before halftime. Pushed back five yards, Rivers threw two incomplete passes. Turner then called for Kaeding on third down, and he nailed a 23-yard field goal eight seconds before the break, cutting Baltimore's lead to 21-16.

The choice to go for a field goal on third down rather than try for seven points didn't bother Rivers at all.

"I wasn't really surprised. They blitzed us every play before that," said Rivers, who completed 25 of 45 passes but also threw two interceptions. "If something happened and I don't get to throw it away, or I throw it away and they call intentional grounding ... They were bringing everybody so there is going to be someone unblocked, and there is no way we could have blocked them all.

"We had to make sure we got some points there."