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Wild-Card Games
Ravens offer up top performance on wild-card weekend
Posted: Saturday December 30, 2000 5:25 PM
Updated: Monday January 01, 2001 12:54 AM
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Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis pumps up the crowd as he heads off the field following the Ravens' 21-3 win against the Broncos. AP |
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com
After a wild Saturday to open wild-card weekend, a mild day of football capped off the opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs.
The Miami team that played the first half looked like it would've been satisfied with another 55-point playoff loss, but the team that showed up in the second half looked like it is capable of contending with anyone. The Raiders will get the next crack at the Dolphins, with the challenge of stopping workhorse Lamar Smith topping Oakland's to-do list.
New Orleans looked impressive for about 50 minutes against St. Louis on Saturday, then held on for dear life as the champion Rams showed one final glimmer of their offensive prowess. The reward for shutting down Marshall Faulk and picking off Kurt Warner three times is to face the equally balanced offensive attack of the Minnesota Vikings.
Baltimore's rout of Denver may have been the most impressive showing on wild-card weekend, setting up a rematch at Adelphia Coliseum of the Ravens' Week 11 upset, which is the only game the Titans have lost at home in two years.
Philadelphia ended Tampa Bay's season with a steady diet of Donovan McNabb and Hugh Douglas. The Eagles now head to the Meadowlands to face a Giants team that they haven't defeated since Dec. 1, 1996, a stretch of eight consecutive losses.
Here is the complete rundown of wild-card weekend action:
| NFL Wild-Card Game Recap |
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| Dolphins 23 (12-5), Colts 17 (10-7) OT |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
15:54: Dolphins' advantage in time of possession, helped by the fact that they outrushed the Colts 258-99. |
| Player of the Game |
| Lamar Smith, RB, Miami: Broke a playoff record by carrying 40 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns, with his determined 17-yard run in overtime winning it for the Dolphins. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Just when Colts head coach Jim Mora thinks he has his first playoff win wrapped up... Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt had been dead solid perfect in the game (3-for-3) before shanking a potential game-winning 49-yard try wide right in overtime. After the Colts jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, their offense bogged down and looked satisfied with a two-touchdown lead. If Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler had continued to play like he did in the early going, two touchdowns would've been more than enough, but Fielder turned it around in the second half and the Dolphins clawed away at the lead. A key difference in the game was the teams' ability to convert on third downs: Indy was 2 of 11 on third-down plays, while Miami was 8 of 17. The Dolphins ran 84 plays for 434 yards, while the Colts ran only 55 plays for 293 yards. Smith's epic game was accomplished with surprising balance, as he gained 87 yards on 16 carries in the first half and 112 on 24 carries in the second half and overtime. |
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| Saints 31 (11-6), Rams 28 (10-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
1.7: Average yards per carry for Rams running back Marshall Faulk on Saturday (14 carries for 24 yards), after he had averaged 5.6 during the past four games (94 carries for 528 yards and nine rushing touchdowns), including 220 yards and two rushing touchdowns last week at New Orleans. |
| Player of the Game |
| Aaron Brooks, QB, New Orleans: Bounced back from last week's struggles against the Rams to throw for 266 yards and four touchdowns to secure his place in New Orleans lore ahead of Archie Manning, Bobby Hebert and John Fourcade, all of whom never won a playoff game while quarterbacking the Saints. |
CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Saints thought they had the Super Bowl champion Rams dead and buried before watching St. Louis rise up one final time in an attempted comeback. The Saints need to develop a killer instinct to finish off teams, something the Rams excelled at during their Super Bowl run. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, but his three interceptions were costly. Footballs were flying around the Superdome, with seven scoring strikes through the air. Neither team developed a running attack, and the injured Ricky Williams was missed late in the game when the Saints were up 31-7 and trying to run out the clock. Terry Allen was ineffective (16 carries for 21 yards), and attempts to use Chad Morton and Jerald Moore proved futile as well, forcing the Saints to punt the ball back to the Rams' dangerous offense. |
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| Ravens 21 (13-4), Broncos 3 (11-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
9: Season-low number of first downs by the Broncos (well below their average of 23.9), as well as the number of times Baltimore forced Denver to punt. |
| Player of the Game |
| Michael McCrary, DE, Baltimore: Led the brilliant defensive charge with three sacks and four tackles. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Ravens made the Broncos' offense look ordinary by putting on a defensive clinic with their incredible tackling and pursuit, holding Denver 233 yards below its season average of 410 yards. The size difference between Baltimore's defensive line and Denver's offensive line proved significant, as Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams consistently plugged up the middle and didn't allow the Broncos to open rushing lanes. The Ravens limited Broncos rookie running back Mike Anderson to 40 yards on 15 carries. Baltimore's aggressive defense recorded five sacks, with McCrary getting three and defensive end Rob Burnett and linebacker Peter Boulware each making one. The Ravens shut down the Broncos' big-play ability, with Denver's longest gain of the day coming on a Gus Frerotte 24-yard pass to Rod Smith in the second quarter. The Broncos had only eight plays go for 10 yards or more, while they were stopped for no gain 31 times, counting the 20 incompletions by Frerotte and Jarious Jackson. Baltimore didn't do anything fancy offensively, letting rookie running back Jamal Lewis take the ball straight at the Broncos, which worked for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe broke the game open in the second quarter when he snagged an errant pass from Trent Dilfer to Lewis (that bounced off Broncos cornerback Terrell Buckley ) and took it 58 yards to put Baltimore up 14-3. |
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| Eagles 21 (12-5), Buccaneers 3 (10-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
6.6: Bucs' average points per game in five playoff games on the road, as they have scored only 33 points on the road in the postseason. |
| Player of the Game |
| Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia: Completed 24-of-33 for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed eight times for 32 yards and a touchdown. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Eagles dispatched the Bucs from the postseason by doing exactly what the Bucs like to do -- pressure the quarterback and win the field-position battle. Philadelphia sacked Tampa Bay quarterback Shaun King four times and pressured him numerous other times. Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas recorded two of the sacks and added five total tackles, frequently dominating Bucs left tackle George Hegamin. Eagles running back Chris Warren had his best performance of the season in only his second game with the team, rushing 21 times for 82 yards helping the Eagles to 126 team rushing yards against the stout Bucs defense. Philadelphia converted nine of 18 third downs, while Tampa Bay was successful on only three of 13 third-down situations. |
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