Report Card: Ravens 27, Dolphins 9

Per usual, Terrell Suggs and the Ravens defense controlled the game, pressuring Chad Pennington into four costly turnovers.

Grading out the performances during the Ravens' 27-9 wild-card win over the Dolphins on Sunday in Miami ...

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Quarterback: Joe Flacco didn't win the game for the Ravens, but the key is the rookie QB didn't lose it. Flacco committed zero turnovers and found paydirt with a 5-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Grade: B

Running Backs: Le'Ron McClain's first-quarter fumble was an early momentum killer. But playing in his first playoff game, McClain didn't dwell on the mistake and made up for it with an eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. With McClain briefly sidelined with an injury, Willis McGahee put the game away with a 48-yard run. Grade: A-

Receivers: By the game plan's design, this group wasn't given many opportunities to affect the outcome. The always reliable Derrick Mason made a tough sideline catch on one of the Ravens' FG drives and finished with four catches for 71 yards. Mark Clayton and Todd Heap both made contributions in the red zone. Grade: C+

Offensive Line: Facing a Dolphins defense that had 40 sacks in the regular season (8th best in the NFL), the Ravens line kept Flacco upright, shutting out AFC sack leader Joey Porter and company. On the ground, the line paved the way for the running backs to gain 151 net yards. Grade: A

Defensive Line: Backed up to their goal line on the first drive, the Ravens line made two key stops inside the 2 to hold Miami to a field goal. Baltimore never looked back. Individually, Trevor Pryce's sack of Chad Pennington and Marques Douglas' strip of Patrick Cobbs, both in the third quarter, helped out the cause. Grade: A-

Linebackers: This unit was its usual dominating self. Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis and Bart Scott took turns punishing the Dolphins backs and receivers, with Scott pressuring Pennington into a second-quarter interception, Suggs recording a second-quarter sack and Lewis blowing up a reverse in the fourth quarter to push the Dolphins out of field-goal range. Grade: A+

Defensive Backs: The Ravens took advantage of a disastrous stretch by Pennington spanning the second and third quarter, picking off the Dolphins QB four times -- two by Ed Reed, who returned one for a TD, and one each by Jim Leonhard and Fabian Washington. Grade: A+

Special Teams: Punter Sam Koch pinned the Dolphins inside the 5-yard line twice. Matt Stover made good on both of his field-goal attempts. And the field-goal block chipped in, blocking an extra point. Solid, if not spectacular contributions. Grade: A-

Coaching: The Ravens weren't afraid to go hurry-up, even with a rookie QB. It paid off, with the Dolphins defense wearing down as the game went on. Some questionable play-calling early in the fourth quarter (two unsuccessful long throws with an 11-point lead) luckily didn't come back to bite them. Defensively, coordinator Rex Ryan did a good job of keeping the pressure on Pennington after he continued to make mistakes. Grade: B-

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Quarterback: Let's break down Pennington's four interceptions: He overthrew Ted Ginn Jr. on the first one; No. 2, the one Reed brought back for a TD, was thrown into double-coverage in the face of a blitz; the third one, by Washington, was also thrown into a crowd of Ravens; only the fourth one could be somewhat excused, with Reed making a great break on the ball. For a QB known for his ball-control, Pennington did not have a good day. Grade: D-

Running Back: Patrick Cobbs' third-quarter fumble was this unit's only negative play. Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Cobbs didn't get much accomplished on the ground, but they all made big contributions in the passing game highlighted by Brown's finger-tip touchdown grab. Fullback Lousaka Polite made the most of his three carries, getting first downs on each one. Grade: B+

Receivers: Rookie Davone Bess went down early with a finger injury, but later returned. The wide receivers were virtually non-existent in the first three quarters. Bess had a big catch and run on the TD drive but had a costly fumble on a reverse. Tight ends Anthony Fasano and David Martin had very little impact. Grade: C-

Offensive Line: It would have been a Herculean effort to keep the Ravens without a sack. The Dolphins front allowed three and also had a difficult time holding their own on run downs. Grade: C-

Defensive Line: This unit got off to a good start, with Paul Soliai causing a fumble on the first drive. They continued to get decent penetration against the run, but not on passing downs, before eventually wearing down late in the game. Grade: C

Linebackers: Aside from recovering a first-quarter fumble, the normally loquacious Joey Porter was unusually quiet on the big stage. Porter and Channing Crowder did hit Flacco on occasion but never got to him when it counted. Disappointing effort from a typically standout unit. Grade: D

Defensive Backs: With the Ravens committed to the run, this unit was also not given much of a chance to make an impact. A pass defense by Yeremiah Bell on Heap in the red zone helped force the Ravens into a FG instead of a TD. Grade: C+

Special Teams: Hard to forgive allowing an extra point to be blocked. Grade: F

Coaching: The famed Wildcat formation was used only twice: two carries by Brown for six yards. The offensive game plan of utilizing short passes seemed to work, but throwing downfield never yielded positive results and proved to be their undoing. Defensively, the Dolphins had little success, which was surprising given they were facing a very average offense. Grade: C-