NFL Recap (Tennessee-Baltimore)
Posted: Sun October 11, 1998 at 7:58 p.m. EDT
TENNESSEE 12, BALTIMORE 8
BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Steve McNair had a
dazzling 40-yard touchdown run and safety Blaine Bishop intercepted
Eric Zeier's
desperation pass at the goal line with no time remaining, as the Tennessee Oilers outlasted
the Baltimore Ravens,
12-8, in a battle of AFC Central Division rivals.
With his team trailing 2-0, McNair completed an eight-yard pass to
tight end Michael Roan
at the Baltimore 40 and then proceeded to do the rest himself. After
rolling right, McNair avoided the rush of defensive end Rob Burnett, before
sprinting outside and then cutting back to the middle and outrunning the
Ravens' secondary to give the Oilers a 6-2 lead.
Bishop ended a frustrating day for the Ravens by fielding Zeier's
throw just in front of his own goal line as time expired. Baltimore (2-3)
finished the contest a woeful 4-for-16 on third-down conversions and were
held to a season-low 36 rushing yards, while committing 13 penalties for an
astronomical 141 yards.
"It's a loss that hurts," said Baltimore coach Ted Marchibroda. "I
hoped we could separate ourselves from the pack, but we didn't. The better
team won and we have no excuses. We couldn't find ourselves, and I think
our third downs hurt as much as anything."
Tennessee running back Eddie George, who came
into the game averaging a measly 2.9 yards per carry, carried the ball 30
times for a season-high 121 yards, posting just his second 100-yard game of
the season and first since Week Three at New England. George had three
carries for 40 yards on the Oilers' lone touchdown drive.
"It wasn't pretty at all," said George. "But we got the win and that's
what's most important. Our defense won the game for us." We were finally
consistent running. We needed to prove ourselves today and I'm happy we
did that."
McNair, who has had success running the ball against the Ravens in the
past, gaining 140 yards and scoring three touchdowns in his previous two
encounters with Baltimore, rushed three times for 47 yards and threw for
another 207 on 17-for-29 passing.
"The past two weeks, we've worked and worked on our running and today
we were able to see us come back to that," said Fisher in reference to the
Oilers' practices during the bye week. "The disappointing thing is that we
didn't score points."
Al Del Greco hit a
pair of field goals for the Oilers (2-3). He shanked a 41-yarder late in
the first half for just his second miss in 13 attempts this year.
Baltimore running back Priest Holmes was held to
a meager 29 yards on 14 carries after rushing for 173 yards in his first
NFL start two weeks ago. Holmes did catch 13 passes for 98 yards, nearly
half of which came on the game's final drive.
Zeier, making just his second start of the season, was 25-for-44 for
249 yards. He suffered his first loss as a starter after posting a 31-24
victory at Cincinnati two weeks ago. Zeier defeated the Oilers, 21-19,
last December 12th, tossing three touchdowns in relief of injured starter
Jim Harbaugh.
"They had a good scheme against us on third downs and they did it all
day long," said Zeier. "That took us out of the things that we needed to
do."
Tennessee wideout Yancey Thigpen left the
game with a groin pull in the fourth quarter and Baltimore tight end Eric Green suffered a
punctured lung late in the first half, further depleting the Ravens'
receiving corps, which was already without injured wide receiver Michael Jackson. Green is
in stable condition at University of Maryland Medical Center.
The Oilers avenged a pair of losses to Baltimore last season after
sweeping the season series from the Ravens in 1996.
Tennessee held a 344-263 edge in total offense, but the defense was
the story as they sacked Zeier three times and forced him into poor throws
on several occasions.
"The defense rose to the occasion today", added Fisher. "They made
the plays and they made them to win."
The Oilers defense was extra tough in the fourth quarter, as defensive
end Kenny Holmes
stuffed Holmes on a 4th-and-1 at the Tennessee 41 with less than nine
minutes remaining in the game.
"The difference we needed was one big play and that was the turning
point in our game," said Holmes. "That 4th-and-1 was critical for them and
we got out and got it done."
The Ravens opened the scoring, when Burnett recorded the first of four
Baltimore sacks, smothering McNair in the end zone on the Oilers opening
drive, to stake the Ravens to a 2-0 lead with 13:32 remaining.
After McNair's run put the Oilers ahead, Terry Killens blocked
Tommy Richardson's punt on the next Baltimore possession.
Dennis Stallings
recovered the ball at the Baltimore 12, but the Tennessee offense stalled
before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Del Greco with 12:45 remaining
in the second, extending the advantage to 9-2 and cap the scoring in the
first half.
Del Greco finished off a nine-play, 69-yard drive with his second
field goal, a 29-yard effort with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter,
giving the Oilers a 12-2 lead.
The Ravens, who boast the league's worst red-zone offense, were
stopped at the Tennessee 3-yard line after marching seven-plays for 72
yards on the ensuing drive. Matt Stover made a 21-yard
boot with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter, as the Oilers' defense
stiffened yet again.
Stover added a 45-yarder just over a minute into the fourth quarter as
the Ravens closed the gap to 12-8.
Baltimore began the final drive at its own 11 with just over two
minutes remaining. Zeier proceeded to complete 6-of-8 passes to move them
to the Tennessee 29, but his final throw was picked off by Bishop.
"If we go out there and play the way we're capable of playing, we can
beat anybody," said Baltimore cornerback Rod Woodson. "But if we go
out there and shoot ourselves in the foot, like we've been doing, we're not
even going to beat Pop Warner footbal teams."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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