Ravens Visit Cowboys, Season in the Balance
It’s an 8:15 kickoff for the Ravens tonight as Saturday football arrives in a big way. Final game at Texas Stadium, playoff implications on the line, quasi-national prime time audience. It’s high stakes late-season football, something any Ravens fan would have taken at the beginning of the season.
I took some heat from the Ungers on 1370 yesterday for saying the Ravens would win. And I admit, the counter-argument is solid. The Cowboys aren’t the Steelers but they get after the quarterback. Offensively, they have weapons in Owens, Witten, and Roy Williams that the Ravens probably can’t handle. At least not all at once.
Then again, Tony Romo is just about the last quarterback I’d want on my team in a big game. He might even be a choke artist. Maybe.
I think the game comes down to one basic question: can the Ravens play mistake-free? If they can, I think they win. If not, it could be a long night. My gut says they find a way.
I love that picture of TO.
in many ways this is a tougher game for the ravens to win than the steeler game.
crossing my fingers – that’s about it at this point.
i wish i could be there tonight so i could hold up this sign:
flacco > staubach
thoughts on the first half:
just wow.
derrick mason may have vaulted into my top five favorite ravens ever. tough as nails. like, i can hardly watch when he makes a catch.
ed reed!!!
gonna next TDs to win this one . .. the D looks awesome.
if the ravens lose now i’ll be devastated. they HAVE to win. they’re too fucking good to miss the playoffs.
there are no words
i swear this game is taking years off my life.
i’m exhausted but i’ll say this.
this is the most impressive win i’ve ever seen by the ravens. i’ll explain why i feel that way tomorrow.
i think it beats any 2000 ravens win – everything.
also props to neal for predicting it. i thought they were gonna get toasted.
HOW BOUT EM
Dear Lord. Nobody I knew or talked to or heard talking thought the Ravens had a chance in this game, and we just blew the tailpipes off the Cowboys on the road, on National TV, with the season on the line, during the closing ceremonies of Texas Stadium, against the mighty blitz of the Cowboys, with two Pro Bowl recievers set to decimate our banged up secondary, without Derrick Mason’s one arm, when offense was supposedly sputtering and tired, with a rookie quarterback, against a loud crowd…
I am impressed. Also:
Ed Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed
Fun Fact that I’m sure you heard if you watched the game: Le’Ron McClain’s 82-yd run was longest by a visiting RB in Texas Stadium history.
Amazing game, wish we had dominated a little more on defense. Definitely best game of the year. It was a win against a good team on a nationally televised game. Jaguars should be cake!
yeah air you just summed up many of the reasons i think this win was the biggest. i would add:
-the team’s most maligned player drove the first dagger into the cowboys with a 77 yard run.
-cowboys storm back then mcclain has the longest opponent running play in texas stadium history – on THE LAST OPPONENT PLAY IN TEXAS STADIUM HISTORY
-sam koch with the game of his life both punting and RUNNING
-rookie head coach
-short week after one of (if not the) toughest losses in team history
-they lose their most solid experienced tackle early against a monster pass rush.
it goes on and on.
they showed a TEAM heart that i haven’t seen since 2000 – and honestly that defense was so good that i expected them to win every game.
this game is the best win they’ve ever had in my opinion.
might feel differently tomorrow though haha
and this? why this is just icing on the cake (from a wnst blog)
No doubt the Ravens players were inspired when informed that Jerry Jones PERSONALLY, HAND-PICKED the Ravens as his final opponent in Texas Stadium. (That’s a FACT by the way. Jones insisted on having the Ravens because when he looked at the schedule the Ravens were the weakest team on the slate. Perhaps he should’ve chosen Cincinnati?)
WHAT
A
GAME.
1. FAKE FG???? I’ve never seen one done by the Ravens that I remember. CAM.
2. TWO runs for TDs on back-to-back first drives??? Never seen it.
3. FLACCO
Kinda makes you want to hate the Orioles.
AHEM, AooR: I seem to recall somebody predicting a Ravens win, as BBM noted.
I don’t know what you’re talking abo-
Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok. You got me.
I don’t actually read anybody’s posts here except my own. I am a very, very good writer, you know.
No seriously…I just missed that while I was eluding ice storms. My bad.
steelers and titans offenses are gettin’ housed
it’s hard to know who to root for. obviously i hate the steelers but i want to make sure the greatest opportunity for the ravens to play pittsburgh again remains intact.
man the steelers got pwned
also i’ll go ahead and say right now i do not want the ravens to play the pats in foxboro in the first round.
Assuming that the Ravens get the sixth seed, the Pats would still need help from the Jets-Dolphin game next week. I’m not sure, but I believe that if the Jets win out they would win the division since they would have the best divisional record between the three. If the Jets lose to Seattle the situation gets even more messy.
yeah i just figured it out.
all teams win out jets win
jets lose but miami and pats win out miami wins.
Right, because Miami has the better Conference record
All three teams can’t win out. Jets and Miami play next week.
and the jets just lost.
go dolphins.
wait mow i’m even more confused. are the jets not statistically eliminated? gah i give up.
Neal, I’m looking forward for once to a new baseball/Hot Stove thread.
ESPN now “reports” that the Angels are out of the bidding for Texiera, leaving (effectivly)…the Gnats and Os.
And so what stunning move did the Gnats make to entice Texiera to come to an “on their way to winning” East Coast team?
That’s right, they signed Daniel Cabrera.
I heard he’s got a great attitude…especially when he has to bat.
Oh man, is this Tex thing in the bag yet or what?!
*crosses fingers*
Word to that , Tomás – I was planning on a new baseball thread tonight – but what do you mean “for once”?
Meanwhile, the Steelers looked bad in Tennessee today. Four turnovers plus two or three more loose balls is not going to work on the road against a premium opponent. Or any opponent, anywhere. Good news for Ravens fans for sure. That third meeting can’t come soon enough.
Neal, my bad, I meant “for once this Hot Stove season”.
@Tomás: I’ve been posting news and updates (mostly about Teixeira, I admit, because that’s been the Big News) and assuming that they’d serve as catch-all threads for the Hot Stove developments. I can also put up generally open Hot Stove posts, though, if that would work better for everyone.
Stupid Jets. Why couldn’t they beat the Seahawks?
Here’s hoping Miami stuffs the Jets and the Ravens win next week, I would much rather face Miami in the first round of playoffs than the Pats.
my head agrees with you about the dolphins greg but my heart wants to go into new england and stomp those dummies. it’s been a hell of a long time coming and look what pittsburgh did to them.
plus literally every family member of mine (besides my jets fan brother) and every friend back home is a patriots fan which would make it that much sweeter.
also i’ll keep repeating it: the ravens could lose to jacksonville. flacco isn’t the qb at home that he is on the road and that’s puzzling and troubling.