Monday Morning Leftovers: Win Was 'Chief' Priority
COWBOYS UP NEXT; RAVENS DOMINANT AGAINST NFC
By Joe Platania
BALTIMORE 9, KANSAS CITY 6
Linebacker Jameel McClain left the field during the first half because of an undisclosed injury, but returned. Defensive end Pernell McPhee then departed before halftime, but he returned early during the third. His ailment was also initially undisclosed. ... The Ravens are now 8-1 against AFC West Division teams under coach John Harbaugh, including three straight wins against Kansas City. ...
Next Sunday afternoon, the Ravens play host to a team that makes its home where the Chiefs franchise used to, the Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m.; WBFF-TV; WIYY-FM). Baltimore is 24-5-1 lifetime against NFC teams, and Dallas is one of two squads that has never beaten the Ravens (Houston is the other). The Ravens have 11 straight home victories against NFC teams. ...
According to a PressBox source, there was behind-the-scenes talk that the Ravens-Cowboys game might have to be moved -- either the game time, site or day -- because of the Orioles' playoff run, but the baseball postseason schedule has the division-winning team at home on both Oct. 14 and 21. ... Dallas is the only team the Ravens will play that is coming off a bye week. ...
Before Sunday, the Ravens were 27-34 in October, their only losing month of the four that make up the regular season. But Baltimore has won three of four games played in each of the past two Octobers and has had winning records for 10 straight months, going back to November 2009 (2-2). ... Matt Birk played in his 199th game and 53rd straight as a Raven. ...
Punter Sam Koch played in his 101st consecutive game, tops among all current Ravens and currently standing as the fifth-longest streak in team history. Koch's streak is surpassed only by linebackers Jarret Johnson (129) and Peter Boulware (111), kicker Matt Stover (110) and Terrell Suggs (105). Joe Flacco and Jameel McClain each played in their 69th straight games. ...
Baltimore avoided dropping to 3-2 for the first time since 2009. ... The Ravens committed five penalties and now have 42 for the year. Last season, the team was flagged 92 times, the third-lowest total in team history and just three off the low of 89 in 2001. After five games in 2011, the Ravens had been hit with 31 penalties. ...
On Sunday, the Ravens played a regular-season game on the same day as an Orioles postseason baseball game for the first time since Oct. 5, 1997, when both teams were at home. The Ravens blew a 21-0 lead and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 42-34, at Memorial Stadium, while the Orioles wrapped up the Division Series with a 3-1 win against the Seattle Mariners. ...
The Ravens have played 163 straight regular-season games without being shut out. They have scored in 259 of 261 lifetime games and haven't been blanked on the road since a 37-0 loss at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium in 1997. Including the postseason, Baltimore has scored points during 276 of its 278 all-time games. ... Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin turned 32 last week. ...
Baltimore ran the ball 24 times and attempted to pass it 31 times, including four sacks allowed. The team's run-pass ratio through five games is now -78 (121 runs, 199 passes, including 13 sacks allowed), a respectable number for the league's current pass-laden era. ... So far, the Ravens' five games have been decided by an average final margin of 8.6 points per game. ...
Before Sunday, the Ravens had won 35 of their last 40 games when they have scored first, including their last 16 consecutive games, going back to 2010. ... The Chiefs won the coin toss and opted to receive. ... The Ravens wore their road white jerseys and black pants for the first time this year, while the Chiefs wore their traditional home red jerseys and white uniform pants. ...
The Ravens sat backup guard/tackle Jah Reid, and linebacker Sergio Kindle was deactivated for the fourth time in five weeks. Wideout LaQuan Williams was activated for the first time, but also deactivated were cornerback Asa Jackson, tight end Billy Bajema, rookie defensive end DeAngelo Tyson, defensive tackle Bryan Hall and rookie safety Christian Thompson. ...
The host Kansas City Chiefs deactivated four injured players, including ex-Cleveland running back Peyton Hillis (ankle) and starting defensive end Glenn Dorsey (calf). Also out were wide receiver Devon Wylie (hamstring), cornerback Jalil Brown (hamstring), third-string quarterback Ricky Stanzi, injured safety Kendrick Lewis and veteran defensive end Ropati Pitoitua. ...
Despite his turnover problems, Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel had thrown for 1,058 yards during the season's first four weeks, a career high. ... Chiefs receivers had been unofficially charged with six dropped passes this year, right around the middle of the league's 32-team pack. ... The Chiefs are the only AFC West team to have played the Ravens in pre-, regular- and postseason games. ...
Thanks in part to a 41-6 first-quarter point differential deficit, Kansas City -- whose only win came in overtime against New Orleans -- did not lead during regulation play at any point during its first four games, becoming the first team since the 2005 Houston Texans to have that dubious distinction. The Texans finished 2-14 that year, only their fourth season of existence. ...
Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt, son of ex-Pittsburgh punter Craig Colquitt, put three of five in the coffin corner. Before Sunday, he had put an AFC-high 10 punts inside the coffin corner out of 17 total kicks. Since 2006, Colquitt's 188 coffin-corner kicks are the most in the NFL. In second place in that department is the Ravens' Sam Koch (178), who had two on Sunday. ...
Sunday's game marked the first of the Chiefs' four games against AFC North Division opposition this year. Kansas City travels to Pittsburgh on Nov. 12 for a Monday-night game before a short turnaround and a home game against Cincinnati six days later. The Chiefs don't have to play the Cleveland Browns until the season's final month, on the road on Dec. 9. ...
Before recording 60 yards on six catches Sunday, standout Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe had a mere 40 yards on four catches and a touchdown during his only other appearance against the Ravens, the 2009 season opener at M&T Bank Stadium. His touchdown during that game gave the plucky Chiefs a four-point, third-quarter lead before the Ravens rallied. ...
The Chiefs' Week One roster had an average age of 25.81 per player, making Kansas City the AFC's fourth-youngest team and the league's ninth youngest. After having a training-camp roster with no players older than 30, the Chiefs currently have six such players. ... Romeo Crennel is the 12th head coach in the team's history, promoted from the defensive coordinator's post. ...
Before Sunday, the Chiefs (3-2) were one of seven AFC teams that had a lifetime head-to-head advantage against the Ravens during regular-season play. The others are New England (6-1), Miami (5-3), Tennessee (9-8), Jacksonville (10-7), Indianapolis (7-3) and Pittsburgh (18-14). ... The Chiefs won five of eight games against the Baltimore Colts, including three of the last four. ...
Coincidental connections: three Chiefs played at the University of Mississippi at the same time as Ravens tackle Michael Oher: wideout Dexter McCluster, defensive lineman Jerrell Powe and safety Kendrick Lewis. ... Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was a 2007 University of Texas teammate of present-day Raven cornerback Chykie Brown and linebacker Sergio Kindle...
The Chiefs' staff includes notables such as former Raven Anthony Pleasant (1996), who handles that unit for Kansas City. Ex-Ravens quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn is in his second year in the same job with the Chiefs. Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli was the Ravens' pro personnel director during the 1996 debut season before moving on to New England and Kansas City. ...
The NFL's "A Crucial Catch" breast-cancer awareness campaign got underway as the league marks October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink-ribbon decals were painted on the field, and coaches, officials and players all wore pink ribbons or pink-colored gear to varying degrees. The Ravens will have their home observance next week for the Dallas game. ...
The lead official was veteran Pete Morelli, who worked the Ravens' home playoff game against Houston last year, the only postseason contest in team history during which the Ravens were not charged with a penalty. Morelli worked three Ravens games in 2010, including a preseason game. ... The game took 2:54 to play. ... Kickoff temperature was 47 degrees with sunny skies.
Posted Oct. 8, 2012
