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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Defense isn't boring. Not the way
Baltimore plays it.
The Ravens made it to the Super Bowl on Sunday, beating Oakland
16-3 in the AFC championship game. Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and
Duane Starks stopped the Raiders and the offense made the one big
play it needed.
|  | | Ravens cornerback Duane Starks, right, makes one of his two interceptions in the third quarter of Sunday's AFC championship game. |
"If they're not the best defense ever, they're right up there
at the top," Oakland coach Jon Gruden said.
Baltimore's offensive players agree, although they think they
are sometimes maligned unfairly.
"What does crow taste like? All of you got to eat crow
tonight," tight end Shannon Sharpe said after scoring the game's
only touchdown on a record-setting, 96-yard connection from Trent
Dilfer. He then reveled in taunting Oakland fans who pride
themselves on being the loudest and most obnoxious in the NFL.
"We're going to Tampa to put this offense on display," he
said. "We're not that good, but we're effective."
"Not that good" may be a kind of putting it. Baltimore went
without a touchdown in five games this season, but still won two of
them. That's because of the defense, which on Sunday held the NFL's
best rushing offense to 24 yards and the entire Oakland team to 83
yards in the first three quarters.
The next and final obstacle for the Ravens, formerly the
Cleveland Browns, will be the New York Giants, another unlikely
Super Bowl team. The Ravens were installed as early 2 1-2-point
favorites for the NFL championship, to be played Jan. 28 in Tampa.
Sunday's game probably ended four minutes into the second
quarter -- even though it was still scoreless.
Facing a third-and-18 at his own 4-yard-line with the rowdy
Raiders crowd screaming in his ear, Dilfer found Sharpe on a short
slant inside safety Marquez Pope.
Sharpe raced past the rest of the secondary and headed for the
end zone with teammate Patrick Johnson behind him, half pushing him
over the goal line ahead of his pursuers to finish the longest pass
play in postseason history.
"I had to remind Shannon, 'You're not that fast, so don't get
carried away,' " Baltimore coach Brian Billick said.
Replied Sharpe: "I was looking at the Jumbotron to see who was
running after me."
A few minutes later, Tony Siragusa knocked Oakland quarterback
Rich Gannon to the ground on his throwing shoulder, finishing him
for the half.
Gannon returned in the second half, but was ineffective and was
lifted again for Bobby Hoying.
"It was a mess," Gannon said. "We just weren't very good. If
I had been healthy, I don't think it would have made a
difference."
The Baltimore defense was just too good and the offense needed
no more than field goals from Matt Stover of 31, 28 and 29 yards.
That's standard for Baltimore, which went five consecutive games
in October without scoring a touchdown. Now it has won 10 straight
with Dilfer in place of Tony Banks, who started the season at
quarterback.
"Shannon came to me in the third quarter and said, 'I don't
know how much we've got left,' " Lewis said. "I just said, 'Don't
worry about it.' "
Lewis was right.
He had 10 tackles and recovered a fumble; Starks had two
interceptions; and Sharper had two sacks and an interception for a
defense that set an NFL record this season by allowing just 165
points in 16 games, 20 points fewer than the 1985 Chicago Bears.
The dominating defense was at its best in the third quarter,
after Johnnie Harris intercepted deep in Baltimore territory. With
the help of a roughing-the-passer penalty on Mike McCrary, the
Raiders reached the Baltimore 2.
But Tyrone Wheatley lost a yard on first down, Sharper sacked
Gannon on second down and a third-down pass was behind Randy
Jordan, forcing the Raiders to settle for a 24-yard field goal by
Sebastian Janikowski.
A touchdown pass to Oakland's Andre Rison with 4{ minutes left
to play was nullified by pass interference on Rison, but was
probably too late anyway.
"We're all sick as you can imagine. Our hearts are very heavy
right now," Jon Gruden said.
"They stuck to their game plan. They let their defense play and
they pretty much put it to our guys," Oakland cornerback Charles
Woodson said.
The Super Bowl likely will put a huge spotlight on Lewis, the
NFL's defensive player of the year.
Lewis was arrested after the Super Bowl in Atlanta last year and
charged with murder in the stabbing of two men outside a night
club. He eventually pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and
received probation.
"What I went through this off-season was like pure hell,"
Lewis said. "My teammates didn't care about that. My teammates
listened to me and said, 'It's over now. Forget that distraction,
wear it down. It's a closed chapter."
Lewis said going to Tampa "to play 20 minutes from my home town
is unbelievable. It hasn't really settled in yet."
The Ravens dominated from the start, but couldn't capitalize on
great field position.
Late in the first quarter, Robert Bailey intercepted Gannon at
the Oakland 19. But the Ravens gained just one yard in three plays
and Stover's field-goal attempt from 36 yards hit the right
upright.
Then Oakland got the field position on a 56-yard punt by Shane
Lechler and had the Ravens facing third-and-18 on their own 4. But
Dilfer hit Sharpe on a short slant just inside Pope, and Sharpe was
suddenly clear.
Gannon was knocked out on the next series. Hoying's first pass
was intercepted by Starks, setting up Stover's 31-yard field goal.
The offense did its bit for Baltimore in the third quarter.
After Janikowski's field goal, the Ravens came right back,
driving 51 yards to set up a 29-yard kick by Stover that gave them
a 10-point lead again.
The case was finally closed after the TD was called back.
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Oakland Clubhouse
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Raiders' Gannon can't come back against Ravens
Modell gets first trip to Super Bowl
Notebook: Raider Nation heard
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Watch as players and coaches sound off after Baltimore's win over Oakland for the AFC championship.
avi: 3921 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 ESPN's Suzy Kolber catches up with Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe after Baltimore's win over the Raiders.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ray Lewis talks with ESPN's Suzy Kolber after the Ravens defense held the Raiders to a field goal in the AFC championship game.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tryone Wheatley is still not impressed by the Ravens defense even after he gained only 7 yards on 12 carries against Baltimore in the AFC championship game.
wav: 139 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Trent Dilfer compares the Ravens' defense with their Super Bowl opponent's.
wav: 135 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ray Lewis and his defensive teammates are confident in their abilities.
wav: 129 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
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Shannon Sharpe Official Site
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