January 14, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
One week after the Redskins fell to the Seattle Seahawks during Wild Card Weekend, the DMV finds a reason to cheer: the Baltimore Ravens are headed to the AFC Championship.
They traveled to Denver as underdogs set to face Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Manning, who returned to football after four neck surgeries and a year off, had led Denver on an eleven-game win streak to become division champions. The Broncos were the number one seed in the AFC and heavily favored to win not only this game, but the Super Bowl.
Joe Flacco and the Ravens had other plans. After trailing 7-0 early, and then 21-14 near the end of the second quarter, Flacco drove his team down the field and connected with Torrey Smith on a thirty-two-yard touchdown which tied the teams going into halftime. It was only a harbinger of things to come.
After Manning led the Broncos to a 35-28 lead late in the fourth quarter, they failed to convert for a first down to end the game, and handed Baltimore the ball with under a minute to go. Things were looking good for Denver—that is, until Flacco escaped from the pocket and threw a long pass downfield.
It was not a “Hail Mary.” It was a perfect, high-arcing, seventy-yard pass that landed right in the hands of Jacoby Jones for a touchdown to tie the game. Manning returned to the field with about thirty seconds and three timeouts, but instead of attempting to score, he took a knee and headed to overtime.
That will be one of the many decisions the Broncos will replay in their minds as they head into a long off-season. On Denver’s second possession of overtime, Manning, while running right, threw across his body to the middle of the field. The throw, intended for receiver Brandon Stokley, was intercepted by Baltimore cornerback Corey Graham at the Denver forty-five.
The Ravens ran just five plays for sixteen yards before kicking the game-winning field goal. It is a play Manning wishes he had not made. It is a play that Ravens fans will not soon forget.
With the win, the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship Game, where they will face the New England Patriots. Last year, the Ravens fell to the Patriots in the AFC Championship when Billy Cundiff missed a thirty-two-yard field goal to tie the game and force overtime.
With a new kicker and motivated by the retirement of Ray Lewis at the end of the season, the Ravens are eyeing not only redemption, but a championship.
Wizards
John Wall’s return to the Wizards on Saturday night was a welcome and much-needed boost to their lineup. While his play time was capped at around twenty minutes, it was enough for fourteen points and four assists in his season debut.
With Wall on offense, the Wizards went on to win 93-83 against the Atlanta Hawks. It was the second straight win for the Wizards, who hope to make it to three as they host the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis blogged about the win, saying, “We finally won a game by ten points. We had lost two games to Atlanta in overtime and double overtime previous[ly]this season. The margin between success and failure is very small in pro sports.”
With Wall back in the lineup, the Wizards, who are 5-13 at home and 6-28 overall, are hopefully headed for more success.
