Romo took the next possession 80 yards on a 14-play assault where Felix Jones chewed up the Ravens defense, moving the sticks and tiring anyone Pees put into the front seven. It ended with a 7-yard TD pass to Dez Bryant in the corner of the end zone past Cary Williams, who was targeted all day by Romo.
Dallas cut the lead to 24-23 on another Bailey 34-yard field goal, and once again Flacco was forced to answer in what quickly became a shootout in Baltimore. Ten plays and nearly four minutes later, Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for 31 yards, and Rice completed the drive with a 1-yard TD splash and the Ravens held a 31-23 advantage with 3:41 left in regulation.
The next drive was one of the ugliest in the history of the Ravens defense. Romo managed a methodical 18-play drive that began at the 20 and featured a steady diet of short passes and the use of tight end Jason Witten as a prime target in backing the Ravens down the field. Just before the two-minute warning, third-string running back Phillip Tanner took a seemingly benign handoff near midfield and was brought down six yards later by Ray Lewis, who grabbed Tanner and twisted him to the ground, not unlike any tackle we’d seen No. 52 make over 17 seasons in Baltimore. But, this time, Lewis felt something pop and ran to the sideline in agony. He was squeezing his right arm, trying to get it to stop hurting. As he was being examined by team doctor Leigh Ann Curl on the sideline, Romo was capping the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Bryant past a sprawling Williams.
Now 31-29 with 36 seconds left, Romo kept the offense on the field for a two-point conversation that would send the game into overtime. Dallas ran the same play, a quick out to Bryant over Williams in the left corner and Romo executed it perfectly, throwing a perfect spiral that Bryant simply pawed at as the ball slipped through his hands, sputtering to the ground. The Ravens’ defense celebrated yet another bend-but-not-break moment.
There was still more work to be down to declare a win.
Bailey lined up an onside kick that he scooted between the legs of Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo and somehow Andre Holmes fell on the ball at the 46-yard line with 30 seconds left. Once again the depleted Ravens defense was out on the field defending the goal line against Romo, whose first pass down the right sideline to Kevin Ogletree was defended by Chykie Brown. Seemingly without any contact, the yellow flag was thrown in the air, pass interference was ruled and Bailey was back out on the field lining up a 51-yard field goal to beat the Ravens. The crowd in Baltimore was stunned, staring at the field in disbelief..
Sure, the defense had been dreadful throughout the day, but Flacco and the special teams had managed to put 31 points on the board, and it had all come down to bad tackling, bad officiating, and an onside kick going through the legs of a Pro Bowl special teamer. Their backs were against the wall and the possibility of losing a game that they had seemingly won twice was suddenly a reality.
8
Bailey drilled the ball hard amidst the hush of the crowd and the ball sailed left, away from the uprights and the Ravens breathed a collective sigh of relief. Final score: Baltimore 31, Dallas 29. But this victory didn’t come with any true celebration after the game.
There was palpable concern regarding the injuries to Webb and Lewis, who were team leaders and both looked to be gone for the season. And the Ravens escaped more than prevailed against the Cowboys.
“It’s tough to say what your best football is because these games are crazy,” Flacco said. “Both sides of the ball have great players. You have to prepare your best and perform. There are so many different things that can happen out there. We’re 5-1 and I know some of the games have been close. But we’re happy to get them. Last year, we didn’t get these. We lost these kinds of games. I don’t know if we necessarily deserved to win this game, but we’ll take it and we’ll get the hell outta here really quick and go home and fall asleep and wake up the next morning with a win.”
