By Doug Tucker
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Ray Lewis knows a championship defense when he sees one. Now the Kansas City Chiefs do, too.
Lewis and Baltimoreís tough and savvy defense overwhelmed the young Chiefs on Sunday, sacking Matt Cassel three times and forcing five turnovers in a 30-7 victory in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Chiefs (10-7), who won the AFC West with a six-game improvement and took pride in not beating themselves, managed just 25 yards in the second half.
ěTo set records is one thing,î said Lewis, who forced a fumble and had a sack in the second-half dismantling of the Chiefs. ěTo come out and play the way weíve played in the third quarter all year and the last two weeks, just giving up seven points to opponents, thatís championship-caliber football.î
Baltimore (13-4) broke open a close game with a touchdown and two field goals off turnovers in the second half. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, Billy Cundiff kicked three field goals and Willis McGahee closed out the scoring with a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens will head to Pittsburgh next Saturday, renewing one of the leagueís fiercest rivalries. They split their season series with the Steelers, with each team winning on the otherís home field.
Kansas City finishes the season saddled with an NFL-record seventh straight playoff loss, dating back 17 years.
ěOur defense played phenomenal,î Ravens running back Ray Rice said. ěThey came out in the second half and gutted that offense. It was impressive. Itís impressive to be a part of this.î
On a raw, windy afternoon, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s, Flacco and Cundiff took advantage of three interceptions by Cassel and fumbles by Dexter McCluster and Jamal Charles to pull away. Pro Bowlers Lewis safety Ed Reed led the charge.
ěYou just come in and make up your mind when things start going your way they start going your way,î Lewis said. ěWe knew that this was a very tough place to come play. They have a very talented ball club. We were able to show them and thatís kind of how we are built. We are built for 60 minutes.î
In an emotional postgame locker room, the Ravens gave the game ball to Reed. On Friday morning, his family said they believe a young man who jumped into the Mississippi River trying to elude police was probably his younger brother, Brian Reed. The search for a body at the scene in Louisiana has been called off.
ěJust being there for strength, respect for whatís going on,î Reed said of his teammates he calls his second family. ěThey just gave me the team ball for my family.
ěMy family kept me focused. My older brother called me and told me, ëDo what you do. You handle your business, weíll take care of everything over here.î
It was a week of heartache for the Ravens in more ways. Earlier in the week, the sister of linebackers coach Dean Pees died.
ěAny time you lose someone like that it just draws every one of us closer,î Lewis said. ěNot to put Coach Pís business out there, but he lost his oldest sister this week too. So as a team we had to balance that out. We had to channel our emotions.î
The Ravens led 10-7 in the third quarter when Kansas City lost a fourth-and-inches gamble and then collapsed, quickly.
Dawan Landry stopped the play, throwing Charles for a 5-yard loss. On the next play, Tamba Hali drew a 15-yard penalty for a late hit on Flacco and the Ravens drove in for Cundiffís 29-yard field goal, making it 13-7 with 6:36 left in the third.
A moment later, Lewis put a jarring hit on McCluster, knocking the ball loose. Chris Carr recovered on the Kansas City 17, leading to another 29-yarder by Cundiff.
Then, a harried Cassel was intercepted by Landry, who angled left to the 21. An illegal block on Baltimoreís Cody Redding pushed the Ravens back 10 yards, but Flacco made sure to convert this opportunity into a touchdown.
On second down, he connected with McGahee for 20 yards, then followed with a 13-yard completion to tight end Todd Heap, who had 10 catches for 108 yards. On second-and-4, Flacco fired it over the middle to Anquan Boldin in the back of the end zone, beating cornerback Brandon Flowers and giving the Ravens a 23-7 lead.
ěWe turned the ball over and thatís not characteristic of us,î Pro Bowl left guard Brian Waters said. ěWhen we had to make plays, we werenít able to. When they had to make plays, they did. You canít turn the ball over.î
With a little more than four minutes left in the game, McGahee went over the middle on fourth-and-1 and broke into the secondary, dragging a tackler with him into the end zone at the end of a 25-yard run.
Charles gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead in the first quarter with a 41-yard scoring run after Tamba Hali sacked and stripped the ball from Flacco, recovering it himself.
The Chiefsí postseason drought stretches to the AFC championship game at Buffalo in January of 1994. The losing streak includes four different coaches.
ěIt was a tough one,î Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. ěI thought we got great experience for a lot of young guys that hadnít been part of this.î
The Associated Press
01/09/11 19:21