BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens' 21-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was inspired by an emotional speech from the most experienced player in the secondary and was stamped by a crushing blow by their youngest defensive back.
The result was one of the most dominating performances in the Ravens' storied history of defense. Over the last three quarters, the Ravens recorded more sacks (five) than first downs allowed (four). In the second half, the defense gave up 45 total yards (fifth-fewest allowed in a second half by a Ravens defense) and never let the Titans get any closer than 60 yards from the end zone.
The Ravens made Zach Mettenberger look like a rookie quarterback making his first road start in the NFL, and some will roll their eyes at the Ravens' staggering defensive numbers because of that. But this was only a week removed from the Ravens allowing six touchdown passes to Ben Roethlisberger, and no one was more fed up than cornerback Lardarius Webb.
On Wednesday, Webb stood up in the defensive backs meeting room and got something off his chest.
"He's been here and it's a tradition where the secondary just plays ball," cornerback Anthony Levine said. "You could tell in his eyes that he was tired of what was going on and he was just like, 'We need to step up and make some plays.'"
The player who stepped up was certainly a surprise. Rookie safety Terrence Brooks, who was inactive last week after allowing a game-changing play the previous week, broke up a pass to tight end Delanie Walker and apparently broke the Titans' desire to go over the middle as well.
With about two minutes left in the first half, Brooks leveled Walker by putting his right shoulder into him and causing Walker to land on his back without the ball. It knocked the Titans' leading receiver out of the game with a concussion, and the Ravens feel it sent a message to the rest of the Titans.
"It really changed the impact of the way receivers started running routes," Elvis Dumervil said. "I think anytime a guy gets hit like that ... it really made guys think of running back there."
Before that hit, Mettenberger was 11-of-16 (68.7 percent) for 116 yards and one touchdown. His passer rating was 110.4.
After the hit, he was 5-of-11 (45.4 percent) for 63 yards and one interception. His rating was 25.9.
"As a team, we want to have a certain standard to be physical," Brooks said.
The Ravens improved to 9-3 against rookie quarterbacks under coach John Harbaugh with a pass rush that rattled Mettenberger. With Dumervil and Terrell Suggs crashing the edges, the Ravens recorded five sacks and hit Mettenberger a total of eight times.
They also ended a two-game losing streak with a makeshift secondary that included Anthony Levine, a reserve safety who didn't know he was starting at cornerback until a few hours before the game.
Secondary coach Steve Spagnuolo sent Levine a text message that read: "Be ready." Levine initially didn't know what that meant.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," said Levine, who led the Ravens with two passes defensed. "To call myself a starting something in the NFL -- whether it was safety or corner -- I was happy to say that."
This was an important win for the Ravens because of the circumstances. The Ravens had gone from the top to the bottom of the division in two weeks. They learned that they lost their top cornerback, Jimmy Smith, three days ago.
On a day when the Ravens' offense and quarterback Joe Flacco provided little help, the defense was the catalyst that closed the Ravens (6-4) to within a half game of the first-place Cleveland Browns (6-3).
"This is a tough squad," Webb said. "They always say, 'Play Like A Raven.' That means playing tough and being resilient."
