Flashback Friday: Baltimore Ravens stun Saints in the Superdome
The 2014 season was an awesome one for the Baltimore Ravens. One of the most memorable games was a Monday Night Football win over the New Orleans Saints:
The 2014 Baltimore Ravens season was even better than you remembered when you consider it in the context of franchise history. If Ravens fans knew that after their playoff run in 2014, they wouldn’t see there team in the playoffs until 2018, they would have appreciated it even more than they did. The Ravens Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints was a memorable moment.
The Saints drove down the field early. The Ravens ended up having a goal line stop, which swung the early momentum to Ravens. Justin Forsett kept things going with a 38 yard run right up the gut. A missed tackle by a Saints linebacker and some good blocking made it happen. The Ravens sent a very early message to the Superdome and they didn’t let up. John Harbaugh’s team was ready.
To add to the first quarter excitement Steve Smith Sr. caught a touchdown pass where he had to leap up and make an amazing catch with a Saints defender all over him. The Ravens struck first but the Saints made this a great game. In fact this was one of those games that went back and forth a bit. The Saints 10 points in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 17-14 lead.
The third quarter was dominated by the Ravens. After a Justin Tucker field goal tied the game the Ravens were about to take control. Will Hill, one of the most underrated short-term Ravens, had a pick six to give Baltimore the lead. The Saints made this interesting and got it close.
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With just over three and a half minutes left, Forsett had a 20 yard touchdown run that gave the Ravens a 34-20 lead. On that crucial scoring drive, the Ravens faced a 2nd and 19. A 17 yard reception from Torrey Smith prevented Baltimore from facing a long third down situation.
The Saints marched right down the field. They scored a touchdown on an 11 play drive. With 40 seconds left the Ravens led 34-27. It was a dramatic onside kick attempt to say the least. There was no doubt in that historic New Orleans stadium, that if Drew Brees got the ball back, 40 second was enough for him to take this thing to overtime.
The Ravens recovered the onside kick and prevented unnecessary drama. The 34-27 win was one of the most exciting prime time games anyone has ever seen.
The star of the show was Forsett. He had 22 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He picked up most of his yards on a few big chunks. It was the best game he had with the Ravens.
Performances worth remembering:
Flacco was incredibly efficient in the game. He only had six incomplete passes in the game. His 243 yards passing were to Steve Smith Sr. and Torrey Smith. These two receivers had 187 yards while the rest of Flacco’s targets were held to 66 receiving yards.
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This is kind of the game of big moments for players who really didn’t have a long run with the team. Smith Sr. had one of his most ridiculous touchdown catches, not just in his three year stint with the Ravens, but in his career overall. Forsett broke away in the biggest moments. Hill scored a defensive touchdown. Elvis Dumervil had two sacks. Of these players, Dumervil had the longest tenure in Baltimore, with just four seasons. The moral of this story for fans is that you can’t take your favorite players for granted in the NFL.