NFL - Round-up: Ravens end Broncos streak

Reuters - Sun, 01 Nov 21:43:00 2009

The Baltimore Ravens used an aggressive defense and a long kickoff return to end the Denver Broncos' unbeaten start to the season with a 30-7 victory.

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (2nd R) is greeted by teammates Jared Gaither (L-R), Mark Clayton, and Michael Oher after rushing for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos, REUTERS - 0

Rookie Lardarius Webb sprinted 95 yards with the second-half kickoff for a touchdown and the Ravens (4-3) held the Broncos (6-1) to a third-quarter touchdown in snapping a three-game losing streak.

"When our defense is hitting at all phases our offense is going to move and our special teams, when they are playing their game, we are going to be tough to beat," Webb said.

"We are a real multi-dimensional team, and it showed today."

Denver's loss left the NFL with only two unbeaten teams - the Indianapolis Colts (7-0), who eked out an 18-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, and the New Orleans Saints (6-0), who host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

Webb's return put Baltimore ahead 13-0 and after Denver recovered to within 13-7 on Knowshon Moreno's one-yard run, the Ravens scored the game's final 17 points.

Quarterback Joe Flacco passed for one touchdown and Steve Hauschka kicked three field goals, two in the first half, for the Ravens who dominated the Broncos' top-ranked NFL defense.

Flacco, who completed his final 14 passes, was 20 of 25 for 175 yards for the game.

"The players played fundamental Raven football," said Baltimore coach John Harbaugh.

"Getting after the quarterback on defense running the football, protecting the (Baltimore) quarterback, and the special teams were off the charts."

Denver quarterback Kyle Orton went without a touchdown. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 152 yards.

The Philadelphia Eagles moved to the top of the NFC East by overwhelming the New York Giants 40-17 inspired by quarterback Donovan McNabb.

McNabb completed 17 of 23 passes for 240 yards and three scores to lead the rout of the mistake-prone Giants (5-3), who lost their third straight game to stumble out of first place.

The Eagles' passing success was complemented by a big-play ground game that included a 41-yard touchdown by Leonard Weaver 94 seconds into the game and a 66-yard score by LeSean McCoy.

Despite playing without the injured Brian Westbrook, the Eagles rushed for 180 yards, an average of 7.5 yards per carry.

McCoy did the bulk of the damage with 82 yards on 11 carries.

"We were very balanced and had a way of attacking their defense, knowing that they like to blitz at times," McNabb said. "They'll sit back in the zone to challenge you to see what you're doing.

"We were able to pick up big plays all throughout the drives."

Philadelphia (5-2) are tied for the division lead with the Dallas Cowboys, who routed the Seattle Seahawks 38-17.

The Eagles host the Cowboys next Sunday.

"The sky is the limit for us but it comes back to being consistent," said McNabb. "When you have games like this, you have to have a better game next week.

"And that's something we're definitely trying to strive for."

The Giants looked like the top team in the NFC a month ago but are now struggling in all phases of the game. They trailed the Eagles 30-7 at intermission and fumbled away the opening kickoff of the second half.

"The story of the game is fundamentals," said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. "We didn't tackle well. They created holes in our line of scrimmage. We didn't cover kicks well.

"We threw interceptions. That's not the kind of football we teach. We were 5-0. Now we're 5-3 and not doing much of anything right. I don't have the answer."

Giants quarterback Eli Manning misfired all day against the Eagles, completing just 20 of 39 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. He also had two interceptions.

"As a team we are really angry right now because we do not like to lose games," said Giants cornerback Corey Webster. "We need to get back on track and play the way we know how to.

"We have to get back to fighting to the end of the game."

Miami's Ted Ginn Jr. returned third-quarter kickoffs for touchdowns of 100 and 101 yards to help the Dolphins to a 30-25 win over the New York Jets at East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Ginn gave the Dolphins (3-4) their first lead of the game with his 100-yard return 10:10 from the end of the third and went 101 yards with another kickoff about seven minutes later to push Miami's advantage to 24-13.

The demoted wide receiver, who this week lost his starting job as at that position, became the first Miami player to return two kicks for touchdowns in a game.

Reuters

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