Baltimore’s D leads 34-17 victory over NY Jets with 3 TDs

Two franchise records were set on Sunday night by the Ravens: the most touchdowns by defensive players with three and the longest winning streak over a rival, with their seventh consecutive triumph against the Jets.

Football can result very ironic at times, just like it did on Sunday night during the showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the NY Jets at M&T Bank Stadium, where former Baltimore Defensive Coordinator and current Jets head coach Rex Ryan was lectured on how a defense is ran. With three defensive returns for touchdowns the Ravens outplayed the NY Jets 34-17 and set a franchise record for most defensive TDs in history.

Mark Sanchez was fresh meat for the Ravens’ ferocious D that got 21 of their 34 points off two fumbles and one interception from the quarterback, who was also held to 119 yards and zero TDs. But Sanchez suffered more than just mistakes that night, as he received two hard blindside hits from safety Ed Reed and defensive end Haloti Ngata. Sanchez didn’t want to evade his blame in the defeat, but pointed out that “we all had our share in this loss.”

Sanchez mistakes were capitalized by Baltimore early in the game through a 6-yard fumble return from Jameel McClain, which gave the host the lead after only three minutes of action. The Jets immediately responded with Joe McKnight’s 107-yard kickoff return to momentarily even the score to seven points apiece. With 6:27 to go in the first quarter Billy Cundiff gave the Ravens the 10-7 lead through a field go, and Ray Rice extended it to 17-7 with a 3 yard run five minutes later.

Early in the second quarter Cundiff added another field goal for the Ravens, that where now up by 13 points, difference that was going to be increased to 20 thanks Jarret Johnson’s 26-yard fumble return, in what was Sanchez’s second mistake of the night. But before halftime the NY Jets picked up 10 points though a 35-yard interception return from David Harris and a 40-yard field goal from Nick Folk, which sent them to the break 27-17.

All the hopes from the NY Jets to come from behind were crushed in the third quarter when Sanchez’s pass was intercepted by Lardarius Webb, who ran 73 yards and put the final 34-17 in the scoreboard, since both squads went blank in the last quarter.

Coach Ryan wasn’t harsh on Sanchez, to whom he ratified his confidence stating that “he is our quarterback and I believe in him.” And about the defeat he had compliments for his rivals, whose “defense was spectacular.”

Baltimore had already given their fans a taste of their defensive power in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers with seven turnovers, which coach John Harbaugh rated as “the most amazing defensive performance I thought I’d ever seen,” but he was so impressed with the victory over the Jets that confessed that it “topped it.”

While the Ravens will be going into Bye Week as the leaders of the AFC North Division with a 3-1 record, the 2-2 Jets have a tough game at New England against the Patriots on Sunday evening, where they will try to end with their two-game loss steak.