The Baltimore Ravens scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal a come-from-behind 16-13 victory over the St Louis Rams at M&T Bank Stadium this evening.
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It was an ugly first half in Baltimore, with the Ravens in particular guilty of giving away a litany of penalties that cost them 107 yards over the course of the opening two quarters.
Indeed, it was fairly miserly for the offense of both sides as the two teams combined for just 11 first downs and 212 yards before half time, but it was the Rams who got the only touchdown before the interval when Todd Gurley burrowed his way over from a yard out.
The hosts did get on the board as time expired in the half courtesy of a 25-yard field goal from Justin Tucker, who had earlier missed a 51-yard attempt with the first scoring opportunity of the game.
That barely improved the mood for the home fans, though, as they also had to watch Joe Flacco throw an interception and running back Justin Forsett depart with a broken arm during a miserable opening 30 minutes.
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Flacco threw his second interception of the match in the third quarter, and this time he was punished by the Rams as Case Keenum, preferred to the out-of-form Nick Foles at quarterback today, combined with Lance Kendricks for a 30-yard score.
However, Greg Zuerlein's extra point was blocked by the Ravens, and the hosts finally made it into the endzone in the fourth quarter when Flacco found Kamar Aiken from three yards to reduce the deficit to three, and Tucker then levelled the scores with a 20-yard kick just over five minutes from time.
Both sides missed the chance to gain the lead in the closing stages courtesy of wide long-range field goals from Zuerlein and Tucker respectively, but it was Keenum who made the most costly error in the end as he fumbled the ball while being sacked, gifting possession to the Ravens.
Javorius Allen did enough to get his side within kicking range, and Tucker did the rest with a 47-yard effort to hand the hosts a dramatic late victory.
The result sees the Ravens improve to 3-7 for the season, while the Rams are now 4-6 after losing three matches on the bounce.
Barney Corkhill
