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BERNADINE FRANK, 70, of West Hartford Street, Ashley, died Friday

Baltimore halts Miami ground game, forces four interceptions



 



 




 



 




 

 
Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter Sunday in Miami.
 
 AP photo 
 

MIAMI &mdash; The Baltimore Ravens had Chad Pennington spinning, ducking, on his heels and on his back. When he did manage to get a pass away, they were often there to snatch it.
The Ravens came up with four interceptions, including one returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Ed Reed, and won 27-9 Sunday to spoil the Miami Dolphins&rsquo; first playoff game in seven seasons.
Baltimore stuffed Miami&rsquo;s ground attack and negated the Wildcat, but most of all the Ravens harried Pennington into uncharacteristic mistakes. After throwing only seven interceptions during the regular season, he had four during a 22-minute flurry midway through the game.
&ldquo;We heard all week that they don&rsquo;t turn the ball over,&rdquo; linebacker Ray Lewis said. &ldquo;But we force turnovers.&rdquo;
With a rookie coach in John Harbaugh and a rookie quarterback in Joe Flacco, wild-card entrant Baltimore (12-5) won for the 10th time in 12 games and will play Saturday at AFC South champion Tennessee.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to Tennessee,&rdquo; Reed said. &ldquo;Be there.&rdquo;
The playoff victory was the first for the Ravens since they beat Miami in a first-round game in January 2002. The result put the brakes on this season&rsquo;s remarkable resurgence by the Dolphins (11-6), who won the AFC East after going 1-15 in 2007.
&ldquo;It has been a special year; that&rsquo;s why it hurts so much,&rdquo; Pennington said. &ldquo;You want to keep it going and see how far you can take it.&rdquo;
A soft schedule contributed to Miami&rsquo;s turnaround, and there was nothing soft about the Ravens. They forced repeated mistakes by a team that tied an NFL record with only 13 turnovers during the regular season.
Reed had two interceptions, and Jim Leonhard and Fabian Washington made one apiece. Terrell Suggs recovered a fumble by Patrick Cobbs early in the second half at the Miami 19, and four plays later Le&rsquo;Ron McClain scored on an 8-yard run for a 20-3 lead.
Pennington, playing his first game since being chosen the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, was sacked three times and faced constant pressure.
&ldquo;It always starts up front,&rdquo; Ravens defensive tackle Trevor Pryce said. &ldquo;We had some favorable matchups, and we took advantage of them. It&rsquo;s quite simple.&rdquo;
Baltimore&rsquo;s secondary also had Miami overmatched. Pennington, who finished 25-for-38 for 252 yards, said the Ravens made good plays on three of the interceptions, and he regretted throwing only one.
&ldquo;I just couldn&rsquo;t get them to go my way,&rdquo; Pennington said.
Baltimore allowed just 52 yards rushing, and the Dolphins were limited to 7 yards on two plays from the Wildcat, the innovative formation that helped jump-start their revival.
Field position hurt the Dolphins, who started consecutive possessions at their 20, 6, 20, 20, 20 and 2. But the biggest problem was Baltimore&rsquo;s ball-hawking defense, which led the NFL during the regular season with 26 interceptions, including a league-high nine by Reed.
On the game&rsquo;s pivotal play in the second period, he made an over-the-shoulder catch of Pennington&rsquo;s deep throw after intended receiver Ted Ginn Jr., fell.
&ldquo;Like playing center field,&rdquo; Reed said.
He headed toward the left sideline, eluded a tackler, reversed his field and sprinted for the right corner of the end zone, scoring after Suggs leveled Pennington at the 5-yard line. That put Baltimore ahead to stay, 10-3.
&ldquo;It felt like the 200 in track,&rdquo; Reed said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I caught my breath until the third quarter.&rdquo;
Flacco was only 9-for-23 for 135 yards, but he committed no turnovers and let the Ravens&rsquo; defenders control the game.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been doing it all year,&rdquo; the rookie said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re sitting on the sidelines, and that&rsquo;s what you expect. You get used to it, and you&rsquo;re asking for it every play. Today, they did it on every play.&rdquo;
Trailing 20-3, the Dolphins tried to rally with a 58-yard drive to the 13 before Reed again intercepted Pennington late in the third quarter.
&ldquo;No one is surprised at the way Ed Reed plays,&rdquo; Harbaugh said. &ldquo;He may be the best player in the game.&rdquo;
The Ravens&rsquo; defensive performance was reminiscent of their 27-13 victory at Miami in October. The Dolphins won nine of 10 after that defeat to earn an improbable playoff berth.
&ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t been a good day, but it has been a great year,&rdquo; said Miami owner Wayne Huizenga, who is soon expected to complete his sale of the franchise.
His surprising team finally ran out of surprises. After Ronnie Brown made a one-handed catch for a 2-yard score to make it 20-9, Willis McGahee ran 48 yards to set up the Ravens&rsquo; final touchdown with 3:53 left.