Baltimore – The Baltimore Ravens have a new formula for success: Keep the game close enough for Steve McNair to win it at the end.
McNair rallied the Ravens for a second straight week Sunday, throwing a 10-yard pass to Todd Heap with 34 seconds left to defeat the San Diego Chargers 16-13.
In years past, the Ravens depended on their defense to squash the opposition, leaving the offense to do little else but avoid giving the ball away. Now that McNair is at quarterback, late-game heroics are becoming the standard.
McNair and the Ravens bring one of only three 4-0 NFL records to Denver next Monday night in a showdown against the Broncos.
One week earlier, McNair struggled before engineering a late drive that produced a field goal and a 15-14 win against the Cleveland Browns. And just as in his previous game, McNair did very little against the Chargers (2-1) – until it mattered most.
“There was no doubt in my mind we would win this game when No. 9 went out there,” said Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle, who played with McNair in Tennessee. “He’s been through everything you can be through as a quarterback. He’s been MVP. He’s been in the Super Bowl. He’s just got it.”
Showing precisely why they obtained him in an offseason trade with the Titans, McNair went 4-for-5 for 43 yards and ran once for 12 yards during the final drive, which began after San Diego intentionally took a safety with 3:12 to go.
“The defense gave us the opportunity by keeping it within six points,” McNair said. “We knew if they gave us the opportunity, we have the confidence in ourselves to get the job done.”
McNair never faced a third down during the march. After a 17-yard pass to Mark Clayton got the ball to the San Diego 35, McNair ran to the 23 and completed a 13-yarder to Clayton.
On second down, McNair found Heap for the game-winner, leaving the Ravens at 4-0 for the first time.
“If we don’t make enough plays to win early, we can make plays to win the game late,” linebacker Ray Lewis said. “That’s why we brought him here.”
The Ravens never led until Heap bulled his way over the goal line with linebacker Shawne Merriman in tow.
“It came down to a missed tackle. I really tried to take his head off,” Merriman said.
McNair finished 17-for-30 for 158 yards and two interceptions.He also threw two TD passes.
LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 98 yards on 27 carries for the Chargers, who scored their only touchdown on their first possession.
“This one hurts because of the control we had the whole game and we let it slip,” said quarterback Philip Rivers, who went 13-for-22 for 145 yards and an interception that led to a Baltimore touchdown.
Rivers accepted blame for a spotty showing by the San Diego offense, which totaled 67 points in wins over Oakland and Tennessee.
“I didn’t play as well as I need to for us to win,” he said.
For 59 minutes, it appeared San Diego would win on the strength of a defense that yielded only one touchdown in its first two games.
The Ravens closed to 13-9 when punter Mike Scifres intentionally ran out of the end zone. Baltimore took over at its 40, and McNair went to work.
Kicker Nate Kaeding had a 34-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 10-7 lead. He added a career-long 54-yarder late in the half, but missed a 40-yarder in the third quarter, and a botched hold ruined a 52-yard attempt in the fourth.
