Flacco and defense help Ravens crush Eagles; McNabb benched

Football Betting Lines

11/24/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Flacco threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns as the Baltimore Ravens won a lopsided 36-7 contest with the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium.

Flacco completed 12-of-26 passes in the game for the Ravens (7-4), who have won five of six. Le'Ron McClain ran for 88 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and Mark Clayton had two catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Ed Reed had two interceptions, including a back-breaking 108-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter.

"Our football team (is) fighting through adversity, finding a way to overcome mistakes and overcome a very difficult opponent," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "Taking over in the fourth quarter. I think that's something any coach would be proud of."

The 108-yard return set a new NFL record for longest interception return, breaking Reed's old record of 106 yards.

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia's franchise quarterback of 10 seasons, was benched after a first half in which he threw for just 59 yards on 8- of-18 passing, with two interceptions and a fumble. Kevin Kolb replaced him at halftime and didn't fare much better, completing 10-of-23 passes for 73 yards and two interceptions for Philadelphia (5-5-1), which is winless in its last three contests. DeSean Jackson caught five passes for 47 yards.

"At halftime, I heard about the move from our quarterbacks coach, Pat Shurmur," McNabb said. "My first reaction was 'Wow.' Then, I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."

Eagles head coach Andy Reid did not give an indication as to whether McNabb or Kolb would start Philadelphia's game Thursday against Arizona.

The biggest difference in the game was turnovers, where the Eagles had five, compared to zero for Baltimore.

"Obviously, the QB is a big part of the football team, but it's important that we feed off of each other, and we all pick our games up," Reid said. "And we've seen that done around here before, and I expect it to happen again."

After a scoreless first quarter, a tripping penalty added 10 yards to a Baltimore punt return, putting the Ravens at the Eagles 28-yard line with 4 1/2 minutes left in the second. After gaining only two yards, Matt Stover hit a 44-yard field goal to put the game's first points on the board.

McNabb's next pass was intercepted -- his third turnover of the game -- by Reed, giving the Ravens the ball at the Eagles' six. On 3rd-and-goal from the one, Daniel Wilcox made a spectacular one-handed catch in the end zone, giving Baltimore a 10-0 with just under two minutes left in the half.

But Philadelphia would get on the board before the half ended, as Quintin Demps returned the ensuing kick 100 yards right up the middle of the field for a touchdown, accounting for the 10-7 halftime margin.

Baltimore took a 12-7 lead with 6:01 left in the third, as Jameel McClain blocked a punt, forcing the ball out of the end zone for a safety.

Stover's 42-yard field goal off an interception with 14:52 left in the game gave Baltimore an eight-point lead.

Just over three minutes later, Clayton beat two Eagles defenders on a slant play, and Flacco found him for a 53-yard touchdown to make it 22-7.

Philadelphia looked to get back into the game, as Kolb drove the Eagles to Baltimore's one-yard line. But Reed intercepted another pass, and this time he brought it back 108 yards for the touchdown down the right sideline, sealing the win for Baltimore halfway through the fourth.

"Haruki (Nakamura) pointed out that (Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown) was on the end of the line, and it's usually a tight end, so we kinda knew it wasn't going to be a run to that side," Reed said of the play on which he returned the interception. "I was watching (Brown's) feet when he was in the huddle just to find out where he was going. Once he went across the field it was pretty simple from there. Just keep trailing it. The quarterback never even saw me come from behind."

McClain added a one-yard touchdown in the final minutes for the Ravens to cap the scoring.

Game Notes

Demps' touchdown return was the first on a kickoff for the Eagles since 2001...Stover has converted 376 consecutive extra points, an NFL record. He has not missed an extra point since 1996...This is the first time the Ravens have beaten the Eagles since moving from Cleveland...Harbaugh served as Philadelphia's special teams coordinator/defensive backs coach from 1998-2007.