Ravens safety Ed Reed's blocked punt return for a touchdown in yesterday's 13-12 win over the Tennessee Titans provided as much redemption for himself as inspiration for his fellow rookies.

Reed scored the Ravens' only touchdown by coming off the end of the line, faking out Titans safety Rich Coady and extending himself to block Craig Hentrich's punt just a minute into the game.

Reed recovered the ball at the Titans' 11-yard line and ran into the end zone untouched and with the ball firmly secured. It was the highlight of an afternoon in which rookies Bart Scott and Chad Williams each recorded key interceptions.

"They are learning to make plays, and to not blink and to work together," Ravens coach Brian Billick said of his rookies. "That's the kind of growth that I'm talking about that's huge."

Two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals, Reed, thinking he was about to score on an interception, held the ball up in the air with one hand and was stripped from behind at the 7-yard line.

Reed took criticism for the mistake but did not seem to let it bother him the rest of that game, and applied the lesson learned to yesterday's game.

"I was just doing my job," Reed said. "I gave the guy a good fake, he bit on it, I blocked the punt, and we scored. I looked back before I put [the ball] up there; I had to do that.

"Across the league, you don't see a lot of blocked punts. To block a punt and score on special teams is big."

It looked like the length of the NFL season had taken its toll on a number of Ravens rookies after a lackluster performance against Miami a week ago. But three of the biggest plays yesterday came from rookies.

After Reed's block on the Titans' opening possession, Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair drove his team 52 yards to the Ravens' 4. On third-and-goal, McNair saw Drew Bennett open near the back of the end zone but did not see Scott coming from the opposite side.

It is hard to fault McNair for not accounting for Scott, considering the linebacker had never been out there in that situation before. Scott was subbing for Ed Hartwell, who sat out most obvious passing situations with a sore knee.

"My responsibility was the middle," Scott said. "I saw the ball take off. McNair stared at him the whole time, and it just landed in my hands. All I had to do was hold onto it.

"It was just great to get an opportunity to go out there. Special teams is great, but you want to be out there with the guys in the heat of the moment to show what you can do."

Williams' interception was a one-handed gem on third-and-six from the Titans' 48 midway through the third quarter. Eyeing Titans receiver Derrick Mason, Williams reached around and cradled the ball as he hit the ground.

Williams jumped up and headed toward the end zone as the Titans watched -- resembling a play against the Bengals when Williams returned a fumble for an apparent touchdown as Cincinnati players stood around. But in both cases, he was ruled down by contact. Yesterday's play set up Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal that put the Ravens up 13-6.

"I just put my hand out there and it stuck," Williams said. "I tucked it in and fell to the ground. I really didn't feel like he touched, and like last time, I was on my way to the end zone. But they ruled me down by contact. It was a good pick anyway."

And it ended a day on which Ravens rookies proved they had not totally hit the wall.

"Things of that nature, that really depicts who we are," defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said.