CINCINNATI - Ravens safety Chad Williams had teased in previous weeks, cruising his way toward the end zone after turnovers only to find it was for naught.

But in yesterday's 27-23 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, Williams raced 98 yards after intercepting Jon Kitna to score a momentum-changing touchdown and finally reach the destination he had craved.

Williams had resorted to a backpedal trot toward the end zone in two of the previous three games after recovering a fumble in one and intercepting a pass in the other. In both instances, Williams was ruled down by contact - though it didn't seem clear - and neither the Bengals three weeks ago nor the Tennessee Titans last week chased Williams.

There was no doubt against Cincinnati, however, as Williams stayed on his feet and Kitna started out in hot pursuit. The rookie broke Kitna's tackle attempt about 30 yards downfield and was not touched again.

"On defense, you get very few chances, so when that chance comes, you've got to make the most of it, whether it counts or if it doesn't count," said Williams, whose score gave the Ravens a 14-13 lead with 35 seconds left in the first half. "Fortunately, I got to the end zone today with my teammates' help, and hopefully I can get there next week."

It was the start of a career day for Williams despite playing only in dime (six defensive backs) formations and special teams.

Williams blocked Nick Harris' punt early in the fourth quarter, and receiver Ron Johnson returned the ball 22 yards for a touchdown that closed Cincinnati's lead to 23-21.

"That guy just keeps showing up," Ravens coach Brian Billick said of Williams. "We've got a lot of guys like that. They come into the league and don't know if they even belong, but they all of a sudden make plays like that."

With the Ravens' offense struggling again and the defense giving ground to Kitna and his receivers, Williams' plays saved the game and kept the Ravens' playoff chances alive.

Williams, though, was understated about his impact. His take on being the Ravens' primary scoring weapon for much of the game: "That really doesn't matter as long as we got the win," he said. "It's a team game."

It was the second straight week in which the Ravens blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. Against the Titans, Ed Reed blocked one and returned it 11 yards for a score.

While Reed faked out his opponent to get to the punter yesterday, Williams got in virtually untouched, partly because of Reed.

"Ed Reed gets a lot of attention," Williams said. "Fortunately, he's on my side, so they put two guys on him, and I go free. I just kind of got through and put my hands up."

Bengals coach Dick LeBeau agreed with that assessment.

"They have a very good punt-block team," LeBeau said. "We worked on that this week. We over-committed to the outside, leaving our inside open, and they came in underneath."

Williams' interception return required a little more work. With the Bengals driving to the Ravens' 8 and poised to go up by two scores, Williams tracked Corey Dillon sliding across the middle of the field and stepped in front of the running back.

"The series before that, Corey Dillon hurt us coming out of the flat," Williams said. "[Secondary] Coach [Donnie] Henderson said to be patient, see everything. It just so happens that I was being patient like Coach Henderson said and stepped right in front of him. I didn't realize how far 98 yards was until I got to the 50."