The first link in the chain of disastrous plays that resulted in the Ravens' wilting loss to the Browns was a run by Jamal Lewis on a huge third down with less than three minutes to play.
Near the end of a 5-yard gain that left the Ravens 2 yards shy of what would have been a clinching first down, the officials missed an apparent face-mask penalty against strong safety Robert Griffith. Lewis was unable to fulfill a sideline order to stay in bounds, which could have run the clock down to the two-minute warning. Instead the clock stopped with 2:31 left, and after a punt, the Browns had plenty of time - 2:18 - to mount a drive that devastated the Ravens.
Yesterday was only Lewis' 28th regular-season start, but on the youngest team in NFL history, the third-year pro already considers himself a graybeard, and he picked up some painful wisdom yesterday.
"I looked right at one official," Lewis said of the last of his 21 carries. "He asked another one, 'Did you see a face mask?' I said, 'Somebody saw one, because you're asking about it.' ... I thought they were gonna throw a flag on it. [The official] knew it was a face mask. That's real frustrating, but like Coach says, don't put it in the referees' hands."
And what of the dictate to keep the clock moving?
"They were asking me to stay in bounds, but it's the game," Lewis said. "The coach is telling me to get down or just hit the ground, but I'm going, they pull my face mask and actually turn my head. I'm hoping the flag is thrown, then somebody came over the top and hit me out of bounds. There's nothing I can do about that. If that made a difference in the game, what can I say?"
That twisted play capped a perplexing performance by the Ravens' offense, which didn't commit a turnover until the final Hail Mary pass but didn't score a touchdown in the second half for the third time in the past six games.
Todd Heap and Travis Taylor made an assortment of big plays, as the tight end used a number of circus catches en route to a career-high seven receptions for 61 yards, and the wide receiver got 59 yards on six touches, half of them end arounds. Lewis got an even 100 yards, and for only the second time, the Ravens lost when he got 20 rushes.
Taylor's brilliant 17-yard catch and run in the second quarter was the lone touchdown for the Ravens, who outgained the Browns in yardage 275-164 heading into Cleveland's 92-yard winning drive.
On the preceding possession, the Ravens tried to keep the visitors off-balance.
The Ravens began on their 13-yard line with 7:01 remaining. Heading into a stiff breeze that buffeted trash onto the field and had Jeff Blake's passes "dying down," Lewis was primed to wear down the fourth-worst rushing defense in the league, but the Ravens nonetheless threw on the first two first downs. Catches by Heap and Taylor converted third downs, and Lewis turned an earlier pitch into a 10-yard gain for another first down, but then came the sour ending.
"We didn't put the ball in the end zone enough," Blake said. "You don't score touchdowns, you're going to lose."