OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Ravens clinched a playoff berth Sunday for the second straight year by using the same grit and determination that allowed them to persevere through a season of adversity and close losses.
At a half-empty Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Ravens pushed past the Oakland Raiders, 21-13, to secure a wild-card spot in the American Football Conference playoffs. Now 9-7, the Ravens will play the suddenly vulnerable New England Patriots in chilly Foxborough, Mass., next Sunday afternoon in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
The Ravens reached the postseason in consecutive seasons for only the second time in team history on the strength of backup running back Willis McGahee, who ran for a career-high 167 yards and scored all three of the Ravens' touchdowns. His 77-yard touchdown run in the second quarter - which included a nasty stiff-arm move - took out the last obstacle standing between the Ravens and a playoff spot.
"It's been a tough road," coach John Harbaugh said. "We've suffered our share of disappointments, but congratulations to our players and coaches who made [the playoffs] happen, really under difficult circumstances."
Harbaugh then added, "We're going to be a formidable opponent, there's no doubt about that."
The Ravens advance to play the Patriots, one of two teams they have never defeated in their 14-year existence (the Carolina Panthers is the other). Winner of the AFC East division, New England lost to the Houston Texans, 34-27, on Sunday in a game that proved costlier than the result.
Wide receiver Wes Welker sustained a left knee injury in the first quarter and could be lost for the postseason. Tom Brady, one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL playoff history, played with three broken ribs, according to a report on CBS.
Whether they're at full strength or not, the Patriots are considered the top NFL team of the past decade, winning three Super Bowls under coach Bill Belichick.
"We expected it to go that way," Harbaugh said of the first-round pairing with New England. "You've got to respect the New England Patriots for all they represent. At the same time, it's a football team playing another football team. We're going to go out there and play our best football. It's going to be a heck of a football game."
The Ravens' earlier trip to New England this season was one of a handful of games this season that the players felt they let slip away.
On Oct. 4, the Ravens fell to the Patriots, 27-21, after wide receiver Mark Clayton dropped a fourth-down pass inside the 10-yard line on their final drive and their defense was penalized twice for roughing the passer. That dropped the Ravens to 0-3 at Foxborough.
"We feel like we should have gotten [that] one," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. "It's our chance to go up there and try to get it back and prove to everybody - and prove to ourselves - that we can beat these guys."
Heartbreaking losses long defined the Ravens' season of heightened expectations. After a 3-0 start and sitting atop several NFL power rankings, the Ravens suffered narrow defeats: the late defensive meltdown in a 17-14 loss to Cincinnati; Steve Hauschka's missed field goal as time expired in a 33-31 loss at Minnesota; and two touchdowns negated by penalties in a 23-20 loss at Pittsburgh.
So while many didn't expect a close game at Oakland - the Ravens were favored by 10 points - the players thought it was fitting that they had to win a tough game to earn their way into the playoffs.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," said rookie linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who helped save the Ravens' season with an interception and a fumble recovery. "Anything worth having is worth fighting for. All those close losses just made us stronger heading to the playoffs."
With the Ravens ahead 7-3 in the second quarter, McGahee delivered the play of the game when he scored on a 77-yard run, the longest play of the season for the Ravens. After breaking through the line, McGahee used a stiff-arm-"I don't know if it was a stiff-arm or a beatdown," Harbaugh said - on safety Hiram Eugene at midfield and finished off the run by diving into the end zone.
The resilient Raiders (5-11) closed to within 14-13 late in the third quarter, but McGahee scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Last week, Harbaugh said he's "more excited about the team and our chances" this year than he was last season, even though the 2008 team reached the AFC championship game. Middle linebacker Ray Lewis seconded that opinion about the Ravens, who won three of their last four games to close out the regular season.
"The reason why there is so much optimism is because we've been through so much," Lewis said. "There's nothing that affects us."
At last year's regular-season finale, the Ravens celebrated reaching the playoffs under their first-year coach. They eventually won at Miami and Tennessee before losing at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.
It was a different atmosphere in the locker room Sunday. The players showed excitement in the locker room, but they seemed far from satisfied.
"The only thing to celebrate is a Super Bowl," linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "That's where we have to get to."
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