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Ravens can secure wild card by beating Jaguars

Dec 23, 2008 - 4:46 PM Jacksonville (5-10) at Baltimore (10-5), 4:15 pm EST

BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The mission for the Baltimore Ravens is simple: Win and they're in.

The Ravens can lock up the final wild card spot in the AFC with a victory over the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Baltimore put itself in position to control its playoff destiny by grinding out a 33-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.

Two long touchdown runs by Willis McGahee (77 yards) and Le'Ron McClain (82 yards) in the final four minutes sparked the upset in Dallas' final regular-season game at Texas Stadium.

"It wasn't a homecoming game. It was more like a mock funeral," said McGahee, who had the longest scoring run by an opponent at Texas Stadium until teammate McClain eclipsed it just over two minutes later.

Rookie Joe Flacco withstood five sacks to finish 17-of-25 for 149 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions as the Ravens bounced back from a gut-wrenching loss to Pittsburgh the previous week.

"That was pretty crazy, but it was good to see Willis bust through," Flacco said. "And Le'Ron gets the 80-yard run. It's a little surprising that he can get 80 yards without anyone getting him but he did a great job."

Baltimore's defense, which ranks third in the AFC in points allowed, bottled up the Cowboys for three quarters before Dallas put together two long scoring drives in the final quarter.

"This was a physical, hard-fought football game," first-year coach John Harbaugh said. "I can't even name all the guys that have injuries. My guys were excited, though. I think they were looking forward to coming here to put this place (Texas Stadium) to bed."

In the previous four games, the Ravens had yielded just 33 points - a major reason the team has rebounded from last season's 5-11 debacle that cost coach Brian Billick his job.

The unit should provide a daunting obstacle for the Jaguars, one of the league's biggest disappointments who have failed to score 20 points in eight games.

Jacksonville has lost five of its last six games, including last weekend's 31-24 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in which the Jaguars blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.

The Jaguars moved the ball at will for most of the contest against the Colts. David Garrard was 28-of-41 for a season-high 329 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for a score.

Maurice Jones-Drew also had a strong performance with a combined 162 yards rushing and receiving.