NOTEBOOK : Ogden Goes for Test

There were murmurs throughout the press box when the list of inactive Ravens players was released about an hour before kickoff in Buffalo and Jonathan Ogden's name was nowhere to be found.

The 10-time Pro Bowler made a two-series cameo against the Bills, his first action since the inaugural quarter of the season because of a nagging turf toe injury.

Ogden had been practicing more and more in recent weeks, although it was with the second team. The Ravens had listed him as inactive for each game since the opener in Cincinnati, but head coach Brian Billick suggested that the team would evaluate Ogden's roster status - and possibly place him on Injured Reserve - if the tackle couldn't play Nov. 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For the 6-foot-9, 345-pounder, playing two series was a proper warm-up to test his left big toe.

"That was the plan: get two series in and just kind of see where it stood," he said after the game.

Ogden stood tall against talented Bills pass rusher Aaron Shobel, who was held without a sack by Odgen and backup Jared Gaither, who started at left tackle.

The toe did not seem to hinder anything the 12-year veteran wanted to do.

"I felt okay," he cautioned. "It didn't feel great, but it felt okay. I was able to complete everything I had to do. I didn't struggle with any of my movements so that was a good thing."

Ogden was happy with his ability to deal with the pain that comes from supporting his massive frame on such a concentrated injury.

"I can always take some pain," he said. "When the pain shuts you down that's when you have to say ‘whoa.' But it didn't shut me down today, so I'm very optimistic about the future here."

Former Bill No. 2

The storyline of Willis McGahee's return to Buffalo was widely discussed, but defensive tackle Justin Bannan was also facing off against the team that drafted him (fifth round, 2002). The Ravens picked up Bannan through free agency in 2006.

After the Ravens 19-14 loss, Bannan said that a raucous crowd of 70,727 at Ralph Wilson Stadium lived up to his memories.

"Buffalo is a tough place to play," he explained. "You can throw all the stats right out the window when they are playing at home. I don't know why it is that way, but it is."

Bannan logged five tackles, but was flagged for a neutral zone infraction penalty in the second quarter.

Scott "Playing Hard"

Loquacious linebacker Bart Scott was not his typical self following the final whistle, when reporters can usually count on Scott for some thoughtful insight. Instead, Scott chose to stick to his message of the Ravens needing to keep "playing hard."

When asked about the game, he replied, "Both teams played hard." About Billick's post-game speech: "Keep playing hard." About if he's worried about the team: "Just keep playing hard." About if he thinks he is playing hard: "Play harder."

Notable

The Ravens were led by linebacker Ray Lewis on defense, who logged 13 tackles (according to unofficial statistics in the press box). Lewis also had one pass defensed…Defensive lineman Dwan Edwards notched his first-career sack…Fullback Justin Green had five special teams stops…Center Mike Flynn was the only reported injury, hurting his right knee in the first half. He was replaced by Chris Chester, while Gaither replaced Ogden (toe) and Adam Terry (ankle). "Hopefully coming out of the bye, Adam (Terry) will be back, Jonathan (Ogden) will be back, I can get healthy and we'll be at full strength," he said.