Fave Five: Best Ravens Sack?

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(nominees are presented in chronological order)

1) Big Ben Goes Down – Steelers 23 - Ravens 20 OT, Week 4

The setup: It is common knowledge around the league that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is one of the toughest to bring down. The 250-pounder is able to shake off similar-sized tacklers as he moves around the pocket, and most teams have had to smother him with multiple people to register a rare sack. As the first half wound down in this AFC North matchup, Baltimore had just taken a 6-3 lead on the Steelers and gave the ball back to Roethlisberger with nearly four minutes on the clock.

The payoff: On first-and-10 from his own 20-yard line, Roethlisberger dropped back to pass as linebacker Terrell Suggs pinned his ears back from the edge. He locked horns with left tackle Max Starks before shedding the block and running after the quarterback. Somewhat surprisingly, Suggs then simply reached out with one hand and tugged Roethlisberger to the ground by his jersey.

Even though the Steelers would go on to win the game in overtime, Suggs’ sack was big because it backed Pittsburgh up and forced a punt. The Ravens then took the ensuing possession 44 yards for a touchdown just before halftime.

He said: “His strength makes him hard to sack,” said 290-pound defensive tackle Trevor Pryce. “He’s bigger than I am, and that makes him not so much slippery, but like trying to tackle the stationary tackling dummy. You’re going to bounce off it. He’s a big, strong dude. He should have been playing defense, quite honestly. It’s hard to get him down. He only goes down when it’s the last viable option.”

2) Jameel’s Safety Dance – Ravens 29 - Raiders 10, Week 8

The setup: The Ravens’ defense went into this game slightly banged up. Starting cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle didn’t play, and safety Dawan Landry and nose guard Kelly Gregg were out for the season. But the unit still prided itself on rushing the passer, and it was looking to get after second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell early.

The payoff: Less than five minutes into regulation, rookie free agent signee Jameel McClain got onto the field for his first snap from scrimmage of his career. It was third-and-7 at the Oakland 10, and the Ravens ran an all-out blitz. McClain beat the right tackle and sacked Russell in the end zone just as Suggs got there, as well. McClain’s effort play gave the Ravens a 2-0 lead they never relinquished.

He said: “I think our scouts did a great job of finding him, first of all,” head coach John Harbaugh said of the Syracuse product. “He’s a guy that is very versatile, he gets off blocks, and he can make tackles. [He’s] a good defensive football player.”

3) Double J Pulls the Triple Play – Ravens 36 - Eagles 7, Week 12

The setup: A talented Philadelphia Eagles squad, one that would eventually make the playoffs, entered M&T Bank Stadium coming off an embarrassing tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. And, after one quarter, it was still a scoreless contest in Baltimore before the Ravens’ defense turned it on in the second.

The payoff: One of the highlights in the five-takeaway Ravens victory was linebacker Jarret Johnson’s play. Less than a minute into the second period, Johnson took advantage of a one-on-one matchup when an Eagles running back moved to chip Suggs. “Double J” reached out and hit McNabb’s throwing arm to pop the ball into the air, and then caught it on the way down. Even though he didn’t actually tackle McNabb, the play was ruled a sack, fumble and recovery.

He said: “We know how dangerous a quarterback McNabb is,” Johnson stated. “But we knew that if you make him run around, he’s not as accurate. That was something we wanted to do early, make him run around, and we were able to do that.”

4) Suggs Takes Advantage – Ravens 24 - Redskins 10, Week 14

The setup: Baltimore held a 17-0 advantage as the fourth quarter began against its neighbor to the south, but the Redskins were driving deep into Ravens territory with an eye on scoring a touchdown to pull the margin within striking distance. But, stalwart left tackle Chris Samuels was injured on first down

The payoff: Backup Justin Geisinger didn’t have a chance. Suggs only needed to feint once to the middle before leaving Geisinger in his dust on the way to quarterback Jason Campbell. It also gave Suggs 51.5 career sacks, moving him into second all-time in Ravens franchise history.

He said: “We’re a defense that feeds off each other,” Suggs said. “We’ve got probably the greatest player in our time. He’s also the greatest leader, and he got us going from jump. We went out there, we played off each other and played off each other, and we played really good football.”

5) Ray Breaks Down Ben – Steelers 13 - Ravens 9, Week 15

The setup: By the time the Steelers and Ravens were set to meet a second time, the playoff hopes of both teams were becoming more of a reality. And so were the identities of each squad. It was evident that these rivals were going to battle all game, because it opened up with four consecutive punts until Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was intercepted at the Steelers’ 33-yard line.

The payoff: Pittsburgh was able to march just to the Ravens’ 41 when it was third-and-4, prompting Roethlisberger to drop for a pass. Linebacker Ray Lewis came at him hard and laid a solid hit directly in Roethlisberger’s chest for an 8-yard sack. It proved to be big, because Flacco responded by leading a 33-yard drive to set up Matt Stover’s 28-yard field goal on the ensuing possession.

He said: “It wasn’t like [Roethlisberger] was running out of the grasps of guys,” Harbaugh pointed out. “It was on three-man rushes where he was able to move around and make some plays, and really, there wasn’t much of that. I thought we did a nice job of getting him down.”