Ravens Rally To Beat Redskins 34-31
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Rex Grossman and John Beck each threw a touchdown pass in their duel to become the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins, who lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31 on Thursday night.
Tyrod Taylor threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jones with 22 seconds left for the Ravens (2-1), a score set up by LaQuan Williams' 38-yard punt return.
Grossman started for the Redskins (2-1), and each quarterback alternatingly played two series before third-stringer Kellen Clemens entered in the fourth quarter.
Grossman went 8 for 15 for 112 yards, directed an 80-yard scoring drive and finished with a quarterback rating of 99.9.
Beck completed six of 10 passes for 108 yards with an interception for a 90.8 rating. He guided Washington on a 97-yard march against Baltimore's second-string defense for a 28-21 lead in the third quarter.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has said he won't name his starter until shortly before the Sept. 11 opener against the New York Giants. At this point, the competition appears to be close to even.
Joe Flacco threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns, Ray Rice ran for 72 yards and a score, and Anquan Boldin had five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown for Baltimore. It was an impressive performance against a team that yielded a combined 10 points in wins over Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
But the Ravens' defense was not nearly as sharp.
"As a unit, we can do better," tackle Haloti Ngata said.
DeAngelo Hall ended Baltimore's first possession by intercepting a Flacco pass, breaking an arm tackle by the quarterback and sprinting to the left corner of the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown.
Grossman went 2 for 6 for 27 yards before Beck entered. His first pass was a 33-yard completion to Anthony Armstrong, who got behind Domonique Foxworth on the right sideline. Two plays later, Tim Hightower ran for a 37-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead.
The Ravens were forced to punt on their next possession, but Lorenzo Alexander ran into kicker Sam Koch on a fourth-and-5. After Flacco connected with Boldin for a 30-yard completion on a third-and-15, Rice scored from the 3.
Baltimore pulled even with a 96-yard drive that was extended by a holding call against Washington safety Reed Doughty. Ed Dickson made a great grab for a 33-yard completion before Lee Evans hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass. Dickson and Evans are the replacements for Todd Heap and Derrick Mason, who were cut in a salary-cap purge.
Grossman put on an impressive performance before halftime.
Starting at the Washington 20, he completed his first five passes for 61 yards, then missed three straight before connecting with Santana Moss in the right corner behind rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith. The 24-yard completion capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive.
Flacco threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Boldin at the start of the second half to make it 21-all.
Beck then tossed an interception from his own end zone. He made amends on the next possession, going 5 for 6 for 75 yards in a march that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to Terrence Austin.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
