Ravens

Today at 1 p.m., at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore TV: Fox29 Radio: WIP-AM (610), WYSP-FM (94.1) Line: Ravens by 1 1/2 THE MATCHUP EAGLES DEFENSE VS. RAVENS RUNNING GAME Eagles run stoppers Key players in stopping the run are tackles Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley, end Trent Cole, linebacker Stewart Bradley and safety Quintin Mikell. Mikell and Bradley are the Eagles? two leading tacklers. Known mostly for his pass rush, Cole is also among the league?s best at closing off the corner.

Penn captain Brandon Copeland grew up in the Baltimore area and was a fan of the Super Bowl champion Ravens. Now he will get a chance to make the team he grew up following. Copeland signed as an undrafted free agent with the Ravens shortly after the end of Saturday's NFL draft. At nearly 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Copeland was a defensive lineman for Penn, but he said he would compete as a linebacker. Rookie camp begins this weekend. He hopes to become the second member of his family to play for a franchise in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Ravens discovered what the Eagles found out a week ago - it's no fun right now playing the New York Giants. The Ravens (6-4) will surely not be in the best of moods when they host the Eagles on Sunday after yesterday's 30-10 loss at Giants Stadium. Of course the Eagles can't be feeling too good after yesterday's 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Eagles will be facing a streaky Ravens team, sort of like a mirror image of themselves. Yesterday's loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Ravens.

They're knocking. The good ol' boys are knocking, and they're looking for Marvin Lewis. Herm Edwards, the Buccaneers' assistant head coach for the past five seasons, just got a head-coaching job with the Jets. He's just the sixth black head coach in the history of the league. The last one to break in? Edwards' former boss, Tony Dungy, five years ago. But now things might be changing just as Lewis' star is at its highest. His Ravens defense, which he has run since 1996, is being compared to the greatest units ever.

PITTSBURGH - Torrey Smith wasn't going to let the game-winning touchdown slip through his hands twice. Five plays after a sure scoring strike tipped off his fingers, the Baltimore rookie receiver held onto a 26-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco with 8 seconds remaining to lift the Ravens past the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-20, last night. Smith capped Baltimore's game-winning, 92-yard drive by beating William Gay down the right sideline as the Ravens (6-2) snapped Pittsburgh's four-game winning streak.

BALTIMORE - The regular NFL officials returned to cheers Thursday night, and Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco delighted the crowd by throwing for one touchdown and running for another to help Baltimore (3-1) beat the winless Cleveland Browns, 23-16. A 63-yard interception return for a touchdown by Cary Williams with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter sealed the victory. Ravens 23, Browns 16 Cleveland 0 7 3 6 – 16 Baltimore 0 9 14 0 – 23 Second quarter Bal–T.Smith 18 pass from Flacco (run failed)

The Baltimore Ravens had a chance to seize the AFC Central title, a first-round bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. Instead, after Tennessee beat Dallas last night, Baltimore ended up clutching a wild card. The Ravens will make their initial foray into the postseason Sunday afternoon at home against the Denver Broncos. It will be the first NFL playoff game in Baltimore since 1977, when the Colts lost to the Oakland Raiders in overtime. The Ravens (12-4)

Recent history: The Eagles defeated the Ravens on Oct. 31, 2004 at the Linc, 15-10. The Eagles lead the series, 1-0-1.   Offense   Eagles: 363.8 yards per game (6th) Ravens: 318.3 yards per game (19th)   Quarterback   Eagles: Donovan McNabb is going through one of those maddening periods again where he looks like he's never played before. In the last four games, he's completed just 53.8 percent of his passes and turned the ball over seven times. He's an abysmal 6-for-27 in the first quarter of those four games.

BALTIMORE - The Ravens are like Joe Flacco's Fu Manchu mustache. They aren't exactly a thing a beauty, but they get the job done. In an AFC divisional game that surely won't leave a lasting imprint in the annuals of the NFL, Baltimore scraped by the Houston Texans, 20-13, in the same manner as many of its victories over 17 years of existence. The Ravens prevailed behind the strength of their defense - albeit an aging one - and in spite of mediocre quarterback play.

THE EAGLES and Ravens rumbled Sunday as if they had some evil history between them - except they really don't. The Eagles just seemed to have it in their heads that the Ravens, a team with a physical reputation, were out to intimidate them - and they weren't going to have it, especially at home. As safety Kurt Coleman said, "[The Ravens] want to get you out of your game. It's just like Dennis Rodman used to do. " And so, fracas after fracas broke out during the Eagles' 24-23 win at Lincoln Financial Field.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The Baltimore Ravens have acquired center A.Q. Shipley from the Indianapolis Colts for a conditional 2014 draft pick. The tradel, announced Thursday by the Ravens, will be finalized after Shipley passes a physical. Shipley played in 14 games last season with the Colts, getting five starts. He participated on special teams for Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game in Baltimore last season. The 6-foot-1, 309-pound Shipley was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 draft by Pittsburgh.

Penn captain Brandon Copeland grew up in the Baltimore area and was a fan of the Super Bowl champion Ravens. Now he will get a chance to make the team he grew up following. Copeland signed as an undrafted free agent with the Ravens shortly after the end of Saturday's NFL draft. At nearly 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Copeland was a defensive lineman for Penn, but he said he would compete as a linebacker. Rookie camp begins this weekend. He hopes to become the second member of his family to play for a franchise in Baltimore.

The oldest son and grandson of Johnny Unitas from his first marriage are unhappy with a decision to have Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco of Audubon, N.J., play the part of the late Baltimore Colts great in a forthcoming movie, Unitas We Stand , USA Today reported. Joe Unitas , a son of the late quarterback from his second marriage, is a co-producer of the film. John Unitas Jr. said he is considering legal action if Joe Unitas makes any profits from his father's name.

Defensive end Elvis Dumervil , 29, chose Baltimore over Denver, agreeing to a five-year deal, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said Sunday. Financial numbers were not given. Dumervil, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, had 631/2 sacks in seven seasons in Denver. He agreed to reduce his 2013 salary from $12 million to $8 million, but the paperwork didn't reach the NFL offices in time and the Broncos had to release him. The Chicago Bears agreed to a one-year contract with former Carolina linebacker James Anderson , 29, two days after they signed D.J. Williams , 30, from Denver to replace Brian Urlacher , 34. GOLF: Tiger Woods had to wait one more day to try to reclaim No. 1 in the world.

ELVIS DUMERVIL is putting his seven seasons in Denver and one bizarre fax fiasco behind him after agreeing to a 5-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. So, after a second stinging loss to the Ravens this offseason, the Broncos find themselves in need of a new pass-rushing partner for Von Miller . Broncos football operations chief John Elway issued a statement Sunday saying the Broncos "worked diligently over the last week" to re-sign Dumervil but "are now moving forward without him. " Free agents John Abraham , 34, and Dwight Freeney , 33, visited the Broncos last week and it's expected one of them will sign on soon to replace Dumervil, 29. Dumervil collected 63 1/2 sacks in seven seasons in Denver.

Free agent safety Ed Reed , a nine-time Pro Bowler who spent his first 11 NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, signed with the Houston Texans on Friday. The Texans did not disclose terms, although the Houston Chronicle reported it was a three-year deal worth $15 million, with $5 million guaranteed. Reed, 34, made $7.2 million last season with the Ravens, who have been gutted in free agency since beating the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with linebacker D.J. Williams , giving them a possible replacement for Brian Urlacher . The Broncos released Williams on the eve of free agency.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Joe Flacco sat at his uncle's home in South Jersey eating pizza on Friday with his immediate and extended family - as he does every Friday - when news started to break that the Audubon native and Super Bowl-winning quarterback was on the verge of a record-breaking contract. "What's it feel like? Can you believe it?" his uncle asked about the $120.6 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, the richest in NFL history. If there was any lingering doubt of Flacco's status in the NFL - even after five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl MVP award - then the contract he officially signed on Monday will serve as validation.

JOE FLACCO knows his stature as the highest-paid player in NFL history may not last for long, and he's OK with it. What matters most to the Super Bowl MVP is that the Baltimore Ravens were willing to pay him that kind of money in the first place. Flacco signed his new contract Monday worth $120.6 million over 6 years. He will receive a $29 million signing bonus, $52 million in guaranteed money and $51 million over the first 2 years of the deal. The former first-round draft pick out of Delaware threw 11 touchdown passes during the recent postseason and led Baltimore to its Super Bowl win over San Francisco.

Joe Flacco is staying in Baltimore. The Super Bowl MVP quarterback agreed Friday to a new contact with the Ravens, two people with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press. Terms were not immediately available, but Flacco, a former star quarterback at South Jersey's Audubon High School, was expected to get a long-term contract close to the $20 million average salary Drew Brees earns with New Orleans. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not officially been announced.