Ravens find winning formula as AFC race stays close

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. -- There were no elimination games in the AFC playoff chase Sunday, though it certainly sounded like one on the Baltimore Ravens sideline after they fell behind 10-0 early to the Miami Dolphins.

"You've got Daryl Smith, (Elvis) Dumervil, Terrell Suggs, myself talking to my boys. It just comes from everywhere," Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb told USA TODAY Sports after Baltimore rallied and pulled away for a 28-13 win.

"You even had (rookie) Timmy Jernigan out there with our little goal line (stand) when they kicked the field goal. He was going in like, 'Man, they will not cross this line! They will not cross this line!' Everybody was really passionate about it. They really wanted this 'W'."

The Dolphins held the No. 6 seed in the AFC on tiebreakers entering a critical day on which the six teams knotted at 7-5 all faced opponents with winning records.

By Sunday night, Miami had fallen back a game, as had the Buffalo Bills (24-17 losers at Denver), Kansas City Chiefs (17-14 at Arizona) and Cleveland Browns (25-24 to Indianapolis). The Houston Texans improved to 7-6 after winning 27-13 at Jacksonville.

Only the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers (42-21 at Cincinnati) moved to 8-5 – even atop the race for two AFC wild-card spots with the San Diego Chargers, who further muddied things by losing 23-14 at home Sunday night to the New England Patriots.

"Our fate is in our hands," said Suggs, who was credited with 1½ of the Ravens' six sacks. "We don't want to (need) help going down the stretch when people get in. We win, we're in. So, it's the kind of mentality we're having down the stretch of, we got this one, if we go 4-0, we have a good chance of being in the dance."

There's also the matter of the AFC North title, which could come down to the Bengals' rematch with the Steelers in Week 17 at Pittsburgh. The Ravens – who host the Jaguars, visit Houston and then host the Browns – appear to have the most favorable schedule of the bunch.

What's virtually certain is some AFC team (and perhaps a bunch of teams) are going to get left out at nine or even 10 wins. And that's bad news for the likes of the Dolphins, who will visit New England on the heels of a letdown that had at least one player barking at coach Joe Philbin.

"I probably should have calmed down a little earlier than that," Dolphins defensive tackle Jared Odrick said, "but it's tough when you want to win a football game."

For Sunday's losers, the only option with three games remaining is to try to channel whatever the Ravens did here after blowing a 10-point lead late a week earlier to the Chargers at home.

"Last week killed us," said Ravens receiver Steve Smith, who had seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown Sunday. "The way it happened, what it did – it just took a lot out of us. But you've got to use the game like last week in the same regards as if you had won.

"You can't sit there and throw a party if you won, and you can't throw a pity party if you lose. You've just got to get back on the horse. I'm not a horse rider anyway, but you've still got to get back on the horse and just hold on."

The Ravens were abysmal on both sides of the ball in the first quarter Sunday, giving up two scores on defense and failing to record a first down in three offensive possessions. But they owned the last 45 minutes, outgaining the Dolphins 425-161.

Miami's best chance ended with the red-zone stop and a field goal, cutting Baltimore's lead to 14-13 with 12:41 to play. A Joe Flacco fumble was overturned by replay review on the Ravens' next possession, Justin Forsett ran in a 2-yard touchdown and the Dolphins went three-and-out when they got the ball back, setting up another Ravens TD drive to seal the deal.

How big of a swing can a win like this be?

"Anything can happen," Webb said. "We can't worry about that at all. We have to handle our business. When we go back tomorrow, we have to put in this work and play our next opponent. Can't worry about what they're doing and who they play. We don't care.

"It's about what the Ravens are going to do, and that's how it's going to stay."