Penalties, more than anything, hurt the Jets the most in this one, as they committed 14 infractions for 125 yards. They gave up 110 receiving yards to Anquan Boldin, which didn't help either, but mental mistakes cost them this game.
Things won't get easier next week, as the Patriots' defense looked good against the Bengals. They'll be in New York next Sunday. The Ravens will play their first of three consecutive AFC North contests, beginning with the 0-1 Bengals.
Final, 10-9 Ravens: There's no way to prove this, but Ray Lewis' hit on Dustin Keller may have won the game for the Ravens.
Just two plays later, Keller caught an out pattern about nine yards from the line of scrimmage. He had room to pick up the first down but instead elected to step out of bounds, thus turning the ball over on downs.
Joe Flacco took a knee to win the game, and that's all she wrote.
Fourth quarter, :47, 10-9 Ravens: Ray Lewis just destroyed Dustin Keller. My goodness. Third-and-10 on its way.
Fourth quarter, :57, 10-9 Ravens: Mark Sanchez can dink and dunk with the best of them, but the Jets need more if they want to win a football game. They picked up a first down but burned their final timeout on their own 31-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 2:00, 10-9 Ravens: The Ravens have a first down at the two-minute warning, and they can essentially seal a victory with one more first down. The Jets do have all three timeouts remaining, and with the Ravens likely in run, run, run mode, a stop isn't out of the question. An ensuing Jets touchdown drive, however, might be.
Also — Todd Heap's catch is worthy of mention, as he did his best Superman impression to catch a 35-yard pass from Flacco.
Fourth quarter, 2:08, 10-9 Ravens: Joe Flacco takes a sneak on third-and-inches and … picks up just enough to move the chains.
Fourth quarter, 4:27, 10-9 Ravens: All summer long, the Jets showed video of their left guards getting burned on Hard Knocks. Haloti Ngata was watching.
The 350-pounder just completely dominated Matt Slauson, discarding him before sacking Mark Sanchez on third down.
Vladimir Ducasse, get ready for next week against New England.
The Jets were forced to punt, and the Ravens have the chance to run out the clock with the ball on their own 26-yard line. The Jets have all three timeouts remaining.
Fourth quarter, 6:13, 10-9 Ravens: The Jets have the ball on their own 7-yard line, looking to engineer a game-winning drive.
The Jets' D didn't gift wrap any first downs via penalty, which at least gives them a chance. The 13 penalties that came before this drive, however, may have already done enough damage. We'll find out in the next six minutes.
Fourth quarter, 9:45, 10-9 Ravens: Granted, the Ravens aren't guaranteed to win this game, but they have to love what they're seeing out of Flacco.
He's been composed despite facing a constant barrage of pressure, and he's converted a number of critical third downs. The most recent came on third-and-10 to Anquan Boldin.
Then again, last time I said something nice about him, he threw a pick five seconds later.
Fourth quarter, 10:34, 10-9 Ravens: Jerrico Cotchery drops a surefire first down on third-and-5, but Nick Folk at least gets the Jets back on the board with a 48-yard field goal.
It's the first time the Jets have scored since midway through the second quarter.
The Ravens are at least happy that they don't have to start this drive from their own 1-yard line. Well, they probably don't.
Fourth quarter, 14:21, 10-6 Ravens: The Jets' best play of the night? Sam Weatherford pinning it deep. Unfortunately for the Jets, that punt came after a huge sack on third down by Jarret Johnson and Terrell Suggs.
The Ravens take over at their own 2-yard line — a big upgrade from starting on the edge of the goal line last time.
End third quarter, 10-6 Ravens: Mark Sanchez completes a pass to Jerricho Cotchery for 13 yards, and it might be the highlight of his night.
No, that's not a good thing.
He and the Jets are facing a third-and-6 from the Ravens' 34-yard line when the fourth quarter begins.
Third quarter, 1:55, 10-6 Ravens: A little brouhaha breaks out after Kyle Wilson muffs the punt, but the Jets recover and the players are separated.
Again, I wish Mike Westhoff was constantly mic'd up for all the world to hear.
Third quarter, 3:22, 10-6 Ravens: Penalties, penalties, penalties.
Antonio Cromartie just got flagged for defensive holding as he grabbed the arm of Anquan Boldin on what would have been an incompletion on third down.
Instead, the Ravens get handed their sixth first down via penalty of the evening.
The Jets have now been flagged for 12 penalties for 110 yards.
Third quarter, 5:01, 10-6 Ravens: Impossibly, in a game with 45 Jets in uniform, Tom Zbikowski made the dumbest play of the night.
He nearly cost the Ravens a touchdown with a ridiculously stupid attempt on a punt return, catching it at the 5, running along his own goal line and getting tackled an inch away from the end zone.
He was lucky to not get hit for a safety, though he did cough it up after he was down, nearly handing the Jets six free points.
I'm thinking Zbikowski doesn't return many more punts in this one.
Third quarter, 5:00, 10-6 Ravens: John Conner may be "The Terminator," but his partner in crime, Tony Richardson, just got dominated by Ray Lewis on third down.
Third quarter, 7:07, 10-6 Ravens: The Ravens get a field goal, but they should have had more.
Flacco just underthrew Ray Rice on third down at the 7-yard line, and Rice couldn't haul it in. On came Billy Cundiff, who banged home the chip shot.
Mark Sanchez, by the way, has 30 yards passing. That could be a problem.
Third quarter, 10:30, 7-6 Ravens: The Ravens have been exceptional on third down all night, and that 38-yard pass on third down from their own 11-yard line may have been their finest moment.
Third quarter, 11:37, 7-6 Ravens: I said that relying on Tomlinson won't get the job done. Sure enough, the first two plays went to L.T., and the drive ended with a Jets punt.
Third quarter, 12:29, 7-6 Ravens: The Jets' second-half game plan started with keeping Baltimore off the board to begin the half. Step 1 is accomplished.
Let's see if Mark Sanchez can do something — anything — to get the offense going. Relying on Tomlinson is not going to cut it for a team that wants to win a Super Bowl.
Third quarter, 14:53, 7-6 Ravens: I'm sure this new stadium down in New Jersey has a bunch of fancy stuff, but they really went overboard with the pyrotechnics at halftime. If you look closely through all that smoke, you can see a football game being played.
Halftime, 7-6 Ravens: After shooting themselves in the foot over and over again, the Ravens got some help from the Jets, taking advantage of two huge penalties on the way to a Willis McGahee touchdown plunge.
The Ravens get the ball to open the half, and realistically, if they can score on the opening drive, they'll probably win.
That's because the Jets' offense is as bad as advertised. Mark Sanchez is 4-for-7 for 23 yards. Tomlinson's been good (four rushes, 29 yards), but the Jets haven't gotten much done on offense.
They have gotten it done, however, with the defense, thereby keeping them in this game.
However, as bad as the Ravens' turnover problems have been, the Jets' discipline has been worse. The Ravens picked up five first downs on penalties, with the Jets getting flagged for 100 yards already.
Rex Ryan may know how to motivate, but he's going to have to have his team better prepared for an NFL game than that.
Second quarter, :06, 7-6 Ravens: For good measure, the Jets sent 12 players into their huddle. Out of a kickoff. They just have some terrible discipline this evening.
Second quarter, :06, 7-6 Ravens: Penalties, penalties, penalties. That's what killed the Jets on that drive, as a running into the kicker call kept the drive alive, and a pass interference call gave the Ravens the ball at the 1-yard line.
Willis McGahee plunged in from a yard out to score.
The Ravens get the ball to begin the second half, making that score doubly painful for the Jets.
Second quarter, 6-0 Jets: Kyle Wilson is killing the Jets. Imagine if Darrelle Revis wasn't signed! Tannenbaum would be meeting with him at halftime.
Wilson just committed pass interference in the end zone, giving the Ravens the ball on the 1.
Second quarter, 1:05, 6-0 Jets: Braylon Edwards did a great job of getting over the line on a field goal … but then got flagged for running into the kicker.
That's two backbreaking penalties on Edwards this half, if you're keeping track at home, and for the second straight game, a coach has elected to take points off the board (the kick was good).
On Sunday night, it backfired on Mike Shanahan and the Redskins, who later missed an easy field goal. We'll see how it works out here.
Second quarter, 4:09, 6-0 Jets: Rex Ryan does not like fumbles. He's definitely not going to like fumbles that happen when a running back runs into his own lineman.
That's what happened though, as Shonn Greene lost the handle when he ran into Matt Slauson. Ravens take over at their own 24-yard line. A touchdown on this drive would be monumentally huge.
Second quarter, 4:58, 6-0 Jets: No sooner did I compliment Flacco than he was throwing balls up for grab at the goal line. Antonio Cromartie picked off the floater and returned it about 60 yards.
The Ravens have now had the ball four times, with two drives ending in fumbles, one with a punt and one with an interception. When you're playing the Jets — a team that seems dead-set on not scoring more than 10 points — you're going to have to … score.
The Ravens are challenging that Cromartie was out of bounds, but he wasn't.
Second quarter, 6:19, 6-0 Jets: Joe Flacco has been extremely impressive thus far, operating in tight space and completing eight of his 11 passes.
Second quarter, 7:12, 6-0 Jets: Antonio Cromartie can't remember his kids' names, and he can't remember the rules. The corner just committed a foolish pass interference, keeping alive a Ravens drive and giving them 28 free yards.
Second quarter, 8:09, 6-0 Jets: Wayne Hunter got called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the field goal, and I would have loved to hear what special teams coach Mike Westhoff had to say after that one.
Second quarter, 8:21, 6-0 Jets: Mark Sanchez doesn't exactly have a great feel for the sticks, as evidenced by his foot-first slide on third-and-8 that stopped the Jets a yard shy of the first down.
Nick Folk just fit his kick through the uprights for a 28-yard field goal, and the Jets lead 6-0.
Second quarter, 11:39, 3-0 Jets: I wonder if Mike Tannenbaum was patting his own back there, as Braylon Edwards failed to set himself and cost the Jets a 33-yard completion.
Second quarter, 11:39, 3-0 Jets: The good news for the Ravens? Sam Koch booted a beauty from his own end zone to the Jets' 30 and then made a nice tackle on Jim Leonhard.
The bad news? The Ravens needed that tackle to prevent a touchdown. Jets take over on the Ravens' 37.
Second quarter, 13:32, 3-0 Jets: That injury to Kris Jenkins is at least serious enough to keep him out for the rest of the game. It doesn't take an expert to say that that is not very good for the New York Jets.
Second quarter, 13:32, 3-0 Jets: Ray Lewis may be in a horribly bad Old Spice commercial, but he can still hit. He just popped Shonn Greene on third-and-4, forcing a Jets punt.
The Jets couldn't capitalize on that turnover with points, but they took an almost-guaranteed three points off the board for the Ravens in forcing the fumble.
End of first quarter, 3-0 Jets: Not the most beautiful quarter of football, but that's been a theme this week. The Jets have been slightly less ugly, taking advantage of a fumble deep in Ravens territory to get out to a 3-0 lead.
While the Jets' defense has been ferocious, they really dodged a bullet with Kyle Wilson holding penalty.
Flacco, at 6-of-7 passing, has been accurate if careful (53 yards), while Sanchez (2-of-5 for 13 yards) has been Sanchezian.
First quarter, :20, 3-0 Jets: LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 21 yards … and then ran for 30 more yards in celebration. Think he's happy to be in a new home?
First quarter, 1:38, 3-0 Jets: Apparently, the Ravens aren't overly interested in ball security this evening, as Willis McGahee just turned the ball over in the red zone.
Pouha's the man on the spot in this one, picking up his second fumble in the first quarter.
First quarter, 3:04, 3-0 Jets: Kyle Wilson didn't exactly look like the next coming of Champ Bailey during Hard Knocks, and he might've just committed the dumbest penalty in the history of earth. On third-and-28 from midfield, he held T.J. Houshmandzadeh, giving the Ravens a gift of a first down.
First quarter, 8:07, 3-0 Jets: Jets fans were happy to have a healthy Kris Jenkins back this season, because he's a beast. That beast just tangled up his left leg, either hurting his ankle or knee, and he walked off the field under his own power.
That would be such a tremendous injury for the Jets if it's serious. We'll see if he makes a return.
First quarter, 9:32, 3-0 Jets: Revis Island gets flagged for defensive holding. It got declined because it came on a Ravens first down, but it's worth noting that perhaps Mr. Revis will be playing catch-up this evening.
First quarter, 10:54, 3-0 Jets: The Jets can't cash in with a big touchdown, but they'll take the three free points.
Sanchez couldn't connect with Dustin Keller or Edwards on second and third down, so Nick Folk came on for the chip-shot field goal.
First quarter, 12:30: Joe Flacco got pummelled on the first play from scrimmage after he stood still for about a half-hour. He got popped by two Jets (Shaun Ellis/Bryan Thomas), and Sione Pouha picked it up. The Jets take over at the Baltimore 11, and the crowd is going bananas.
First quarter, 12:37: The Jets picked up a first down but that was it, as their first drive in their new stadium ends in a punt.
First quarter, 14:30: Braylon "The Beard" Edwards gets the first touch in the new stadium for the Jets on an end-around.
First quarter, 14:56: Ed the Fireman has done his little chant there, and this game is under way. The Jets have the ball just past their own 20.
7:15 p.m.: Jon Gruden is in the booth, of course. That guy likes to say "that guy" a lot.
Also caught a glimpse of Jason Taylor on the field for warmups, indicating he's finally figured out how to get to the stadium.
7:05 p.m.: Considering you now have a little extra time to kill, you might enjoy this video if you've ever wondered what kind of work it takes to convert the stadium from Giants blue to Jets green.
Here's a link to the cool video from The New York Times.
6:55 p.m.: Kickoff has been delayed until 7:25 p.m.
6:39 p.m.: Vladimir Ducasse will be inactive for the Jets this evening. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that everyone in America watched him get burned in just about every snap he took during the preseason.
6:26 p.m.: Lightning delay? The second in as many days? Yikes.
Back in my day, you played football no matter what. Oh well.
6:15 p.m.: Though all anyone wants to talk about on Monday is Ines Sainz in the locker room, the Jets actually have a football game to play this evening.
We're less than an hour away from kickoff, and if that has you feeling excited, imagine how Ray Lewis feels. He probably didn't need any added motivation to beat the Jets, but the mere mention of his name on Hard Knocks last week set him off into a mini-tirade.
12 p.m.: We've seen them practice, eat cheeseburgers, order pizza, make cuts, get cut, bow down to a star cornerback, shout curse words and get some damn snacks. Now, we get to see them play football.
They are the New York Jets, and after five episodes of Hard Knocks to cap off a loud and eventful offseason, they will finally get their season under way on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Though Thursday's opener between the Saints and Vikings was memorable (if a bit ugly), and Sunday's opening slate of games had its moments, this could be the game of the weekend.
We'll have updates before, during and after the game, so check back throughout the day for the latest news.
