It's time for ourweekly trip under the replay hood to see how our predictions turned out for theRavens-Eagles game. We can only hope that each week they turn out better thanthe work of the replacement officials.
1. The Eagleswill not score on their opening possession.CORRECT. Bernard Pollard bailed us outhere. The Eagles marched all the way to the Ravens' 12-yard line with alarmingease to begin the game, but Pollard's diving interception in the end zone on apass Michael Vick shouldn't have thrown killed the Eagles' opening drive.2. Ray Rice willhave 20 touches.CORRECT. Ofcourse, all anyone is talking about are the two times Rice did not touch theball, namely on the Ravens' final two plays, facing third-and-1 and thenfourth-and-1 at their 46-yard line. And he had no carries in the Ravens' firsttwo drives of the third quarter. But Rice finished with 22 touches -- 16carries for 99 yards and six receptions for 53 yards. 3. Joe Flaccowill be sacked at least three times.INCORRECT. Flaccowas dropped -- and fumbled -- on the Ravens' second offensive snap, and itlooked as if the Ravens' revamped line would be in for a long day. Overall,they held their own against a very physical front, and although Flacco tooksome shots, and was nursing some sore ribs after the game, he was sacked onlytwice.4. The Ravenswill have three pass plays of 20 yards.CORRECT. Flaccocompleted four 20 plays -- a 40-yarder to Torrey Smith, a 37-yardcatch-and-run to Ray Rice, a 23-yarder to Ed Dickson and a gorgeous 21-yardtouchdown throw to Jacoby Jones. Flacco took some other shots downfield but wasbadly off the mark on a couple during a second half in which he was just8-for-25 with an interception.5. The Ravenstight ends will have at least seven catches.CORRECT. Tightend Dennis Pitta, one of Flacco's closest friends on the team, has clearlybecome one of Flacco's favorite receivers as well. He was targeted 15 times,leading the team for the second straight week. He finished with eight catchesfor 65 yards, and Ed Dickson had one grab for 23 yards. 6. CourtneyUpshaw will have at least four tackles.CORRECT. Asexpected, the rookie started in place of injured Paul Kruger (back) andrecorded a total of six tackles. He did a decent job of setting the edgeagainst the run and spent some time in the Eagles' backfield. Upshaw's biggestimpact on the game, though, was accidental: He crashed into Bernard Pollard asPollard sacked Vick, and Pollard left the game with a rib injury.7. The Eagleswill rush for more than 100 yards.CORRECT. Led byLeSean McCoy (25-81) and Vick (10-34), the Eagles rushed for 129 yards on 41carries. The 3.1-yard average was an improvement over Week 1, when Cincinnatiaveraged 4.6 yards a pop.
8. The Ravenswill get an interception.CORRECT. TheRavens picked off Vick twice, with Pollard ending the Eagles' opening drive andEd Reed later corraling a tipped pass for his 59th career interception. Therewere other chances, too, as linebackers Ray Lewis and Albert McClellan each hadtheir hands on a Vick pass but couldn't hold on.
9. The Ravenswill have a 30-yard kickoff return.CORRECT.Undrafted rookie Deonte Thompson again got the call as the Ravens' primary kickreturner and showed his big-play ability with a 49-yard return in the firstquarter. He finished with a 33.3-yard average on three returns.10. Eagles 23,Ravens 20KIND OF CORRECT.We predicted that the Eagles would have "just enough to win their raucoushome opener," and indeed they did. We would have liked to see the Ravensget about 10 more yards on that final drive and trot out rookie kicker JustinTucker for about a 61-yard field-goal try at the buzzer. The guess here is he wouldhave made it.