#5: Mile High Miracle
January 12, 2013
How it happened: The ball seemed to hang in the thin, frigid Colorado air forever. With 38 seconds left in an AFC Divisional Playoff game that had a little bit of everything, Joe Flacco launched a bomb in the direction of wide receiver Jacoby Jones—and the football world held its collective breath.
Heading into the game, few gave the Ravens a shot to win against the Peyton Manning-led Broncos, who were 9-1/2 point favorites. Denver was on an 11-game winning streak, which included an easy win in Baltimore. But this game was a shootout from the start. Unfortunately for the Ravens, the Broncos held a seven-point lead with the clock ticking down and the Ravens 70 yards from the end zone.
The situation looked bleak. The New York Times would later report that, at one point in the final two minutes, according to the AdvancedNFLstats.com probability graph for the game, Baltimore had only a one percent chance of winning the game. With no timeouts remaining and so many yards to cover, there was no way the Broncos would allow a Ravens receiver to slip behind its defense, right?
But that’s exactly what Jones did when he raced past safety Rahim Moore. Flacco took the shotgun snap, stepped up in the pocket and used every ounce of his superhuman arm strength to get the ball to Jones, who caught it over the stumbling Moore and raced into the end zone to improbably tie the game.
“I give all praise to Joe for making that play,” Jones said. “I just ran and was at the right place at the right time and it fell right in my hands.”
Moore was more succinct in his analysis of the play: “It was my fault. It was pathetic.”
The game, however, was not over. It remained tied until the second overtime, when Justin Tucker booted a 47-year field goal to give Baltimore a 38-35 win that is forever implanted in NFL playoff lore and known simply as the Mile High Miracle.
All season long, we’ll be counting down the Ravens top moments in franchise history to celebrate the team’s 20th season in Baltimore. Take a look back at what moments we’ve chronicled so far.
#20: Naming the Team
#19: Testaverde Throws for 429 Yards
#18: First Ring of Honor
#17: Terrell Suggs Becomes Thigh Master
#16: The Insane Final Minutes of the Vikings Snow Game
#15: Torrey Smith’s Emotional Win Over Patriots
#14: Peter Boulware Gets Four Sacks in a Single Game
#13: Justin Tucker Nails a 61-Yard Field Goal to Beat Detroit
#12: Flacco Connects With Ray Rice on Fourth and 29
#11: Ray Lewis Strips Eddie George in 2000 Playoffs
#10: Ed Reed’s 106-yard Interception Return Against the Browns
#9: Jamal Lewis Rushes For 295 Yards Against the Browns
#8: First Game in (New) Franchise History
#7: Ray Lewis’s Last Dance
#6: Ravens Beat Steelers in Playoffs For First Time in Franchise History