NFL Old School Game of the Week: Ravens Win First Ever Game in Baltimore

 

64, 124 fans filled Memorial Stadium to see the Baltimore Ravens' very first NFL game on September 1, 1996.

Shockwaves went sent through the NFL on November 6, 1995 when Art Modell announced he was moving the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, a city that had not had a NFL team since the Colts' infamous move to Indianapolis following the 1983 season.

The main reason for the move was the city of Baltimore could provide a new stadium for the Browns while the city of Cleveland could not, or at least Modell's mind.

This caused a major dispute as Cleveland tried to convince Modell and the NFL not to move the team to Baltimore, eventually leading to a settlement on February 9, 1996  when the Browns could move to Baltimore, but the Browns' name, colors, and history would remain in Cleveland until a new stadium was built in time for the 1999 season.

Essentially, the city of Baltimore would be given a new NFL franchise even though the team that made up the 1995 Cleveland Browns would playing in the Charm City beginning with the 1996 season.

The team formerly known as the Browns would become the Baltimore Ravens on March 29, 1996, thanks to a fan survey to chose the new nickname which was named after the famous poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe, who lived in Baltimore during much of his literary career.

This was all building up to the Ravens' first game on September 1, 1996 when Baltimore would host the Oakland Raiders to begin their new franchise.

The Ravens were led by head coach Ted Marchibroda, who had been the head coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1975-1979, leading to the Colts to three straight AFC East division titles during his tenure in Baltimore and was just coming off a four-year run as the coach of the Colts in which his team came within inches of catching a Hail Mary to win the 1995 AFC Championship Game just a few months before.

As for the players, the Ravens had veteran Vinny Testaverde at quarterback and two impressive rookies in offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden and middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who had been the Ravens' first two selections in the 1996 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, the Raiders came into Baltimore without their starting quarterback as Jeff Hostetler was out with strained ligaments in his right knee, meaning that Billy Joe Hobert would get the start at quarterback for the Raiders in the season opener.

In front of a crowd of over 64,124 fans at the old Memorial Stadium(the new stadium would not be ready until 1998), the Baltimore Ravens made their NFL debut.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis would make two key plays in the Ravens' first ever NFL game.

The Ravens got the ball to start the game as they began their drive in team history with Testaverde completing his first four passes of the game for 30 yards as he lead the Baltimore offense to the Raiders' 35-yard-line until three incomplete passes and a pair of offensive penalties forced the Ravens to punt the ball back to Oakland.

After forcing the Raiders to punt, the Ravens got the ball back at their 15-yard-line and put together an 8-play, 85-yard drive which saw Testaverde complete passes of 48 yards to Derrick Alexander and 13 yards to Earnest Byner, setting up the first touchdown in Ravens history as Testaverde scrambled up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown run to give Baltimore a 7-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Raiders would respond with a 9-play, 79-yard drive in which Hobert went a perfect 4-for-4 on his passes as he connected with James Jett for a 33-yard completion to Oakland in Baltimore territory, then found Daryl Hobbs for a 15-yard gain on 3rd & 2 at the Ravens' 26-yard-line and then ended the drive with a seven-yard touchdown strike to Tim Brown to tie the game 7-7 with just over 11 minutes left in the second quarter.

The Raiders would be given a golden opportunity to take the lead when  the Ravens' Earnest Hunter fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Raiders defensive back Dan Land at the Baltimore 19-yard-line.

But just as quickly as the Raiders got the ball, they gave it right back to the Ravens as Hobert was picked off by Lewis in the end zone to give Baltimore the ball back at its 20-yard-line.

The Raiders would force a three-and-out as Testaverde was sacked on 3rd & 6 by Raiders defensive end Anthony Smith to force the Ravens to punt out of the end zone, giving possession to Oakland at Baltimore 47-yard-line.

After two runs by Napoleon Kaufman picked up only three yards, Hobert found Jett for nine yards and a 1st down at the 35-yard-line, which was followed by a 30-yard pass to tight end Rickey Dudley to give Oakland a 1st & goal at the Ravens' five-yard-line.

Following an illegal motion penalty that pushed the Raiders back five yards, Hobert hit Brown again, this time for a 10-yard touchdown to give Oakland a 14-7 lead with 6:50 left in the first half.

The two teams would trade punts for the rest of the first half as the Raiders went into the locker room with a 14-7 halftime lead and were set to get the ball to start the second half.

Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown only caught four passes for 31 yards, but two of those catches were for touchdowns.

However on the third play of the second half, Hobert would be picked off by Ravens cornerback Antonio Langham whose 28-yard return set the Baltimore offense up at the Raiders' 25-yard-line.

But the Ravens could not take advantage of the turnover as Testaverde would be sacked on 3rd & 10 for a nine-yard loss by Raiders cornerback Albert Lewis, forcing Baltimore to punt the ball back to the Raiders.

The Ravens would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at the Oakland 45-yard-line when Marchibroda decided for the Ravens to use a no-huddle offense to catch the Raiders' defense off guard.

The strategy paid off as the Ravens traveled 38 yards in eight plays to set up a 25-yard field goal by Matt Stover to cut the Oakland lead to 14-10 midway through the third quarter.

Following another Raiders punt, the Ravens got the ball at their 26-yard-line where they drove to the Raiders'  21-yard-line as Testaverde hit Brian Kinchen for 29 yards to put Baltimore in Oakland territory.

But the Ravens would lose 13 yards on an Alexander reverse which would force Baltimore to settle for another Stover field goal, this one from 37 yards out to make it an one-point game at 14-13 with 1:17 left in the third quarter.

The Raiders would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where they drove to their 42-yard-line when they were faced with a big 3rd & 1 situation.

That is when Lewis made his second big play of the game as he tackled running back Harvey Williams for an one-yard-loss to force another Raiders punt to give the Ravens the ball back at their 17-yard-line with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

It would only take the Ravens two plays to drive into Oakland territory as Testaverde connected with Michael Jackson for 27 yards to start the drive, then hit Hunter for 25 more yards to give Baltimore a 1st down at the Raiders' 31-yard-line.

Two runs by Carwell Gardner picked up nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Raiders defensive tackle Russell Maryland couldn't get off the field before the snap, drawing a too many men on the field penalty and giving the Ravens a 1st down at the Oakland 17-yard-line.

This was followed by a 12-yard run by Testaverde to set up 1st & goal at the five-yard-line where two straight running plays gained four yards setting up 3rd & goal from the one-yard-line when Testaverde handed the ball of Byner who punched it for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Ravens went for two to make it a seven-point game but Testaverde's pass fell incomplete to keep the score 19-14 with 7:50 left in the game.

Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde completed 19 of 33 passes for 254 yards and ran the ball eight times for 42 yards and one touchdown.

The Raiders would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line but a six-yard-loss on a quarterback sack by Ravens linebacker Mike Caldwell would force another three-and-out to give Baltimore the ball back at its 28-yard-line.

After both teams would go three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, the Ravens would get the ball at their 20-yard-line with 4:47 left in the game, hoping to pick up a few 1st downs to run out the clock.

The drive would begin very well for the Ravens as Testaverde ran for 16 yards to pick up a 1st down, which was followed up by a nine-yard run by Byner to set up 2nd & 1 at the Ravens' 45-yard-line.

However, Gardner would be stopped for no gain on 2nd down to set up a crucial 3rd & 1 when Testaverde handed the ball off to Byner who ran for five yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

Two offsides penalties by the Raiders gave the Ravens another 1st down and allow for Testaverde to take three knees to run out the clock as the Ravens would come away with a 19-14 victory, giving the city of Baltimore its first NFL win since December of 1983.

The win over the Raiders would be the highlight of the Ravens' inaugural season as the team managed to win only four games to finish with a 4-12 record but brighter days would so be ahead for Baltimore as four years later they would win the Super Bowl as they defeated the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV, thanks to one of the greatest defenses in NFL history which was led by Lewis.

Since then, the Ravens have become an consistent winner as they have qualified for the postseason 13 time since 2000 as they have claimed six division titles, appeared in the AFC Championship Game and won two Super Bowls, the first in 2000 and the other in 2012.