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Reed Keys Ravens' Romp

The Associated Press

Miami's Renaldo Hill applies pressure as Baltimore's Mark Clayton is unable to catch a pass.

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2009

MIAMI - Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington recently won the NFL Comeback Player of The Year Award.

Baltimore safety Ed Reed already may have snagged that, too.

Reed grabbed two of Pennington's four interceptions, snatched away the quarterback's story of redemption, plus ended Miami's miraculous turnaround during Baltimore's 27-9 AFC wild-card road victory.

"League MVP, league MVP no doubt, MVP or whatever you want to call it," Baltimore wide receiver Mark Clayton said. "He deserves all the accolades.

Reed may not have received that postseason award, but his performance catapulted Baltimore into a second-round playoff matchup against Tennessee on Saturday. Before Sunday's victory, Baltimore had not won a playoff game since defeating Miami 20-3 in a wild-card game on Jan. 13, 2002.

The Ravens can attribute this year's success to Reed, who had nine interceptions during the regular season. He caught the same number of balls against Miami as Clayton (two), who was the Ravens' second-leading receiver.

"He covers everybody's mistakes. Everybody," Baltimore defensive tackle Trevor Pryce said. "If you're in front of him, he helps you. It's like having 44 guys on the field."

Pennington, who threw four interceptions for only the second time in his career, must have felt like Reed had 44 clones.

Reed's first interception occurred when Pennington overthrew Ted Ginn Jr. He returned that pick 64 yards for a touchdown, giving Baltimore a 10-3 second-quarter lead. It was the second-longest interception return against Miami in the playoffs (Oakland's Tory James returned a 90-yard interception for a touchdown on Jan. 6, 2001).

His second pick came in the third quarter as Miami was at Baltimore's 15-yard line and threatening to score.

"Chad was a totally different quarterback on some film than how he played," Reed said. "He's a great quarterback. You're not going to be as efficient as he is and throw as many interceptions.

"He knew we were in Cover 2. He knew I came from the other side. He came over to me and said 'Come on, man. In Cover 2 you're going to pick my ball?' That's just being able to make plays in the defense that we know."

Miami knows that its unforeseen season has come to an end.

The Dolphins finished 1-15 in 2007, but went 11-6 this season, winning nine of their final 10 regular-season games to make the playoffs. Miami tied the 1999 Indianapolis Colts (3-13 to 13-3) for having the biggest one-season improvement in league history.

"It's kind of messed up because nobody planned to be in this situation right now, so they say chewing gum can stop you from smoking cigarettes, right?" Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter said. "Well, I'm chewing gum to stop me from crying right now.

"I'm trying to put my mind somewhere else, so this is how it was. Everybody is so emotional right now. We weren't just happy to be here. We were planning on moving on, but you can't take anything away from them. They were playing good football."

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425.

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