The 2003 Baltimore Ravens season was the team's eighth season in the NFL. They improved upon their previous output of 7–9, winning 10 games and making the third playoff appearance in franchise history.[1] This marked the first season when the Ravens won their division. One memorable moment came in week 2, when Jamal Lewis set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game, rushing for 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns.[2] Lewis went on to rush for 2,066 yards on the season and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year. In addition, Ray Lewis was named Defensive Player of the Year and 2003 first round pick Terrell Suggs was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Ravens’ home stadium was renamed “M&T Bank Stadium’, a name which has remained unchanged ever since.
In Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore fought from a seventeen-point deficit halfway through the 4th quarter to force overtime, winning 44–41. The game was named to NFL Top 10 as #9 on Top Ten Comebacks.[3]
In addition to their regular games with AFC North divisional rivals, the Ravens played games against the AFC West and NFC West according to the NFL schedule rotation introduced in 2002, and also played against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins, who finished 2002 third in the two remaining AFC divisions.
Three Tommy Maddox touchdowns raced the Steelers to a 27–0 lead, more than enough to win 34–15. Kyle Boller managed only 152 yards with an interception and a late touchdown.
Jamal Lewis erupted for 295 rushing yards and two scores in a 33–13 rout of the Browns. Lewis’ rampage offset another weak performance by quarterback Kyle Boller with just seven completions.
Kyle Boller once again failed to reach 100 yards passing but did have a touchdown while Jamal Lewis reached 132 yards rushing and added a touchdown in a 24–10 win at Qualcomm Stadium. Drew Brees was intercepted three times.
Cardinals quarterback Jeff Blake had played for the Ravens (coming off their bye week) the year before and here was intercepted three times; Chris McAlister ran back one pick for a score while Ed Reed scored on a blocked punt. It was enough to win 26-18 and offset yet another weak performance from Kyle Boller (nine completions for 75 yards and 61.1 passer rating).
For seven seasons Marvin Lewis had been Ravens defensive coordinator and he had the long-slumping Bengals beginning a competitive turnaround; Cincinnati's 34–26 win over his former team took a step in that direction. The Ravens fumbled twice and Jon Kitna, filling in for the season before rookie Carson Palmer would assume the starting role, threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns. The Ravens loss happened even as Kyle Boller hit 302 yards, two scores, and passer rating at 104.
For the second straight year the Ravens hosted and defeated the Broncos, this time 26–6. With Jake Plummer and Steve Beuerlein injured Danny Kanell started and was intercepted twice. Former Raven Shannon Sharpe was limited to two catches. Despite the win Brian Billick was angry over NFL replay challenges after a Ravens touchdown was overruled on replay.
Kyle Boller had a touchdown and nine other completions in a 24–17 win over Baltimore's former division rival. The Ravens fumbled once and Akin Ayodele scored for the Jaguars on the return.
Four years earlier the Ravens had been humiliated by the Rams and Brian Billick wrapped up his debut game by saying “We don’t have enough paper to list my frustration.” In this 33–22 loss he saw his Ravens cough up four fumbles while Kyle Boller had another interception; he injured his knee on a collision with fullback Alan Ricard and eventually gave way to former starter Chris Redman; Redman threw two more picks.
The Ravens decided to start veteran quarterback Anthony Wright at Miami. In a battle of field goals the game went to overtime. After the Dolphins had to punt in overtime, Wright fumbled while handing off to Jamal Lewis and the ensuing Dolphins field goal ended a 6–9 Ravens loss.
The turning point in the Ravens season came against the Seahawks, whom they’d only faced once before. The game was only tied 3–3 with one minute to go in the first half when the Seahawks scored then grabbed a Chester Taylor fumble and scored on the next play. Anthony Wright managed touchdowns to Marcus Robinson but a Jamal Lewis fumble set up a Seahawks drive deep in their territory with the Ravens trailing 24–41. It was here that Ed Reed blocked a Seahawks punt and scored. Ray Lewis then forced and grabbed a Seahawks fumble and after getting sacked on consecutive plays Wright completed a 40-yard pass off Robinson's hands caught by Frank Sanders. Robinson caught the subsequent touchdown, then the Ravens stopped a fourth down attempt (a mistake in resetting the game clock on this drive appeared to give the Ravens thirty extra seconds). A Seahawks interference penalty set up the tying Matt Stover field goal. After stopping the Seahawks in overtime (former Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer had to come in for one play during the overtime, where he threw an incompletion) the Ravens won on another Stover kick. The 44–41 win was doubly emotional for Wright as immediately afterward he raced to the hospital in time for his wife to deliver their daughter.
The Ravens exploded to 44 points for the second straight game and the second straight against a visiting NFC West opponent but competitive fireworks were not necessary as they intercepted Jeff Garcia four times; Ray Lewis scored on one pick while Anthony Wright had two more touchdowns. The two teams combined for 546 yards vs. the 426 the Ravens had put up by themselves the previous week.
Week Fourteen vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Ravens completed a rare three game home stand by downing the upstart Bengals 31–13. Baltimore rushed for 223 yards with three scores and forced five Cincinnati turnovers, offsetting two Anthony Wright interceptions.
Baltimore's surge to the playoffs hit a speed bump in a 12–20 loss to the faltering Raiders. Three Ravens turnovers neutralized 149 rushing yards led by Jamal Lewis at 125 yards and aided Raiders starter Rick Mirer in completing for 186 yards and a score to Jerry Rice.
Week Sixteen at Cleveland Browns
The ex-Browns traveled to Cleveland and reasserted themselves in a 35–0 shutout win. The Ravens rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns as Jamal Lewis, on his way to 2,000 yards, accounted for 205 yards and two scores for a season total of 500 yards against the Browns; Anthony Wright had another touchdown, and Baltimore's vaunted defense forced four Browns turnovers.
Week Seventeen vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The bitterness of this rivalry meant the 6-9 Steelers refused to roll over. An 81-yard touchdown by punter Josh Miller tied the game in the third. The Steelers went up 10–7 before a Ravens field goal tied the game. Jerome Bettis’ fumble at the two minute warning set up a 52-yard Stover field goal. When Tommy Maddox was intercepted with 26 seconds to go Anthony Wright completed two passes for 32 yards but a 51-yard kick was no good. In overtime the Steelers had to punt and a 22-yard Wright pass led to Stover’s winning kick and the first division title for the Ravens.
Baltimore's five game winning streak over Tennessee dating to 2000 came to an end in a tense grinder of a game. Jamal Lewis was held to just 39 yards of offense. After the Titans took a 7–0 lead Will Demps picked off Steve McNair and scored. Following multiple punts and another McNair pick a Ravens field goal put them up 10–7 at the half, until McNair's 49-yard strike to Justin McCareins put Tennessee back up 14–10. Trailing 17–10 in the fourth Anthony Wright found Todd Heap on a 35-yard score. McNair was intercepted again but the Ravens had to punt with 2:56 to go, where McNair completed four passes and Gary Anderson booted the winning field goal, ending Baltimore's season 20-17 and with a 10–7 record.
