Scott Garceau: Weapons Forged
It was reasonable to wonder how much the emotional drain of Ray Lewis's last game in Baltimore would tax the Ravens as they traveled to Denver. Compared to Saturday's double OT thriller over the Bronco's, Ray's day in Baltimore was a walk in the park. Lewis's career and the Ravens season were just seconds from ending when suddenly Joe Flacco, Jacoby Jones and Rahim Moore (deeper than the deepest!) became forever linked in a "where were you when", Baltimore sports moment.
This wasn't The Greatest Game Ever Played (that was 1958) but this was one of them. No, it wasn't the Super Bowl stage with David Tyree pulling a pass off his helmet ending New England's dream of a perfect season. It was Super Bowl like to fans in Purple who heard all week that the Ravens couldn't win in Denver against Peyton Manning.
When Justin's Tucker's kick ended the 6th quarter, the game and Denver's season it touched off an emotional response usually reserved for a championship game. Ray Lewis was sobbing in one breath, reciting Bible verses in the next "No weapon forged." Ray Rice had tears rolling down his cheeks, Anquan Boldin gave the Denver fans his version of the Mile High Salute and John Harbaugh wanted to remind all in the free world that this was epic.
While we try to sort out the greatness of this Denver marathon leave it to a rookie to put clarity on the GAME. Justin Tucker had the game winning field goal and another winner when he was asked if this was the best thing that ever happened to him. "I don't know if this was the best moment of my life - there's a lot more to live for than kicking a ball through some uprights - but it was definitely up there."
In a season touched by 4th and 29 in San Diego and Saturday's Denver Marathon I can hardly wait to see what's next!
