History of The Baltimore Ravens - 2005 Season

2005 Season

In the 2005 offseason the Ravens looked to augment their receiving corps (which was second-worst in the NFL in 2004) by signing Derrick Mason from the Titans and drafting star Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

The 2005 season (the Ravens' 10th Anniversary season) began as the featured Sunday Night Football game televised by ESPN. This game against the Indianapolis Colts led the announcer to state, "What a wonderful way to begin the season, the game between the team that plays here now and the team which used to play here." The game's first half was a defensive slugfest, with the score at the half 3–0 Colts, but the second half saw the Ravens fall apart and starting QB Kyle Boller was lost to a foot injury (Colts 24, Ravens 7).

In the 2nd week road opener versus historic rival Tennessee, backup QB Anthony Wright failed to spark the offense and the defense couldn't hold the Titans back, allowing the second straight loss (25–10). During the team's bye week, coach Billick tried to install the idea that after the bye, the season starts anew and they forget about their past losses. This strategy led the Ravens to a Week 4 Win against the Jets (13–3), but the Ravens fell apart against the Lions (35–17), setting a franchise record for penalties in a single game (21). The Ravens rebounded at home the next week against the Cleveland Browns, with a final score of 16–3. However, from Week 7 to Week 10, the Ravens would lose to the Chicago Bears (10–6), the Pittsburgh Steelers (20–19), the Cincinnati Bengals (21–9), and the Jacksonville Jaguars (30–3).

The Ravens turned the tide in a Week 11 rematch with the Steelers at home, winning 16–13 in OT, but were season-swept by the Bengals the next week, 42–29. The Ravens won their next game against the hapless Houston Texans 16–15, but lost a week later on the road to the Denver Broncos 12–10. Then, the Ravens played their final two home games under the prime time light. First, they manhandled the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football 48–3. Then, they destroyed any playoff chance that the Minnesota Vikings had by winning on Sunday Night Football 30–23. Despite the resurgence of Kyle Boller, they couldn't carry their momentum entirely. Despite leading the Browns 13–6 at halftime, they lost the lead in the 3rd quarter and trailed for the rest of the game, ultimately losing 20–16.

The Ravens ended their season 6–10. Despite having the same regular season record as the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens were technically third in the AFC North, since they beat the Browns on the division records tiebreaker: In the AFC North, the Ravens were 2–4, while the Browns were 1–5.