Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis tore his right triceps in their 31-29 victory over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, likely ending his season and putting his magnificent, Hall of Fame career in doubt.
Lewis, who is in his 17th season, was sidelined in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game and appeared to be in visible pain. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the length of his recovery.
Lewis has amassed 57 tackles and a sack this season. He was forced to watch from the sideline the last few drives as last couple of drives and the Cowboys move the ball up and down the field with relative ease. The crippled defense gave up 481 yards, 227 rushing. That is the most rushing yards they have allowed since the Ravens franchise arrived to Baltimore, Maryland in 1996.
Lewis also watch as Cowboys recovered an onside kick, and held his breath with six seconds left Dallas’ Dan Bailey missed wide left on a 51-yard field goal that would have given Dallas the victory.
The Ravens lost more than Lewis on Sunday. Cornerback Lardarius Webb went out in the first quarter with torn ACL injury and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata suffered a knee injury. Webb will also undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury, but he will likely miss the rest of the season.
“If we’ve lost (Webb) for the year, it’s going to kill us,” Raves safety Ed Reed said.
Said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh: “We had some injuries, especially on the defensive side. We were in a physical fistfight from the beginning until the end. They threw a lot of haymakers at us and our guys stepped up at the end and found a way to win the game. Throughout the game we had guys running and playing positions they hadn’t played. We had packages that we hadn’t had a chance to practice.”
As invaluable as Webb is to the Baltimore defense, not having Lewis on the field could be an even bigger loss. He has been the team’s emotional leader for the last dozen or more years and, while he certainly has lost a step after so many dominant years, his presence meant so much to a team that has been led by its defense.
