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BALTIMORE (AP) -- It didn't take long for newcomer Shannon Sharpe
to make an impact on the Baltimore Ravens.
Sharpe ended his second series with a touchdown reception, and Matt Stover snapped a tie with a 42-yard field goal with 2:43 left as the Ravens opened their preseason by beating the Philadelphia
Eagles 16-13 Saturday night.
Donovan McNabb played into the third quarter for Philadelphia
(0-2), completing 12 of 19 passes for 104 yards and a 1-yard
touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewis.
Baltimore signed Sharpe as a free agent during the offseason to enhance an offense sorely in need of a tight end. The former Denver Broncos star quickly showed his value, running a crossing pattern before catching a 7-yard pass from Tony Banks for a 7-0 lead.
"They blitzed, it was a hot read and me and Shannon saw it at
the same time," Banks said. "I know it's only preseason, but
that's my first to the Hall of Famer, so it feels good."
Sharpe, who missed the final 11 games of the 1999 season with a
fractured left clavicle, had two catches for 15 yards before
leaving after two series.
"After all the missed assignments I had, I figured I would
finally get one right," Sharpe said. "Tony read the blitz and
made a great play. We talked about the blitz all week and how to
counter it. It paid off."
It was the ninth straight preseason win over three seasons for
the Ravens, who went 4-0 in both 1998 and 1999.
Former New England star Ben Coates, who started for Baltimore in a two-tight end set, had one catch for two yards.
Five Baltimore tight ends last year combined for 34 catches and
one touchdown during the regular season.
"To get it done in the red zone, we needed a definitive guy to
go to," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "The thing that pleases
me the most is that Tony and Shannon were on the same page."
Banks played two series, going 7-for-10 for 56 yards.
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, playing his first game since
accepting a plea bargain in a murder trial in Atlanta last May,
played the first quarter and had one tackle.
The Eagles showed improvement defensively after allowing 33
points to Cleveland in their preseason opener, but the offense
produced only one touchdown. Torrance Small had six catches for 55
yards, but the rest of the receivers had trouble holding onto the
ball.
"With the execption of Small, I thought we had too many dropped
balls," coach Andy Reid said. "We had been doing a nice job in practice and last week in catching the ball consistently, but today we had too many drops."
As is the case in most early preseason games, the outcome was
decided by players projected to be backups. Third-string quarter
Chris Redman completed a 17-yard pass to tight end Ryan Collins to
set up Stover's game-winner.
Trent Dilfer moved the Ravens 61 yards in their first possession
of the second half before Stover kicked a 29-yard field goal to
make it 10-10.
Koy Detmer came in for McNabb and directed a 59-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Rich Maston. Stover tied it with a 32-yarder with 8:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were offsides on the opening kickoff, and Corey
Harris took the second kick 61 yards to the Philadelphia 34. Nine
plays later, Banks threw incomplete on fourth down from the 1.
Philadelphia failed to move, and Sharpe capped a 40-yard drive
with his TD catch over the middle.
The Eagles pulled even against the Ravens' second-team, moving
80 yards on 16 plays to make it 7-7 with 1:07 left in the first
half. The drive lasted more than nine minutes and ended on a pass
from McNabb to Lewis.
"It was a good drive. Guys were making big plays, we had a
little blocking scheme going with the line and they were picking up
the blitzes," McNabb said. "I was able to just sit back and wait
for my receivers to get open."
Just before halftime, McNabb completed a 25-yard pass to Jeff
Thomason to set up a 56-yard field goal by David Akers.
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NFL Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
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