Some realities began to hit the Baltimore Ravens today, only hours after they beat the Titans in a wild finish on "Monday Night Football."
Tailback Terry Allen broke his left hand after one carry and will miss four to six weeks. If the team believes Allen will return in time for the playoffs, he will not be placed on the season-ending injured reserve list. Allen's injury is another blow to the running back position, which lost Jamal Lewis early in training camp to a knee injury.
Allen was signed off the street almost immediately to replace Lewis, and he led the team in rushing before an ankle sprain caused him to miss the two games before the Monday night thriller. Inexperienced Jason Brookins has been effective running inside. His 25-yard run late in the fourth quarter was the highlight of a drive that ended when Matt Stover kicked a 30-yard field goal for a 16-10 lead and forced the Titans to score a touchdown with their last possession.
But neither Brookins nor Obafemi Ayanbadejo, used mostly in passing situations, has been close to consistent as a blocker. And quarterback Elvis Grbac again was rushed heavily in a spotty performance (15 of 27, 192 yards) against the Titans after missing two games with bruised ribs. 
"He missed a couple of things that could have impacted the game," Coach Brian Billick said of Grbac, who has seven touchdown passes and nine interceptions for the season. "There's a number of [passes] that he'll look at and say [he] didn't read this thing out right. All in all, I was pleased."
Billick said special-teamer Moe Williams would get more work at tailback and that there was "probably not" a free agent that could help.
The playoff chances for Baltimore increased while those of the Titans diminished after a Monday night memorable for unusual plays and that bizarre finish.
"It's the craziest thing I've ever seen," Baltimore defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said.
Siragusa was part of the oddities, with two sacks in the first half after not recording one since 1999. Also, each team had a botched center snap on a kick. Tennessee's cost it a field goal near the end of the first half. Baltimore's led to a Titans field goal, too. Punter Kyle Richarson could have fielded the high snap, but compounded that error by throwing a pass from the end zone to Anthony Mitchell instead of taking a safety.
Ravens wide receiver Qadry Ismail fumbled and had a personal foul that backed the Ravens out of field goal range. But he later turned a short pass into a 57-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. 
All this was prelude to the final seconds -- and the play that came after time had expired because Ravens linebacker Peter Boulware was called for a penalty that ended up helping his team.
The ending came after the Titans drove 77 yards to inside the Baltimore 1 in the final two minutes. Titans quarterback Steve McNair completed a pass to wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who was tackled just short of the end zone by cornerback Duane Starks and outside linebacker Jamie Sharper. Dyson had come within inches of the end zone before -- on the last play of Tennessee's 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Dyson made the catch with about seven seconds left. The ball was hastily spotted as time ticked away and, before the snap to McNair, Boulware leaped over the line of scrimmage toward the Baltimore defense, brushing a couple of Tennessee linemen.
This should have stopped the action because Boulware made contact with the Titans. But McNair immediately bulled into the end zone and an official gave the touchdown signal. After more than five minutes, however, the officials sorted everything out and made the correct ruling. 
Had Boulware managed to leap across the line of scrimmage without touching a Titan, McNair's touchdown would have been allowed. That is unless one of the officials had noticed that the Titans had lined up in an illegal formation. But an illegal formation is not a foul until the ball is snapped -- and Boulware's contact came before the snap.
The officials called the penalty on Boulware and moved the ball half the distance to the goal line. That was a matter of inches -- and McNair tried another sneak with everyone properly aligned. Defensive tackle Sam Adams and Siragusa stuffed the line, while safety Corey Harris and Sharper put McNair on the ground as he tried to bounce outside.
"Corey nearly knocked himself out," Sharper said. "We went from very low to very ecstatic."
Ravens Note: Television cameras caught Adams taking a punch at center Mike Flynn in pregame warmups. Adams played down the incident, saying: "Tempers flare. But I wouldn't have this [Super Bowl] ring without him."