Mickles: Powers collide when Giants meet Ravens

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 16, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:48 a.m.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We’ll see today what the Baltimore Ravens defense is really made of. At the same time, we’ll see what New York Giants running backs Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward are made of.KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We’ll see today what the Baltimore Ravens defense is really made of. At the same time, we’ll see what New York Giants running backs Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward are made of.

In the first nine games this season, the Ravens have allowed an NFL-low 65.4 rushing yards per game with no team rushing for more than 76 yards.

On the other hand, the Giants lead the league in rushing with 168.9 yards a game. Jacobs, a former Assumption High School star, has 806 yards and a 5.3 average, while Ward has 490 yards and a 5.5 average in relief.

So something has to give, although the Ravens haven’t allowed an individual 100-yard rusher in 28 consecutive games.

The last to do it was Kansas City’s Larry Johnson, who got them for 120 yards on Dec. 10, 2006.

Since then, the Ravens have held Jamal Lewis, Rudi Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgerrin James, Frank Gore, Willie Parker, Shaun Alexander, Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, Joseph Addai, Laurence Maroney and Ronnie Brown under 100 yards.

How impressive is that? Those 12 backs have a combined 276 100-yard rushing games in their careers, but all have come up short against the Ravens in the last two years.

Some people are likening the matchup between Jacobs, a 6-foot-4, 264-pounder, and Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis, a 6-1, 245-pounder, to a heavyweight fight like the legendary Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier bouts of the 1970s.

“I wouldn’t say it’s going to be Jacobs-Lewis as much as it is Giants-Ravens,” Jacobs said. “It’s going to be a challenge for our offensive line and our team. It’s going to a challenge for our running backs to prove ourselves.”

“You never know,” Jacobs said. “If I run in there and see him, then I’ll try and make a play. I wouldn’t say it’s going to be an explosion, but Ray is a hard-hitting guy.”