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Baltimore Ravens' take-away drought finally ends

Lardarius Webb picked off Jaguars QB Blake Bortles in the second quarter Sunday, ending the Ravens' five-game streak of not forcing a turnover. Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports

BALTIMORE -- The turnover drought came to a merciful and timely end for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Their five-game streak of not taking the ball away ended early in the second quarter, when cornerback Lardarius Webb jumped in front of Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Hurns and picked off quarterback Blake Bortles at the Jaguars' 26-yard line. Two plays later, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco tied the game at 7 with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Crockett Gillmore.

Entering Sunday's game, the Ravens only had four forced turnovers, putting them on pace for the fewest in NFL history. Early on Sunday, it looked like this wasn't going to be the day the Ravens ended the turnover-less streak. In the previous two drives, Jaguars running back Denard Robinson fumbled, but it was ruled his forward progress had stopped. Then, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith dropped a potential pick-six.

Here is how long the Ravens' turnover drought lasted:

  • 21 quarters and two overtime periods

  • 66 drives by the opposition

  • 350 snaps by the opposition

  • 342 minutes, 41 seconds

Before Webb's interception, the last Ravens' takeaway was Sept. 27, when Elvis Dumervil stripped Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and C.J. Mosley picked it up for a 41-yard touchdown return.