Indianapolis improves to 10-0 with 17-15 victory over Baltimore

BALTIMORE — Moments after throwing a critical fourth-quarter interception in the red zone Sunday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco angrily pulled down on his facemask and yelled.

The new face of the franchise revealed that the Ravens' 17-15 loss to the undefeated Indianapolis Colts was the ultimate gut-wrencher in a season filled with frustrating defeats.

The Ravens fell to 0-4 in games decided by four points or less and even cause Joe Cool to become unglued.

"It's a game that we thought we could have won," Flacco said. "You come up short and it was because of a dumb play. It's definitely going to be a little frustrating."

The frustration level was heightened because the weakest parts of the team — the secondary and field-goal kicking — played well enough to win. The secondary helped hold Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense to their lowest point total since the season opener, and new kicker Billy Cundiff tied a Ravens record with five field goals.

Indianapolis (10-0) overcame three turnovers, including two interceptions by Peyton Manning. The Colts' 19-game streak is the second-longest in NFL history behind a 21-game run by the New England Patriots (2006-08).

"It's really not on anybody's minds. At least not on my mind," Manning said. "We're relieved we got this win. Obviously, it's a great team effort."

Lions win in no time

DETROIT — Because the Cleveland Browns-Lions game was blacked out, lots of people in the Detroit area missed one of the most exciting home team shootouts in memory, one in which rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford showed his toughness and determination.

Stafford was flat on his back, getting his left shoulder evaluated on the sideline by the Detroit Lions medical staff.

The Cleveland Browns called a timeout and gave the rookie a chance to get back in the game.

Stafford threw his fifth touchdown pass from 1 yard to Brandon Pettigrew and Jason Hanson's extra point with no time on the clock gave Detroit a thrilling 38-37 win over Cleveland on Sunday.

"That was wild," Stafford said with ice strapped around his shoulder.

Detroit was given the untimed play because safety Hank Poteat was called for pass interference in the end zone when Stafford heaved a desperation attempt.

"Matt's best play of the day might have been eluding four team doctors to get back on the field," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said of Stafford, whose X-rays were negative but who will undergo an MRI today.

Notes

• Oakland's Bruce Gradkowski, having replaced the ineffective JaMarcus Russell as the starting quarterback, threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to rookie Louis Murphy with 41 seconds left to forge a 17-all tie with the Bengals. On the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders recovered a fumble to set up the winning field goal.

• The Giants became the first home team to win in the series against the Falcons since New York beat Atlanta in 1979. The visitors had won 12 straight.