The 2006 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 11th in the National Football League (NFL), their 8th under head coach Brian Billick, and their 5th season under general manager Ozzie Newsome.
The team improved on their 6–10 record from 2005 to a 13–3 record and marks their greatest-single season turnaround for the team. The Ravens, for the first time in franchise history, started 4–0. The Ravens ended the regular season with a then-franchise record thirteen wins (that stood until a fourteen-win season in 2019). The Ravens clinched the AFC North title and a 1st-round playoff bye, their first playoff berth since 2003. However, their season came to an end, with a 15–6 upset loss to the eventual Super Bowl XLI champions Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round.
Offseason In the 2006 offseason, the Baltimore Ravens were in negotiations to try to obtain veteran quarterback Steve McNair from the Tennessee Titans. On Sunday, April 30, 2006, the Titans allowed McNair to speak with the Ravens and on May 1, 2006, the Baltimore Sun stated that the Baltimore Ravens had been waiting for McNair to be released by the Titans since it was the free agency period. The deal was completed in June 2006.
McNair and the Ravens agreed to an $11 million signing bonus on May 5, 2006.
On June 7, 2006, the Ravens and Titans agreed to trade a 4th round pick in the 2007 draft for McNair, pending a physical.
Steve McNair brought a calm leadership presence to the quarterback role that had been absent from the franchise since its inception. The critical issue in the 2006 season remained whether McNair would hearken back to his Pro Bowl performance days or whether the cumulative effect of injuries would continue to hamper his performance.
During the 2006 NFL draft the Ravens acquired future star defensive tackle Haloti Ngata as well as safety Dawan Landry and punter Sam Koch.
During free agency, the Ravens also picked up former Denver Broncos RB Mike Anderson, who in 2005 posted a 1,000-yard plus season. He was expected to back up Jamal Lewis and to be insurance if Lewis posted stats similar to 2005. The Ravens also acquired DE Trevor Pryce of the Denver Broncos who would prove a strong addition the Ravens defensive line, which had some pressuring problems the previous season.
The Ravens also changed flagship radio stations, from WQSR "Jack FM" to WBAL 1090AM and WIYY "98 Rock." The announcing team was not retained; Scott Garceau now co-hosts an "uncensored" pro football discussion program, with former Baltimore Colt Tom Matte, simulcast on WHFS "Free FM" and WJZ, ESPN Radio 1300AM.
Draft
Personnel Staff / Coaches Baltimore Ravens 2006 staff Front office Owner – Steve Bisciotti Minority owner – Art Modell President – Dick Cass General manager/Executive Vice President – Ozzie Newsome Vice president of football administration – Pat Moriarty Director of pro personnel – George Kokinis Assistant director of pro personnel – Vince Newsome Director of player development - O. J. Brigance Director of college scouting – Eric DeCosta
Head coaches Head coach – Brian Billick Assistant Head coach/Offensive line – Chris Foerster Special assistant to the Head coach/Defensive assistant - Vic Fangio
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator - Jim Fassel Quarterbacks – Rick Neuheisel Running backs – Tony Nathan Wide receivers – Mike Johnson Assistant Wide receivers/quarterbacks - Jedd Fisch Tight ends/Assistant offensive line – Wade Harman Assistant offensive line – Greg Roman Defensive coaches Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator – Rex Ryan Defensive line – Clarence Brooks Linebackers – Jeff FitzGerald Outside linebackers – Mike Pettine Defensive backs – Mark Carrier Secondary – Dennis Thurman
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Frank Gansz, Jr. Assistant special teams – John Fassel
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jeff Friday Assistant strength and conditioning – Paul Ricci
Final roster
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record 1 New York Giants L 16–17 0–1 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–10 1–1 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–30 1–2 4 at Washington Redskins W 17–10 2–2"2006 Baltimore Ravens schedule and results" The Football Database
Regular season Apart from their AFC North division games, the Ravens played against the AFC West and NFC South according to the conference rotation, and played the Titans and Bills based on 2005 divisional positions.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–0 1–0 65,087 2 September 17 Oakland Raiders W 28–6 2–0 70,744 3 September 24 at Cleveland Browns W 15–14 3–0 72,474 4 October 1 San Diego Chargers W 16–13 4–0 70,743 5 at Denver Broncos L 3–13 4–1 76,355 6 October 15 Carolina Panthers L 21–23 4–2 70,762 7 Bye 8 October 29 at New Orleans Saints W 35–22 5–2 69,152 9 November 5 Cincinnati Bengals W 26–20 6–2 70,792 10 November 12 at Tennessee Titans W 27–26 7–2 69,143 11 November 19 Atlanta Falcons W 24–10 8–2 70,790 12 November 26 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–0 9–2 70,946 13 at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–13 9–3 65,973 14 December 10 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–10 10–3 77,232 15 December 17 Cleveland Browns W 27–17 11–3 70,857 16 December 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–7 12–3 63,224 17 December 31 Buffalo Bills W 19–7 13–3 70,913Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Postseason
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Wild Card First-round bye Divisional Indianapolis Colts L 6–15 71,162
Division standings
Game summaries Regular season Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida TV Time: CBS 1:00 pm eastern
The Ravens opened the regular season on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 10. In QB Steve McNair’s inaugural start as a Raven, the team gave a dominating performance. RB Jamal Lewis got the team's first points as he ran into the endzone on a four-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter. Then, in the second quarter, CB Chris McAlister intercepted a pass from Tampa Bay QB Chris Simms and ran 60 yards for another touchdown. Rookie Haloti Ngata recorded his first career interception and also returned for 60 yards to set up kicker Matt Stover with a 20-yard field goal to put the Ravens up 17–0 at halftime. Baltimore continued to suppress Tampa Bay in the second half, as Stover kicked a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter to put Baltimore up 20–0. In the fourth quarter, McNair put the game away with a 4-yard pass to TE Daniel Wilcox. While the Ravens offense had a very good start to the 2006 season, the defense also showed much promise, as they forced Simms into throwing three interceptions and limited star RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams to just 22 yards on eight carries. For his efforts in this game Ray Lewis was named NFL Defensive Player of the Week after recording 10 tackles and a sack. With the win, the Ravens were 1–0 and 1–0 against NFC Opponents.
Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders
at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland TV Time: CBS 1:00 pm eastern
The Ravens opened Week 2 with a home-opener against the visiting Oakland Raiders. From the get-go, the Ravens dominated the game. The Ravens forced two fumbles by Oakland QB Aaron Brooks in the first quarter which led to two of Baltimore kicker's Matt Stover three field goals (25, 33, and 37-yarders). The Raiders would get on the board in the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal by opposing Sebastian Janikowski, but Baltimore would respond with QB Steve McNair completing a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Todd Heap. In the third quarter, the only score of the period would be LB Adalius Thomas sacking QB Andrew Walter in the end zone for a safety. In the fourth quarter, Stover increased the Ravens' lead with a 23-yard field goal. Even though Oakland would get three points on Janikowski's 51-yard FG, Baltimore RB Mike Anderson put the game away on a 34-yard TD run. With another win, the Ravens advanced to 2–0.
Week 3: at Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio TV Time: CBS 4:05 pm eastern
The Ravens traveled to Cleveland, Ohio for an AFC North match-up with the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens struck first with kicker Matt Stover getting a 32-yard field goal. However, in the second quarter, their small lead was wiped out, as WR Braylon Edwards caught a 58-yard TD pass and QB Charlie Frye got a one-yard TD run. In the third quarter, both sides stiffened their defenses and prevented each other from scoring. In the fourth quarter, down by 2 points, McNair drove down the field to set Stover up for a 52-yard field goal. With 0:29 left in the 4th quarter the field goal provided the winning points. Steve McNair passed for 264 yards. He threw no interceptions and completed 23 passes out of 41. Jamal Lewis rushed for 86 yards. The leading receiver was Derrick Mason with 7 completions for 132 yards. The defense sacked Brown's quarterback Charlie Frye seven times. The defense also had one forced fumble and an interception. With their third straight win, the Ravens advanced to 3–0.
Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland TV Time: CBS 1:00 pm eastern
The Chargers visited Baltimore for the first time since 2000. The Chargers led down the field first with a 31-yard touchdown pass to WR Malcom Floyd. However, this was followed two drives later by an interception by OLB Bart Scott (who was named September's Defensive Player of the Month recently before the game), which led to a 5-yard touchdown pass from QB Steve McNair to TE Daniel Wilcox. In the second quarter, 2 Chargers field goals from kicker Nate Kaeding put San Diego in the lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Ravens' defense held the Chargers to no points. They were assisted by a loud stadium, which led to a fourth quarter intentional safety by Chargers punter Mike Scifres. The Ravens took the ball at the 40-yard line with 3:12 to go. After Derrick Mason dropped a possible touchdown pass early in the drive, a 10-yard pass to TE Todd Heap won the game with 30 seconds to play. On the touchdown catch, Heap broke a tackle from Shawne Merriman. With the win, the Ravens were 4–0 for the first time in their 11-year history. However, Guard Edwin Mulitalo was injured for the entire season with a triceps injury.
Week 5: at Denver Broncos
at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado TV Time: ESPN 8:30 pm eastern
The Ravens suffered their first loss of the season as they were beaten 13–3 by the Denver Broncos. In a defensive struggle most of the game, Steve McNair was intercepted three times and Jamal Lewis was held to 43 yards rushing.
The Ravens got on the board first when Matt Stover kicked a 24-yard field goal, following a fumble by Broncos RB Tatum Bell. The Broncos responded with a 43-yard field goal of their own by Jason Elam. The Ravens drove deep into Broncos territory late at the end of the first half, but that drive was thwarted as Steve McNair was intercepted by Champ Bailey in the end zone on a pass intended for Clarence Moore. The third quarter saw no points scored by either team as the defensive struggle continued. The Broncos controlled the clock in the second half with the running game led by Tatum Bell, who atoned for his fumble in the first quarter, by bouncing back with 92 yards rushing. Ravens QB McNair was intercepted again by Darrent Williams, which led to a Jake Plummer to Rod Smith touchdown pass. McNair was intercepted a third time, ending the Ravens' final drive, this time by Domonique Foxworth. With their first loss, the Ravens dropped to 4–1.
Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers
at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
The Ravens lost their second straight game in a contest with the Carolina Panthers.