OAKLAND – The biggest play of the game came from the biggest player in the game.
Entering yesterday’s AFC Championship game, it was the Raiders’ defense that was so proud of knocking 11 opposing quarterbacks out of games this season.
Yesterday, though, it was Ravens defensive tackle Tony Siragusa performing the knockout as he turned Raiders QB Rich Gannon into a divot with a World Wrestling Federation body flop in the second quarter of Baltimore’s 16-3 win.
The hit left Gannon staggering off the field with what he described as a separated shoulder and into the locker room for X-rays.
“Gannon was the key to the game,” Siragusa would say later. “It was unfortunate he got hurt. It’s not often I get to hit quarterbacks, so I tried to let him know I’m there and to disrupt his rhythm. I’m sorry he got hurt, but I’m glad he wasn’t able to run around.”
Siragusa was asked how much of his weight actually landed on Gannon.
“He got every pound of my fat [butt] on him,” Siragusa said.
Siragusa is listed at 340 in the media guide. He said he was weighing in at about 341 yesterday, “because I had some celery sticks in the pre-game meal.”
His teammate, DE Rob Burnett, cringed at the thought of the hurt Siragusa must have put on Gannon.
“That’s a lot of dead weight,” Burnett said. “I equate that to a piano falling off the Chrysler Building and hitting someone.”
Siragusa said he was “happy I had a chance” at the elusive Gannon, who’d rushed for more than 500 yards this season.
“I was off my feet,” Siragusa said, describing the hit. “When I landed on him I lifted my hands up so I wouldn’t stop [the progress of his weight]. I heard him scream and knew he was hurting. I felt the air come out of me on that hit. He had a lot of weight on him, let’s put it that way.”
Gannon’s replacement, Bobby Hoying (8-16, 107 yards, 2 INTs), immediately threw an INT that led to a Ravens’ FG.
Gannon, who was a legitimate NFL MVP candidate this season, tried to play on in the second half, but was ineffective. He took himself out with a little more than seven minutes remaining, giving way to Hoying again.
“They’re very physical,” Gannon said of the Ravens’ defense. “It was very frustrating. I knew [Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden] was probably going to put Bobby back in. I was having a hard time gripping the ball with my left hand. I just didn’t feel like I was helping the team at that point.”
Siragusa said he’d never played against Gannon before yesterday.
“We were definitely concerned about him and the way he runs around,” he said. “I don’t think Rich Gannon has faced a group of linebackers like the ones we have. I think maybe it was a good thing I hit him and they didn’t.”
That’s certainly up for debate.