Baltimore's 13-10 victory at Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Round did more than send the Ravens on to the AFC Championship Game. It will send Jets executives to Baltimore on Sunday to talk with Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.
The Jets had received permission from the Ravens to interview Ryan for their coaching vacancy. The only question was when that initial interview would take place. Had Baltimore lost at Tennessee, the sitdown would have occurred in the business week ahead.
But with the Ravens moving on to play either at Pittsburgh or home against San Diego a week from Sunday for the right to advance to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., the window of opportunity allowed by the NFL and the Ravens is limited to Sunday.
So much as a Jets contingent led by owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum traveled to Phoenix to meet with Russ Grimm, the Cardinals' assistant head coach/OL coach, Thursday in advance of the Cardinals' NFC Divisional Round Game at Carolina tonight, Johnson and Tannenbaum will travel to Crab City on Sunday to meet with Ryan.
Ryan's defense, ranked in the top three in the NFL in yardage and point categories in the regular season, held the Dolphins to nine points and 276 yards and forced five takeaways last week at Miami.
Earlier today, the Ravens bent but didn't break in the first half against Tennessee, yielding 256 yards but only one touchdown. Then in the second half, Ryan's unit put the squeeze on the Titans, holding them to 135 yards and a field goal. For the game, Baltimore forced three more takeaways.
