IN THE BACKFIELD: Ravens Could Be Without RB Lewis

Ian Logue

Nov 23, 2004 at 5:00am ET

FOXBORO, MA -- The Patriots are no strangers to injuries, and it appears they may catch a break when the 7-3 Baltimore Ravens come to Gillette Stadium this Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, Ravens running back Jamal Lewis apparently could miss this week's game against New England after hurting his right ankle during Baltimore's 30-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Lewis reportedly underwent tests on Monday but his status won't be known until later this week. Unfortunately for the Ravens, according to head coach Brian Billick, Lewis could be lost for two weeks. If Lewis can't go he would be replaced by Chester Taylor who has already filled in earlier this year while Lewis served a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

They also took another hit at running back on Sunday. Not long after Smith was injured, third-string back Musa Smith suffered a compound leg fracture and was placed on injured reserve. It just keeps getting worse for the Ravens who will likely need to pick up a running back this week.

"Our mantra has been, the next man's got to step up," Billick told the media Monday. "At some point you keep thinking it's going to even out and we're not going to have to address that from one week to the next, but so far that hasn't been the case."

"You have to adjust. Fortunately, because of that, we've had some people grow up, step up, grow into the equation."

Meanwhile Baltimore QB Kyle Boller has gone three straight games without throwing an interception, and had a solid outing on Sunday against Dallas. Boller went 23 for 34 for 232 yards and threw two touchdowns, but his head coach is still worried about a running attack that managed just 59 yards on 21 attempts.

While injuries are part of the Ravens' problem, Billick isn't using them as an excuse.

"You can say that as soon as it's all settled down, then we'll be able to get back to running the ball the way we have," Billick said. "Well, it's not going to settle down in the near future."