BALTIMORE -- In a duel of backup quarterbacks, Kyle Boller's experience prevailed over Kellen Clemens' exuberance.
Barely.
Boller threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and the Baltimore Ravens overcame a late charge by Clemens and the New York Jets in a 20-13 victory.
Making his first NFL start, Clemens cut a 20-3 deficit to seven points in the fourth quarter and took the Jets (0-2) to the Baltimore 7 before Ray Lewis intercepted a deflected pass in the end zone with 1:04 left to preserve the win.
Clemens replaced Chad Pennington, who injured his right ankle in the opener against New England. Although coach Eric Mangini's final decision on his starter didn't come until Sunday, Clemens spoke excitedly during the week about the prospect of running the New York offense.
Unfortunately, his debut came against a blitzing defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL last year. Playing in his third game since being selected in the second round of the 2006 draft, Clemens threw two interceptions but went 19-for-37 for 260 yards -- 176 of them in the fourth quarter.
It was 20-13 when a 50-yard completion got the Jets to the Baltimore 20 just before the two-minute warning. Justin McCareins dropped a potential touchdown pass at the 5 with 1:55 left, and three plays later, Clemens was short on a pass to Laveranues Coles in the end zone.
Lewis' interception came on a pass that glanced off McCareins' hands.
Boller replaced Steve McNair, who hurt his groin in Baltimore's season-opening loss to Cincinnati. It was Boller's first start since 2005, but the 35th in a career that began in 2003.
He went 23-for-35 without an interception. Boller's touchdown throws to Willis McGahee and Todd Heap provided Baltimore (1-1) with a 17-3 halftime lead.
Clemens' first pass was incomplete, the second picked off. He produced his initial first down on New York's third series, when he went 3-for-4 to set up a 50-yard field goal by Mike Nugent to make it 7-3.
New York didn't score again until Nugent kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 20-6 with 10:05 left. Clemens finally got the Jets into the end zone with his first NFL touchdown pass, a 3-yarder to Chris Baker with 3:12 to go.
McGahee ran for 97 yards on 26 carries, Derrick Mason caught eight passes for 54 yards and Heap had seven catches for 76 yards. Baltimore played without offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden (toe) and lost standout defensive end Trevor Pryce (broken wrist) in the third quarter.
Thomas Jones gained 67 yards rushing for the Jets, who had only 107 yards in offense through the first three quarters.
In the first half, Boller had a 110.6 quarterback rating and Clemens was at 19.4 after going 4-for-9 for 43 yards and an interception.
Baltimore went up 7-0 on McGahee's first NFL touchdown catch, a 2-yarder that ended a 65-yard drive in which Boller went 6-for-6 for 53 yards.
It was 7-3 before Ravens rookie Yamon Figurs, playing for the injured B.J. Sams, returned a kickoff 61 yards to set up a 28-yard field goal by Matt Stover.
Baltimore made it 17-3 when Boller connected with Heap on a 4-yard TD pass with 6 seconds left in the first half. Heap was initially called out of bounds, but a replay showed he got both feet down in the left side of the end zone.
Near the end of the third quarter, Boller threw a 37-yard pass to Heap, which led to a 43-yard field goal by Stover on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
