Top five moments of the 2013 Ravens season

Looking back, here are five moments to remember from this past season:

1) Marlon Brown's surprising rookie season

An undrafted free agent out of Georgia, Brown originally thought he was going to sign a contract with Houston. But after a disagreement with the Texans, he wound up in Baltimore. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Brown was a guy the franchise scouted and that he jumped out on tape. It turned out to be a win/win for both parties.

Brown had to step in quickly after Jacoby Jones went down for the first part of the season with a knee injury. Brown caught three touchdowns in Baltimore's first four games this year. He finished with 524 yards and seven touchdowns, the latter number tying Torrey Smith's rookie record.

Brown could become someone that contributes a great deal moving forward.

2) Tandon Doss, Daryl Smith lead Ravens past Texans

In Week 3, no one knew the Texans would turn out as bad as they did. But still, it's the NFL. Any team can win on any Sunday.

Down 6-3 against Houston, the Ravens were flat and in need of some kind of spark. They got it from linebacker Daryl Smith, who took an interception 37 yards the other way for a touchdown. After Houston's next possession, receiver Tandon Doss fielded a punt and took it 87 yards for a score.

The M&T Bank Stadium crowd was rocking and the Ravens would go on to win 30-9.

3) Defense bounces back, beats Bengals in overtime

This was almost a disaster.

Up 17-10 with just a few seconds left in regulation, Andy Dalton heaved a pass 51 yards down the field. Misjudging the pass a bit, James Ihedigbo was out of position and tipped the ball in the air. The ball then fell into A.J. Green's hands and the game went to overtime.

Not to worry, as the defense would step up to make a couple of big plays. On a third-and-2, Daryl Smith and Ihedigbo stopped Gio Bernard for no gain. On fourth-and-2, Ihedigbo read the pass play to Bernard and forced him to turn back against the grain. Corey Graham was able to then tackle him for an 11-yard loss.

The Ravens then marched the ball down to the Bengals 28-yard line and set Justin Tucker up for a 46-yard field goal to win the game 20-17.

4) Beating the Vikings in the snow

The Ravens didn't like to make it easy for themselves much this year. Against the Vikings, this was evident.

Both teams were sluggish for about 58 minutes worth of game time, with the M&T Bank Stadium field covered in snow and ice playing a big part. Down 12-7, Joe Flacco found Dennis Pitta — in his first game back from a hip injury — for a 1-yard touchdown at the 2:05 mark in the fourth quarter. The Ravens then converted a two-point conversion to go up 15-12.

Then the game got wild. Two Vikings plays later, Toby Gerhart ran for a 41-yard touchdown to go back ahead 19-15. But Jacoby Jones would swing the score the other way with a 77-yard kickoff return down the left sideline for a touchdow to put the Ravens ahead 22-19.

Then, with 45 seconds left, Matt Cassel hit Cordarrelle Patterson on a quick pass, which the rookie took for 79 yards to put the Vikings up 26-22.

The Ravens weren't done, however. Flacco found Brown on first down for a 35-yard gain. The Ravens then picked up 18 yards on a defensive pass interference call. Flacco then found Pitta for 18 yards to get the Ravens to Minnesota's 9. After calling a timeout with 10 seconds left, Flacco found Brown in the back of the end zone. Brown had a nice toe-tap to stay in-bounds and give the Ravens a 29-26 win.

5) Justin Tucker's big game against the Lions

Baltimore's offense struggled all season. But thanks to its kicker, three points was almost a guarantee once the Ravens moved inside the opposition's 40-yard line.

The Ravens needed Tucker for all 60 minutes against the Lions. Having hit kicks from 29, 24, 32, 49, and 40 yards out, the Ravens needed him once again to pull through for the Ravens. Down 16-15 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens were initially going to go for it on fourth-and-7 from the Lions 44 before calling a timeout.

Harbaugh then sent out Tucker, who told his coach, "I got this." The 61-yard attempt went up and cleared the goal post. The Ravens took an 18-16 lead with 38 seconds to go and won the game.

Tucker had a magnificent season, making 38 of 41 field goals. He was voted the team's MVP by the local media.