BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- On a day when his normally reliable defense fell apart, Tony Banks helped the Baltimore Ravens finally end the Jacksonville jinx in dramatic fashion.
The much-maligned Banks passed for a career-best five touchdowns, including the winning 29-yarder to tight end Shannon Sharpe with 41 seconds left, to lead the Ravens to a 39-36 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Baltimore had lost all eight of its previous meetings with the Jaguars.
"This is just huge for us," Banks said. "We got the monkey off our back today. I've never been in a game like this. The way we came back like that and throwing five touchdowns, especially after stinking it up in the first half, was pretty huge. I feel like Kurt Warner."
Although the Ravens finally ended the hex, they had no answers for Jaguars receiver Jimmy Smith, who enjoyed career-bests with 15 catches for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the fifth-highest single-game total for receiving yards in NFL history. Willie "Flipper" Anderson holds the record with 336 yards for the Rams in a November 26, 1989 game against New Orleans. Stephone Paige, Jim Benton and Cloyce Box were the only other receivers to have more than 300 yards receiving in a game.
The Jaguars had taken a 36-32 lead when Smith caught a pass which deflected off teammate Keenan McCardell and turned it into a 40-yard touchdown with 1:45 remaining.
But Banks marched the Ravens 75 yards in seven plays, capping it with a bullet pass over the middle to Sharpe, Baltimore's marquee free-agent signing in the offseason.
"For whatever reason, he's (Banks) not comfortable throwing to the tight end in the middle," Sharpe said. "I kept telling him 'throw me the ball.' We knew we had it. We knew we were going to get it."
The NFL's leader in receiving yards over the past four seasons, Smith caught scoring passes of 45 and 43 yards in the first quarter when Jacksonville stormed to a 17-0 lead. He has five career 100-yard receiving games against the Ravens.
But Banks, who completed 23-of-40 passes for 262 yards with two interceptions, rallied the Ravens to 32 second-half points. He hit rookie Travis Taylor with touchdown passes of 14 yards in the second quarter and 23 yards in the third. Banks also connected with fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo on a five-yard touchdown in the third and hit Jermaine Lewis with a 12-yard scoring play in the fourth.
"This was a big game against a team we never beat," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "This victory says a lot about the character of this team."
Jacksonville's Mark Brunell was 28-of-50 for 386 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
"In most situations, that's a victory," Brunell said. "You have to give credit to Tony Banks and their offense. They went right down the field and made the plays they had to make. They were very impressive today. We scored some points, but it wasn't enough."
Mike Hollis kicked field goals of 36, 45 and 48 yards in a first half dominated by the Jaguars, who outgained the Ravens, 257 yards to 94, and built a 23-7 lead.
But Banks opened the second half with a bang, hitting Taylor with a 40-yard pass to the Jacksonville 28. Three plays later, the two clicked again for a 23-yard touchdown and Banks hit Ben Coates with the two-point conversion pass to pull the Ravens within 23-15 1:29 into the third quarter.
Taylor rose to the occasion after star receiver Qadry Ismail sprained a knee ligament in the first half, catching four passes for 80 yards.
"When Qadry went down, he (Taylor) really stepped it up in the main receivers role," Billick said.
After Jacksonville went 3-and-out, the defense came through with a big play. Banks attempted to hit Taylor with a long pass, but the ball went off his hands and was picked off by safety Rayna Stewart, who returned it 24 yards to the Baltimore 41.
Jacksonville reached the Baltimore 16, but settled for a 34-yard field goal by Hollis with 6:47 left in the third quarter.
Baltimore responded with a 10-play, 76-yard drive which consumed nearly six minutes and resulted in Banks' short TD pass to Ayanbadejo, pulling the Ravens within 26-22 with 1:02 left in the quarter. Priest Holmes spearheaded the drive with 44 yards on four carries.
Linebacker Jamie Sharper made the defensive play of the game for the Ravens when he forced a fumble by Stacey Mack and recovered the ball at the Jacksonville 12 with 10:09 left.
Two plays later, Banks hit Lewis with a 12-yard touchdown, giving Baltimore its first lead, 29-26 with five minutes left.
On Jacksonville's ensuing possession, safety Kim Herring intercepted a pass by Brunell intended for Smith and returned it 30 yards to the Jacksonville 35. After a nine-yard pass from Banks to Holmes, the Ravens settled for a 44-yard field goal by Stover, increasing their lead to 32-26 with seven minutes left.
Jacksonville drove 51 yards on nine plays and Hollis kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 48-yarder with 4:53 remaining.
After a 3-and-out, Jacksonville took over on its own 39. Brunell hit Keenan McCardell with a 17-yard pass and connected with Smith on a four-yard play, moving the Jaguars to the Baltimore 40 at the two-minute warning.
Two plays later, Brunell threw a pass that was tipped in the air by McCardell and caught by Smith at the Baltimore 10. Smith broke a tackle by Chris McAlister at the 10 and raced into the end zone with 1:45 left.
"How many looked at when Jacksonville scored, and said 'here we go again,'" Billick said. "How many fans thought the same thing. Those guys weren't going to allow that to happen."
Banks drove the Ravens down the field with time to spare. He connected with Billy Davis on passes of 19 and 15 yards and hit Ayanbadejo with a 12-yard pass before Sharpe's game-winning catch.
"I'm very disappointed in our second half," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said. "They beat us in man coverage and they beat us in zone coverage. The fact that the Ravens were able to move the ball when everyone knew they had to have a touchdown on the last drive was pretty frustrating. They came through the middle of the field against two deep-coverage and we allowed the tight end (Sharpe) to go right down the middle. There's no excuse for that."
