Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Ravens' Torrey Smith is king of drawing pass interference

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- It's been a familiar scene this season: Torrey Smith gets open downfield, Joe Flacco launches a pass, and a defender bumps or holds Smith.

The penalty flag falls to the ground as Smith's frustrations rise, unable to break a long touchdown.

Smith has drawn an NFL-leading 12 pass interference penalties this season for 261 yards. That's an average of 21.7 yards per penalty.

The latest came in last Saturday's AFC wild-card game in Pittsburgh, where Smith drew a 32-yard pass interference penalty on a third-and-2 play  in the third quarter. The Baltimore Ravens ended the drive with a field goal four plays later.

"I don’t want to be known for a guy that’s just getting held all the time, but it just happens," Smith said. "I guess most times it’s because I’m moving pretty good, and it kind of surprises them a little bit, so they grab you. If I was a DB [defensive back], I would do the same thing, so I don’t really complain about it too much.”

Smith said he expects to see Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner lined up across from him in Saturday's AFC divisional playoff game at New England. Smith said he feels the Patriots are going to put the more physical corner on him and try to jam him at the line.

This could lead to more flags Saturday. Browner leads the Patriots with 15 penalties, which includes five for pass interference.

“I think the biggest thing is when we do throw to him deep, it’s because we have a good matchup or we have a good coverage for it to work, and he’s doing a great job of winning," Flacco said. "It’s all because of him doing his job in the beginning and beating man-to-man or getting over top of the zone, putting himself in position to make that big play and putting the defender in a recovery-type mode and forcing his hand a little bit and making him do something that he probably doesn’t want to.”

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Flacco's passes have drawn 15 pass interference penalties. The Ravens have only been forced to punt once following those penalties, and they have converted 56 points on drives that have included a pass interference flag.

^ Back to Top ^