Ravens put on brave face after stinging loss

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (R) reacts on the sidelines in the second half against the New England Patriots during the NFL's AFC Championship football game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, January 22, 2012.

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens put on a brave face after a heartbreaking 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference title game on Sunday but their pain was on display for all to see.

The Ravens did all they could to book their place in the February 5 Super Bowl but stumbled at the last hurdle. Receiver Lee Evans had a potential game-winning pass stripped from his hands and, two plays later, Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that would have forced overtime.

The Baltimore players and coaching staff were united in their grief, but no one was pointing the finger.

"We win as a team, we lose as a team," 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis told reporters. "This is a disappointing loss, but life goes on."

Coach John Harbaugh was also adopting a philosophical approach to the defeat, saying he was proud of his players for the way they played.

"We came up a play or two short at the end but it doesn't lessen what they achieved in this game or this season," he said. "This is what we do, this is what pro football is all about.

"We didn't come back with the victory but we laid it all out there."

The Ravens almost pinched the win when Flacco found Evans in the end zone. Evans caught the pass but Patriots Sterling Moore swatted the ball out of hands to preserve the lead.

The officials ruled that there was no touchdown and Harbaugh was prevented from challenging the decision because it happened in the last two minutes.

"I tried to get their attention. I thought they would at least look at it," he said. "I was surprised they didn't look at it in the situation but I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone about it."

Lewis, one of the survivors from the Baltimore team that won the Super Bowl in the 2000 campaign, said the defeat would only spur the Ravens to greater heights next season.

"That's the irony of sport. There's a winner and there's a loser and when you lose you've got to suck it up like a man," he said.

"As a man and as a team you have to keep moving and keep building and remember this taste because no matter how many times you go through it because when you finally get it, you appreciate it more."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)