Sports

PENN RUNS DRY ON THIS MAGICAL COMEBACK STORY

MIAMI – Chad Pennington picked the worst possible time to turn into Brett Favre.

“The first pick, it was high,” Pennington said in the interview room after Ravens 27, Dolphins 9. “Second pick was a great play by Ed Reed – over-the-shoulder, not too many safeties make that. Third pick was just good one-on-one coverage, and I shouldn’t have thrown it. And then the fourth pick, that was Ed Reed being Ed Reed.” Pennington managed a half-smile here. “He’s up 20-3, and he totally leaves his spot – and shows up in a place that you would never imagine being in. So, that’s why he’s special.”

Pennington had thrown seven interceptions in 476 attempts this season. He threw four yesterday, two to Superman Reed. Just once – Dec. 20, 2003 against the Patriots, when he suffered five picks – had Pennington thrown more. No Dolphins quarterback had ever thrown more in a playoff game.

The Comeback Kid got his comeuppance.

“I certainly didn’t expect for it to end this way,” Pennington said.

In the summertime, he expected to be leading the Jets to the playoffs. Then came Favre. Then came Bill Parcells, calling for him. Then came his magical season. Then came yesterday.

It was a 3-3 game when Pennington finally took a deep shot, but Ted Ginn became entangled with Samari Rolle, and Reed made like Willie Mays chasing Vic Wertz’s drive in the 1954 World Series. Reed turned it into a 64-yard touchdown when Terrell Suggs plastered Pennington at the 6-yard line. The game turned right there.

“Four interceptions – three of those, I felt really good about, I mean I really did,” Pennington said.

It wasn’t Reed’s pick-six that bothered him. “I felt Ed was a little shallow. . . . I thought we were gonna split ’em,” he said.

It was 13-3 early in the third quarter when Pennington threw the interception he regretted – a deep ball for Davone Bess into double coverage that wound up in the arms of Fabian Washington.

“I’d like to have that one back,” Pennington said. “We really wanted to get some momentum going, and if we didn’t score at least change field position, ’cause we’d been backed up a lot, and it just didn’t happen.”

The Ravens defense, tough, smart, versatile, athletic and so well coached by coordinator Rex Ryan, stuffed the run (52 yards rushing on 21 carries) and dared Pennington (25-for-38, 252 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs) to beat them, and he could not.

“No. 1, they have unique concepts that they use,” Pennington said. “No. 2, they have excellent athletes within these concepts.”

Pennington had planned to play his efficient game and get to the fourth quarter in one piece.

“What happens is when you get down, you start to play in their hands,” Pennington said. “They can start giving you different pressure looks. They can start taking chances that they normally wouldn’t take if it was a tighter game.”

Pennington, the fighter, brought his team to within 20-9, but an ill-fated end-around to Ginn snuffed their final threat.

“If there’s ever been an epitome, and a picture of a team, I think it’s been our team,” Pennington said.

Someone asked him how he would rate his year, and Pennington’s answer was predictable to all the New York media who covered him for eight seasons.

“I play to win,” Pennington said. “When it ends like this, it’s difficult to deal with right now.”

He has taken Herm Edwards to the playoffs twice, and Eric Mangini and Tony Sparano once each, and still is chasing that elusive Super Bowl championship. But he bled not so much for himself, but for his team and teammates.

“It could have easily been an awkward situation when things happened on August the 8th . . . It’s been magical, it has,” Pennington said. “That’s why it hurts even worse, ’cause I really wanted to keep this thing going, and to really do some not good things, but great things.”

Sparano praised Pennington, who led Miami’s historic turnaround from 1-15 to 11-5.

“I told Chad Pennington that he’s my guy and that I believe in him,” Sparano said. “I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done for us. The guy’s a real trouper.”

Understand this: In the days and weeks to come, you will not hear any of his teammates throwing darts in his direction.