Ravens' Gaither appears to be good

The prognosis appears promising for Jared Gaither. The starting left offensive tackle returned to Baltimore with his Ravens teammates after suffering what appeared to be a head or neck injury in the second quarter of the team's 27-21 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

X-rays at Massachusetts General Hospital on Gaither's neck and shoulder were negative. He collided headfirst with quarterback Joe Flacco'sback while trying to block on a passing attempt. A magnetic resonance imagining is expected today on the 6-foot-9, 340-pound Gaither, who was too big to fit into the MRI machine at the Boston hospital.

The injury to Gaither, who lay on the turf about 15 minutes before being taken away on a stretcher, affected his teammates.

"It was pretty scary," left guard Ben Grubbs conceded. "Anytime you have an injury dealing with the neck, you want to take precautionary procedures. I saw that his extremities were moving, and that was very important to see. And then when I was walking down [the tunnel inside the stadium], his mom told me that he was good."

Without Gaither, rookie Michael Oher moved from his customary right tackle position to the left side and Marshal Yanda filled the vacancy on the right side.

"It's a tough position, but that's what is expected of you," said Yanda, who hadn't played right tackle since his 2007 rookie season. "When you're the No. 6 guy and someone goes down, you've got to step up. ... It's a tough position to be in, but it's the NFL, and you've got to perform."

Oher played left tackle at Mississippi, but he said he had no plans to take over for Gaither as the primary starter at that position. "He's a great player, so we definitely need him," Oher said. "Can't do it without him."

Brendon Ayanbadejo, second on the team in tackles before Sunday's loss, could miss a significant amount of time - and maybe the remainder of the season - after tearing his left quadriceps tendon.

Ayanbadejo, who was using crutches after the game, was injured early in the fourth quarter when he tried to tackle Patriots running back Sammy Morris and got caught in a massive scrum.

"I've never been injured before," said Ayanbadejo, who made five tackles in his first start at linebacker since Sept. 17, 2006. "If so, this is pretty tough. But at the same time, this is football and things happen. This is the first time this has ever happened in my career. We'll see what happens."

Fumble ... touchdown
Dwan Edwards'first recovered fumble of his career also yielded the first touchdown of his career.

Edwards was the beneficiary of defensive end-linebacker Terrell Suggs'sack and strip of New England quarterback Tom Brady inside the Patriots' 10-yard line. The loose ball tumbled toward the end zone, and Edwards outraced center Dan Koppen and covered up the fumble to trim a 10-point deficit to three in the third quarter.

"It was a sprint to the ball," Edwards said. "I saw the ball, and I couldn't believe it was right there by the goal line. I thought about picking it up, but luckily I fell and the ball crossed the goal line. I was pretty excited about that."

Ellerbe, Kruger play
Tavares Gooden'sloss was Dannell Ellerbe's gain.

With Gooden deactivated Sunday because of lingering issues with a concussion and shoulder injury, Ellerbe, an undrafted rookie, played frequently at inside linebacker alongside Ray Lewis.

"It was amazing just to be out there with Uncle Ray and Ed Reed and them boys," said Ellerbe, who finished with five tackles including one for a loss. "Playing with them in a real game just felt great. The speed of the game wasn't as fast as I thought it was. I was actually moving faster than the other guys. Ray had to tell me to calm down. I feel like I did all right, but I could get a whole lot better."

Rookie linebacker-defensive end Paul Kruger was activated for the first time Sunday. He recorded one tackle but could not get a sack.

"It's always awesome to be on the field," Kruger said, estimating that he had played about 10 snaps. "It's too bad about the outcome, but we're going to work hard. I'm going to keep going in practice and do what I can for the team."

End zone
The Ravens deactivated defensive tackles Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou, offensive tackles Oniel Cousins and Tony Moll, running back Jalen Parmele,and tight end Tony Curtis. ... Flacco, wide receiver Derrick Mason, tight end Todd Heap and center Matt Birk wore pink cleats and wristbands as part of a league-wide effort to raise awareness for breast cancer. The cleats will be auctioned off, with proceeds donated to breast cancer research. Wide receivers Mark Clayton and Kelley Washington, cornerback Fabian Washington, fullback Le'Ron McClain and offensive lineman David Hale wore pink gloves. ... New England deactivated linebacker Jerod Mayo (sprained medial collateral ligament in right knee) and wide receiver Joey Galloway. Galloway, who was not listed on the team's injury report, has caught seven passes for 67 yards in three games. Suggs, Washington and McClain represented the Ravens for the pre-game coin toss.