Baltimore ? Winless no more, the Baltimore Ravens made a mockery of the unbeaten Denver Broncos long before Chris McAlister taunted them during the longest play in NFL history.

McAlister returned a missed field goal 108 yards to put an exclamation point on a remarkable second quarter, and the Ravens cruised to a 34-23 victory Monday night.

Outscored 35-7 in its first two games, Baltimore (1-2) set a team record with a 31-point second quarter. The topper came on an alert play by McAlister and yet another gaffe by the Broncos’ special teams.

With one second left in the half and Baltimore up 24-3, Denver’s Jason Elam came up short on a 57-yard field goal try. McAlister caught the ball deep in the end zone, then hesitated before bringing it out.

Following a crushing block by Ray Lewis on Keith Burns at the Baltimore 5, McAlister broke to his left and easily outran the coverage. He began waving the ball over his head at the Denver 25 and high-stepped the rest of the way.

“That’s the way we practice it,” McAlister said. “I watched and hung in the end zone and let my guys set up the wall. All I saw was purple jerseys and green until I hit the end zone.”

McAlister’s second career touchdown all but spelled the end for the Broncos (3-1), who were victimized as much by their own mistakes as they were by an inspired Baltimore team looking for redemption.

Brian Griese was intercepted three times, Tom Rouen had a punt blocked and cornerback Deltha O’Neal was ejected in the second quarter for bumping head linesman Tom Stabile.

The Ravens’ Robert Tate took the second-half kickoff 64 yards to set up a field goal to make it 34-3. The Broncos fought back, but it was too big a hole to make up.

“Everything we do with this young team is a learning experience,” Ravens coach Brian Billick said. “Tonight it was learning to cope with the national spotlight. How were they going to react? Then, it was learning how to protect a big lead.”

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis hits Denver quarterback Brian Griese during Monday's game in Baltimore. The Ravens beat the Broncos, 34-23.

Baltimore, a seven-point underdog, was eager to prove that an offseason overhaul did not rob the team of its spirit.

“Nobody believes in us. We just played together. … We beat a first-class team tonight,” Lewis said.

O’Neal’s double foul accounted for two of eight first-half penalties totaling 86 yards against the Broncos.

Down 3-0, Baltimore used a 15-yard punt return by McAlister to take over at the Denver 46. On third-and-1 from the 23, Chris Redman faked a handoff and threw a strike to tight end Todd Heap, who made a leaping catch in the end zone above safety Kenoy Kennedy.

“The pass was just how I like it, high and soft,” Heap said. “I just outjumped the defender.”

That ended a run of 22 possessions without a score for the Ravens, who added plenty more during the next 14 minutes.