Baltimore Ravens runnning back Ray Rice isn't a fumbler, so he'd rather not discuss his mistakes from Sunday's wild-card victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Baltimore Ravens back snapped a stretch of 445 touches without losing a fumble by handing two away to the Colts, but says ball-control won't be an issue Saturday against the Denver Broncos.
"I didn't fumble all year. So I don't really get that question," Rice told ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "It's just me being smart in the situation. You look at how many touches I had already. My fumble ratio is way down. Once again, I'm going to address it -- I'm not a fumbler. You guys know that, and that'll be the last time I address me fumbling. It won't happen again."
Rice deserves the benefit of the doubt outside of January. He's been a vault in the regular season, but the playoffs have been a different story. Per Hensley, Rice has six lost fumbles in 1,527 regular-season touches, one every 218. His four lost fumbles in 152 playoff touches comes out to one every 30.
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Backup Bernard Pierce saw his carries go up against the Colts after Rice's second fumble, but coach John Harbaugh said his starter isn't in the doghouse.
"It really wasn't any decision other than the fact that we think we have two good guys that can play," he said.
That's been obvious for some time. Pierce has grown this season and doesn't represent a visible step down from Rice when he's on the field. Rice's fumbles were an aberration, the team hopes. If they weren't, Baltimore has more than one weapon in the backfield.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
