Baltimore, MD (My Sportsbook) - Mark Sanchez threw an interception that was returned for a 25-yard Haloti Ngata touchdown on his first pass attempt of the night, and the Baltimore Ravens never trailed in a 24-23 win over the New York Jets in the second preseason outing for each team.

Sanchez, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 draft out of USC, received the start and had a chance to put a stranglehold on the Jets' starting QB job.

But the rookie struggled, nearly throwing an interception to Ray Lewis on his first pass after the Ngata interception, and presiding over a delay-of-game penalty later in the same first-quarter series, before calming down somewhat.

For the night, Sanchez was 3-of-8 for 43 yards, and his highlight of the game came on a 19-yard touchdown pass to Leon Washington in the second quarter. The throw was Sanchez's final one of the night.

"[It was] a great experience, not the best start on Monday night, but I learned quite a bit," said Sanchez. "The first play I thought I was checking the ball down and the d-lineman jumped right in front of the ball, so obviously [the Ravens are] an athletic group."

Later in the second quarter, Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens befell the same fate as the rookie, as his pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker Jameel McClain and returned for a 16-yard touchdown.

The scene could not have been surprising for Jets head coach Rex Ryan, formerly a 10-year assistant for the Ravens (1999-2008) who had guided the team's defense for the final four of those years.

"I don't care if you've coached for us or not, when you play against our defense, it's hard," said Lewis, who pressured Sanchez on the pass that was intercepted by Ngata. "You put a young guy like Sanchez in there, and you see our defense, it can be difficult."

After throwing the first-half pick, Clemens redeemed himself with a 28-yard touchdown pass to David Clowney early in the third quarter.

Clowney, the third-year-pro, continued to serve as one of the Jets' stories of the preseason. In two warm-ups, the Virginia Tech product has five catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Ravens attack, starting quarterback Joe Flacco was just 8-of-18 passing, but his completions counted for 120 yards and he executed a nifty Statue of Liberty hand-off to running back Ray Rice for a three-yard first quarter touchdown.

"We worked on it in practice, the little Statue of Liberty play, which I was representing to the New York area," said the Rutgers alumnus Rice, who carried eight times for 29 yards overall."

Flacco was succeeded in the lineup by Troy Smith, who completed 4-of-9 passes for 84 yards and an interception in the win.

The Jets had a chance to win the game late after third-stringer Erik Ainge led a touchdown drive that culminated in his own one-yard score and cut the Baltimore lead to 24-23 with 22 seconds to play. But the ensuing two-point conversion try failed when Ainge's pass attempt to Marcus Henry fell incomplete.

Game Notes

The Ravens had five interception returns for touchdowns during the 2008 regular season, when the Baltimore defense was coordinated by Ryan...Among the Ravens absent on Monday night were outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (heel), wide receiver Mark Clayton (hamstring), and cornerback Samari Rolle (neck)...The Jets were without cornerback Darrelle Revis (hamstring), defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (calf), right tackle Damien Woody (concussion), and kicker Jay Feely (groin)...In addition to Ryan, former Ravens wearing Jets colors in the game included linebacker Bart Scott, safety/punt returner Jim Leonhard, and end Marques Douglas...Ravens tight end L.J. Smith left the contest with a hamstring injury and did not return...The Jets will be back in action on Saturday night against the Giants at the Meadowlands...Baltimore's next preseason game will come at Carolina on Saturday.