"Willis McGahee chuckled at a question asking whether he might have been held out of action in the Ravens' 23-20 loss to the Patriots because he was being punished for some rules violation the team is trying to keep quiet.

"Where is everyone getting this punishment thing from?" McGahee said. "You all think I'm this bad guy who did something wrong? I was on time for everything. I went to every meeting. ... There was no punishment. Not that I know of. I didn't do anything wrong. I hope it wasn't a punishment."

McGahee said he didn't have any real insight into why he played zero plays for the first time in his Ravens career. A 17-7 loss to the Bengals in 2009 was the only previous game for Baltimore in which McGahee was healthy, but didn't have a single carry. But McGahee did play two series in that game. Against the Patriots, he didn't even step on the field. "