ATLANTA -- Tyrod Taylor left the Georgia Dome late Thursday night with his left arm in a sling after his audition to cement his status as the Baltimore Ravens' backup quarterback was cut short by a punishing tackle.

Taylor's status was the highest-profile issue surrounding what amounted to a glorified scrimmage Thursday night as the Ravens (3-1) concluded the preseason with a 21-7 victory over the winless Atlanta Falcons.

"I think it's just something minor, said Taylor, who indicated that he didn't have the shoulder X-rayed yet with tests revealing no separation. "It's a short setback, a couple of days off. I think I'll be ready for the regular season."

The rookie's injury was characterized as a contusion. The former Virginia Tech standout was replaced by third quarterback Hunter Cantwell.

"The only issue we encountered this game was Tyrod Taylor and his small injury that might just be a bruised shoulder," coach John Harbaugh said. "We'll see how serious it is, but it doesn't appear right now to be real serious. If we find out he can't play, then we will definitely have an issue."

Taylor had a rough night in general as he completed just 2 of 3 passes for 16 yards with one interception.

Staring over the middle as he tried to connect with wide receiver David Reed, Taylor telegraphed his errant throw and it was intercepted by cornerback Brent Grimes.

Then, he got crushed by Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann as left offensive tackle Ramon Harewood missed his block.

Now, the Ravens will internally debate whether they should anoint Taylor as the primary backup to quarterback Joe Flacco or if they need to sign a veteran insurance policy such as Jake Delhomme, Todd Bouman, Chris Simms or J.P. Losman or wait to see if Sage Rosenfels is released. Taylor finished the preseason with one touchdown pass and three interceptions.

Harbaugh said the Ravens will keep their options open.

"It's like I've been saying all along, it's going to depend on who's out there," Harbaugh said. "That's what affects the decision more than anything."

The Ravens opted to rest quarterback Joe Flacco and the starting offensive line after contemplating all week whether to have them make a brief appearance to build timing.

"It came down to the wire," Harbaugh said. "Late last night, I finally decided to go this way. I thought there was merit in playing those guys. I felt like the risk outweighed the benefit for this game."

The Ravens regained the lead for good when rookie cornerback Chykie Brown returned a John Parker Wilson interception 65 yards for the touchdown.

Brown was so far in front that he had time to raise the football in the air in celebration before he entered the end zone.

"Chykie did really well," Harbaugh said. "He was up and down at camp and understanding the defense from a discipline standpoint. Chykie got out there and made a lot of the right decisions."

Brown's interception was triggered by linebacker Chavis Williams' hit on Wilson to affect the throw and cause it to flutter.

"I ran his route," Brown said. "I thought the quarterback was going to try to throw it out of bounds. When he threw it, the ball was just floating in the air so I ran under it and I was gone."

A fifth-round draft pick from the University of Texas vying to make the team as the 10th defensive back, Brown is hoping his first big play of the preseason boosts his standing.

"I think it can open a lot of coaches' eyes, not just this team, but other teams," Brown said. "If I don't make this team, then I can go someplace else. This is where I want to be."

Opportunistic on defense, the Ravens intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles.

"It was a good night for the guys," Harbaugh said. "Especially the defense, which did an outstanding job."

The offense struggled mightily as Cantwell struggled with his accuracy and decision-making.

Cantwell completed just 13 of 28 passes for 111 yards, no touchdowns and an interception for a 42.4 passer rating.

He's not expected to make the team, but could be brought back to join the practice squad for the second year in a row.

Sam Koch was called on to punt eight times.

The Ravens' top performances were on defense where defensive end Pernell McPhee and outside linebacker Paul Kruger applied a lot of heat to the Falcons' quarterbacks.

Kruger decked former Ravens quarterback Chris Redman for a sack and forced fumble in the first quarter after the offensive line overplayed blitzing safety Bernard Pollard. And Pollard pounced on the loose football.

Pollard may be on the verge of earning the starting strong safety job ahead of Tom Zbikowski as he finished the game with three tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery.

One quarter later, McPhee sacked Redman for a nine-yard loss and forced a fumble recovered by cornerback Jimmy Smith.

For the third time this preseason, though, McPhee had a forced fumble and sack overturned by instant replay as the officials ruled that Redman's arm was moving forward.

"The more of those we can get, we'll take them," Harbaugh said. "They've got to turn into fumbles at some point, right?"

The Ravens finally got on the scoreboard with 1:01 remaining in the first half when kicker Billy Cundiff knocked in a 32-yard field goal.

In a debatable call, receiver David Reed was flagged for offensive pass interference when he caught the ball in the end zone prior to the field goal.

The score was set up inside linebacker Jason Phillips' deflected interception. Phillips is battling for one of the final roster spots.

"Jason Phillips is outstanding and really stepped up," Harbaugh said. "He was all over the field making tackles."

It was Smith, the rookie first-round draft pick, whose physical play led to the turnover.

Smith bashed into wide receiver Andy Strickland, knocking the ball toward Phillips, a former fifth-round draft pick from Texas Christian who's battling for one of the final roster spots.

"Their goal was to take the ball down the field a couple times and score, get some work with their first offensive line and second quarterback," Harbaugh said. "I thought our defense did a nice job of putting a crimp in those plans. They stepped up, mostly our second defense and a couple of young starters."

By halftime, the Ravens managed to generate only 72 yards of total offense with just three first downs.

The Ravens' defense broke down in the third quarter.

First, Smith was flagged for an illegal horse collar tackle with a 15-yard penalty assessed.

Two plays later, running back Antone Smith dashed 46 yards for a touchdown as he beat linebacker Josh Bynes and safety Nate Williams as the Falcons took a 7-3 lead.

However, it was short-lived,

Wilson's pass arrived well short of intended wide receiver Brandyn Harvey and Brown swooped in for the interception.

In the fourth quarter, the Ravens tacked on a 44-yard field goal from Cundiff and a five-yard touchdown run by undrafted rookie Damien Berry.

The Ravens added another two points after the Berry score when Cantwell rolled out to his right and found fullback Ryan Mahaffey for the conversion.

Auditioning for the sixth wide receiver job, undrafted rookie wide receiver LaQuan Williams had a 33-yard punt return.

Undrafted rookie outside linebacker Michael McAdoo had a sack and forced fumble to lead to Berry's touchdown.

McAdoo went undrafted in the NFL supplemental draft and was signed to a three-year contract by Baltimore. He hadn't played in a football game in two years due to eligibility problems.

The Ravens have until Saturday to get down to the NFL roster limit of 53 players.

Over the next two days, they'll be making a lot of decisions. Over two dozen players will be cut.

"That's what this game is for," Harbaugh said. "It's an opportunity to see those guys in the line of fire. There will be some decisions made off this game."