Ravens Batter Patriots 28-13, Head To New Orleans To Face 49ers In Super Bowl 47

These bitter defeats in the playoffs never get easy to accept, especially when the Patriots have made it a habit in the last eight years. There will be no trip to New Orleans to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 47 since the Baltimore Ravens (13-6, 6-4 away) came to Gillette Stadium tonight and beat down the Patriots (13-5, 7-3 home) 28-13 in the 2013 AFC Championship Game.

I'm not one to make excuses and there isn't a whole lot to say when your team leads 13-7 at home at halftime and then proceeds to get outscored 21-0 in the second half. The Ravens were tougher than the Patriots, their defense made way more plays and once they started working out of the shotgun in the second half, New England had no chance to stop them.

Aqib Talib hobbled off in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and Stevan Ridley (18 carries, 70 yards) got knocked out in the fourth quarter by Bernard Pollard (enough with that guy). Losing their top cornerback and best running back clearly hurt the Pats but their issues went far behind them and Rob Gronkowski's absence.

There were many signs that it wasn't their night: they squandered a chance for a touchdown at the end of the first half and settled for a field goal. Wes Welker (8 catches, 117 yards, TD) dropped a key third down pass early in the third quarter. Most of all, Joe Flacco (21 of 36, 240 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) was better than Tom Brady (29 of 54, 320 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs).

Brady's numbers look worse than he really was since one interception was tipped and the other was in garbage time but the point is that Baltimore didn't make any mistakes (0 turnovers) while New England had three (Ridley fumbled when Pollard concussed him). It is easy to blame the Pats defense and they certainly didn't cover themselves in glory giving up 21 points in the second half but New England is built around its offense and you'll never win with one touchdown and 13 points in a playoff game.

Nobody on the Ravens put up monster numbers but they all contributed to their first trip to the Super Bowl since 2000. Bernard Pierce had 52 yards rushing, Ray Rice had 70 total yards while Torrey Smith (4 catches, 69 yards), Anquan Boldin (5 catches, 60 yards, 2 TDs) and Dennis Pitta (5 catches, 55 yards, TD) each made plays for Flacco.

Baltimore has certainly earned it, beating Indianapolis Wild Card weekend then going on the road to knock off the top two seeds in the AFC: Denver and New England. Aaron Hernandez (9 catches, 83 yards) and Brandon Lloyd (7 catches, 70 yards) were fine but the Patriots lack a big play threat like Smith or even Boldin to some degree.

Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal was the only score of the first quarter. Ray Rice got Baltimore on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Welker answered with New England's only touchdown of the game: a 1-yard touchdown catch. Gostkowski's 25-yard field goal was the disappointing last play of the first half as the Pats went into the locker room with a shaky 13-7 lead. They had outplayed Baltimore but had little to show for it.

One play after getting crushed by Jerod Mayo (but holding onto a catch), Pitta's 5-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter gave the Ravens a 14-13 advantage that they would never relinquish. Boldin's 3-yard touchdown catch was the first play of the fourth quarter then he put it away on the ensuing drive after Ridley's fumble with an 11-yard touchdown catch. 21 unanswered points by Baltimore, unreal.

Every season that goes by without a Super Bowl title, you realize more and more how quickly Brady and Bill Belichick's window is closing. It's a tough reality that many don't want to face but that's how it is. The Pats have lost in all four different rounds of the playoffs in the past four postseasons. They've been so close, particularly in two Super Bowl losses to the Giants, but at low points like this you have to wonder if they'll get to the top again with this regime.

Questions about the NFL Draft, free agents (for the love of God please sign Welker) and other matters will have to wait for another day. For now, it's time to sign off on another uneven season for the Patriots. They were great at times, mostly in the regular season but once again they shriveled up as a team in the big moment. That has become more than a pattern since they beat the Eagles in Super Bowl 39.

UPDATE 1/21: Today the Patriots signed five players from the practice squad to future contracts: FB James Develin, WR Jeremy Ebert, WR Andre Holmes, DL Tracy Robertson and LB Jeff Tarpinian.

UPDATE 1/22: The Pats have reportedly signed former USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead, who played in the CFL last season. He got a three-year deal with $655,000 guaranteed and base salaries of $405,000 in 2013, $495,000 in 2014 and $585,000 in 2015.

UPDATE 1/23: Brady was fined $10,000 by the NFL today for kicking Ed Reed when he slid during a run.

UPDATE 1/26: Apparently the Pats can't get enough of guys from the CFL. At least this time, it's a guy that is from Brockton and played football at Northeastern (which doesn't have a program anymore). Defensive end/outside linebacker Jason Vega had 12 sacks over the last two seasons with Winnipeg and he worked out with New England in December.

UPDATE 1/31: The Pats re-signed linebacker Dane Fletcher to a one-year deal (terms weren't disclosed). He missed the entire 2012 season after tearing his ACL in the first preseason game in August.

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Patriots Suffer Another Devastating Loss, 31-30 To Ravens On Shady 27-Yd Field Goal

The esteemed Jerry Thornton of Barstool Sports said in his weekly Knee Jerk reactions piece (every Monday or Tuesday after a Patriots game) last Monday that the Patriots never lose in mundane fashion. This was after they fell 20-18 to the Cardinals last week on Stephen Gostkowski's missed field goal attempt.

They felt the other side of that pain tonight as once again they lost in another spectacular way, 31-30 against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Through incompetence of the replacement refs and the inability of New England's (1-2) defense to make a play/get a stop/get off the field, they allowed Baltimore (2-1) to move down the field and set up rookie Justin Tucker for a 27-yard field goal.

Of course in a game that featured 24 penalties (10 on New England, 14 on Baltimore), this had to end in a controversial manner: Tucker's chip shot appeared to go directly over the right goal post. Luckily with the clock nearing midnight on the East Coast (really) and no replays on field goals (really?), this gongshow was complete.

The easy thing to do which will no doubt be the choice of most Patriots apologists this week is to simply blame the officials. They were only part of the problem as the endless skirmishes after the whistle attest to. Let's start with the defense giving up 503 total yards plus 28 first downs and only 1 tackle for loss to the Ravens, including a monster performance from Joe Flacco (28 of 39, 382 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT), 150 yards for Ray Rice (101 rushing, 49 receiving, 1 rushing TD) and an incredible moment for Torrey Smith (6 catches, 127 yards, 2 TDs), who played after his younger brother tragically died this morning in a motorcycle accident. Steve Gregory had a gift interception and 37-yard return but other than that, the Pats defense didn't make any plays. Pressures, hurries and knockdowns were few and far between and they didn't have any sacks of Flacco.

The main reason the Pats find themselves under .500 for the first time in nine years (0-1 in 2003; but how'd that year turn out?) and 1-2 for the first time since 2001 because as usual, they couldn't protect a fourth-quarter lead (30-21). Stephen Gostkowski's 20-yard field goal put the Patriots up 30-21 with 14:10 left in the fourth but those were their final points. Smith cut it to 30-28 with a 5-yard touchdown catch with 4:01 left. New England moved the ball but Tom Brady (28 of 41, 335 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) was sacked then had to throw it away on third down.

While this game was going on, a main subplot was Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron locked into a battle of can you top this in horrible playcalls with New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. I'd say the edge goes to McDaniels since even though Cameron called a handoff to rookie Bernard Pierce on 4th and 1-stopped by Patrick Chung-McDaniels beat him with sheer volume of baffling decisions. An end around to Julian Edelman worked once, why not try it again on the same drive? Danny Woodhead had a few decent runs, let's give him more carries than Stevan Ridley. On and on it went with a guy that suddenly doesn't seem like the wizard we remember from 2007. Now he appears much more like the guy in over his head in Denver and also fired last season in St. Louis.

Brady threw a touchdown pass for the 35th straight game, the fourth longest streak in NFL history. Brandon Lloyd (9 catches, 108 yards) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 142 yards) gave him a combination that the Ravens could never really stop. With no Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski (2 catches, 21 yards; 3 targets) was just another guy. I guess Baltimore double-teamed him but doesn't the best tight end in the NFL need more touches than that?

Befitting a team that has become a frontrunner the past few seasons, New England jumped out to a quick lead then faded as the game went on. Gostkowski had a pair of field goals (37, 49) sandwiched around a 2-yard score by undrafted rookie running back Brandon Bolden (1st of his NFL career) in the first quarter for a 13-0 advantage.

The Ravens woke up in the second quarter with Flacco and Smith connecting on a pretty 25-yard touchdown. Dennis Pitta's 20-yard catch and run was a disgrace since Gregory and Devin McCourty had the most pathetic tackle attempts (called out by NBC's Cris Collinsworth) that you'll ever see.

Brady answered with a masterful 2-minute drill, still his specialty, that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown pass to Edelman over the middle with two seconds remaining in the half. New England led 20-14 at halftime.

Cameron remembered that his team had Rice in the third quarter, his 7-yard run made it 21-20 but Woodhead answered with a 3-yard score.

My head hurts from all the terrible calls, on both sides. I can also admit that McCourty needs to make a play when Flacco throws him multiple easy interceptions that he dropped. He also picked up a pass interference on the final drive when Flacco's ball was underthrown to Jacoby Jones (3 catches, 86 yards) and he didn't adjust properly.

The best outcome from this whole debacle is that it was the final straw that makes NFL owners (wake up Bob Kraft!) realize they need to get the real referees back in the games. After the Falcons-Broncos nightmare on Monday, this contest similarly in the national spotlight was more of the same dangerous slop. Plus, have you noticed how much longer these games are? Good lord, they are pushing four hours which is way too long for any sporting event (sorry Red Sox-Yankees).

The good news for the Patriots is that their schedule eases up for a while. They play the Bills (2-1) in Buffalo on Sunday (1 p.m.). Fred Jackson got hurt in Week 1 and C.J. Spiller was hurt early in today's game which means New England will likely be facing Tashard Choice. If there is anything you can count on in this crazy mixed up world, it's that the Patriots own the Bills. Until they prove us otherwise, I will keep clinging to that fact this week and beyond.

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Bring On The Ravens: New England Hosts Baltimore In The AFC Championship

After hanging on this afternoon for a very shaky 20-13 win over the Houston Texans, the Baltimore Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship next Sunday (3 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots.

I was rooting for the Texans to win mostly because I didn't see a way that the Pats could lose to T.J. Yates but I have to admit that deep down, a New England-Baltimore matchup is much more appetizing. Let's be honest: so far pretty much everything has gone the Patriots's way regarding the playoffs so it's about time that they face a worthy opponent.

They were bound to play a good team eventually, you cannot luck into a Super Bowl title no matter what year it is.

When I look at Baltimore (13-4), I see a team that still features a fearsome defense led by the ageless linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, defensive lineman Haloti Ngata and defensive end Terrell Suggs. The Ravens also have Ray Rice, one of the best all-around running backs in the NFL and Anquan Boldin, who is a quality receiver albeit not quite what he used to be.

In my mind, the main thing that holds the Ravens back is quarterback Joe Flacco. Watching the game today reminded me how much Flacco is basically a poor man's Drew Bledsoe. He's tall and has a big arm but it also takes him hours to make decisions and he has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket. I will say in his defense that his offensive line doesn't seem great but today, that just might have been a function of the Texans's excellent defense.

Rice will absolutely run over the Patriots's defense, Boldin will make some plays and Baltimore's defense will make Tom Brady and New England's offense work for however many points they get. The key for the Patriots is that they will need to make Flacco beat them. If that's the case, I like their chances since he's bound to throw a few passes up for grabs. Or if it's like today, his receivers will drop a bunch of catchable balls.

If Houston wasn't down to their third string, rookie quarterback, I am pretty sure they would have won. However, that doesn't matter. The Ravens are moving on and the Patriots will meet the same team that embarrassed them two years ago in the playoffs. It's an intriguing matchup from the sense of New England's outstanding offense against Baltimore's excellent defense.

As is usually the case in the playoffs (see Green Bay-New York tonight), it will most likely come down to who commits fewer penalties and mental mistakes. The winner of Baltimore vs. New England gets the winner of the NFC Championship: New York at San Francisco on February 5 in Indianapolis (worst Super Bowl site ever?).

The Ravens love to talk so it should be a fun and entertaining week of buildup leading into Sunday's meeting. I can't say that the Texans would have provided nearly as much fodder for talk radio, social media, etc.

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Flacco looks good without the unibrow

Nobody is talking about them nationally but the Patriots defense is legit. For the second week in a row, they beat a previously unbeaten team as they knocked off Baltimore 27-21 yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

Unlike the Falcons the week before, the Ravens (3-1) are for real. Not much separated these teams and essentially it came down to a dropped pass on fourth down by Baltimore receiver Mark Clayton.

Tom Brady had his best game of the season, 21 of 32 for 258 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Randy Moss (3 catches, 50 yards) scored his first touchdown of the season and Wes Welker (6 catches, 48 yards) returned after missing the past two games.

What this game will be remembered for is the Patriots' (3-1) defense making more plays than the much-hyped Baltimore D. On the opening kickoff of the game, New England's special teams caused and recovered a fumble. All they could get out of the great field position was a 32-yard kick by Stephen Gostkowski.

The next Ravens drive was the Joe Flacco (27 of 47, 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) and Derrick Mason (7 catches, 88 yards) show. The ageless receiver had six catches for 77 yards on that drive alone. He finished it off with a leaping, 20-yard touchdown catch when he held on despite landing awkwardly on his head.

Ray Rice showed off his skills with 103 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving.

New England put together its best two drives of the game in the second quarter as they scored two touchdowns in the red zone (which has been the team's biggest issue).

Brady finished off the first with a quarterback sneak up the middle for a yard. Sammy Morris' 12-yard run gave New England a 17-7 halftime lead.

Baltimore's defense got it back into the game with a fumble recovery by Dwan Edwards in the end zone. Terrell Suggs strip-sacked Brady on that play.

Moss put the lead back to two scores (24-14) when he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brady. It wasn't a beautiful throw or play but Brady did what he had to do as the Ravens were coming on a blitz. He simply threw it to Moss who had the inside position on Dominique Foxworth.

The Ravens wouldn't go away, a sign of how good they are, as Willis McGahee scored on a 13-yard catch and run.

Brady and the offense had one more score in them as Gostkowski added the final points on a 33-yard field goal.

The scoring defense has been impressive for the Patriots but they had been lacking big plays, until yesterday. Leigh Bodden recorded his first interception for New England and Mike Wright had two sacks.

Brandon Meriweather continued to develop into the playmaker that the secondary desperately needs as he had a team-high nine tackles. Rookie cornerback Darius Butler saw his most playing time of the season and he delivered with a few key pass breakups.

Another test awaits next Sunday as the Patriots travel to Denver to face the 4-0 Broncos and ex-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.