Patriots Send Ravens Flying Back South – Advance to AFC Championship

Good evening, Patriots fans! I’m going to be honest, this game was too close to comfort. But in the end, all that matters is that our New England Patriots have more points than the opposition. That’s exactly what it was in today’s AFC Divisional match up at home against the Baltimore Ravens!

This first half was a true struggle for the Patriots. I mean, we knew coming into this game that the Patriots would be in for a tough test. But they were playing outright pathetic. In the first few minutes of the game, Baltimore drove down and Joe Flacco found Kamar Aiken (who??) in the end zone. New England could not respond and the Ravens added to their lead – with Flacco finding Steve Smith for a touchdown. Sooner or later, you knew the Patriots would answer back. They made the plays they needed to drive down and Tom Brady finished it by running into the end zone himself! They found their way into Baltimore territory again and would not be denied. When the Pats were in the red zone, Brady found Danny Amendola, who would dive into the end zone to tie this game up at 14! I’m glad the Patriots defense stepped up their game and gave Brady more chances to help put the Pats up ahead. Unfortunately the 2-minute offense failed when Brady threw a pick to Daryl Smith (gee..how many Smith’s does Baltimore have?? They have a Steve, Torrey, and Daryl, am I missing any?). Flacco’s offense would take advantage and lead his Ravens down a very short field. Before the end of the half, Flacco found tight end Owen Daniels for a touchdown. The Patriots would head into the locker room down 21-14 when they should be potentially be up. The offensive line was struggling too, but maybe that was because C Brian Stork exited the game with an injury (he would not return).

The 2^nd half didn’t start off too great. A PI flag on Brandon Browner helped the Ravens convert a 4^th down which eventually led to a Justin Forsett touchdown. Up by 14, were the Patriots’ AFC Championship hopes coming to an end? Short answer, nope! Brady drove the Pats down to midfield and then orchestrated the most unexpected of plays. Brady threw side pass to Julian Edelman, who bombed the ball deep to Amendola for a touchdown! 51 yards deep too – unbelievable! Later on, Flacco was picked off by Devin McCourty but the Pats couldn’t get any points on the turnover. The Ravens took advantage of that, drove down the field, and got Justin Tucker to kick a field goal. No problem though because Brady was able to lead the Pats down again and threw an amazing fade touchdown to pass to Brandon LaFell! The Patriots finally had the lead for the first time in the game. With the Ravens needing a touchdown, they almost looked like they were going to get it. They converted a 4^th down but Flacco was picked off in the end zone by Duron Harmon! Unfortunately bad clock management allowed Baltimore to get the ball back for one last Hail Mary. But thankfully, McCourty batted the ball down as it was floating to the end zone and that would be it! Your final: Baltimore Ravens 31, New England Patriots 35!

Wow what an unbelievable game! Tons and tons of problems defensively and there wasn’t much of a rushing game. They need to get this fixed next week. Oh yeah, what’s next week? The AFC Championship!!! The Pats are so used to making it to the AFC Championship every year, it’s crazy. But hey, I’m not complaining. Enjoy the rest of the week and take it easy, Pats fans! We’re on to Indianapolis/Denver. Be sure to follow me and the blog on twitter.