Written by Lorenzo Reyes at USAToday.com
It could have been a blowout.
The New England Patriots were rolling, scoring 16 unanswered points to open the game and looking like they would cruise to yet another ho-hum, business-as-usual victory at Gillette Stadium.
But then they stumbled because of an unlikely foe: Themselves.
The Patriots played a sloppy, mistake-prone game, but their offense dispatched a normally stout Baltimore Ravens defense in Monday night’s 30-23 victory. Despite the uneven performance, the Patriots (11-2) strengthened their hold on the AFC’s top playoff seed and are now win away from another division title and first-round bye.
And even when they’re imperfect, they have Tom Brady.
“We had some self-inflicted errors out there,” the star quarterback lamented in his post-game press conference. “Plenty of those, but I love that we found a way to win.”
That way to win is largely thanks to his right arm.
Brady became the fourth player in NFL history to throw 450 career touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels crafted and executed an excellent gameplan that didn’t attack Baltimore’s strength (league-leading rushing defense) but rather exploited its weakest spots (mismatches in the secondary). New England ran the ball just 26 times for 95 yards and unleased a high-volume passing attack in which Brady completed 25 of 38 passes for 406 yards and three TDs.
The Ravens (7-6) now find themselves in a hole in the AFC North after the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5) beat the Buffalo Bills Sunday to take the lead in the division. Baltimore had what was the NFL’s top total defense at the beginning of the night, and one that began this game allowing opponents to gain only 296.1 yards per game. By halftime, the Patriots had logged 289. By game’s end, New England racked up 496 total yards, the most the Ravens had allowed all season.
But New England couldn’t get out of its own way.
Brady’s numbers would have been even better had he not inexplicably lofted a careless pass from the Baltimore 2-yard line that Ravens safety Eric Weddle intercepted in the second quarter.
Even with a pair of enormous special teams gaffes — consecutive returns that were botched and fumbled by cornerback Cyrus Jones and receiver Matthew Slater, respectively — the Patriots were never quite in serious jeopardy.
To continue reading this article, click here.
