FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots needed to make a statement Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
And they did. Kind of.
The Patriots made the NFL’s leading defense look rather ordinary – even mediocre at times – in their 30-23 victory at Gillette Stadium, passing and running and scoring against the Ravens like few teams have this year. Tom Brady threw for 406 yards against a team that had given up just 296.1 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) per game this year.
And that certainly bodes well for the future, given that New England is missing some of its top offensive threats because of injuries.
But any positive vibes from the win must be tempered.
New England’s failure to put the Ravens away in the second half, after building a 23-3 lead, is troubling. If you’re going to contend for a Super Bowl championship, you cannot let teams back into games.
The Pats – specifically their special teams – did just that.
Shea McClellin hurdled the Ravens line and it was so clean. Wow.#Patriots #BALvsNEhttps://t.co/TLHINDc0Yg
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) December 13, 2016
A botched punt by rookie Cyrus Jones, where the ball deflected off his foot at the New England 15 and rolled away, eventually recovered by Baltimore’s Chris Moore at the Patriots’ 3-yard line, gave the Ravens life, and Joe Flacco threw a 3-yard TD pass to Darren Waller to make it 23-10.
That’s not bad. Great teams shrug off rookie mistakes, right?
But then veteran Matthew Slater, who missed the last two games with a foot injury, fumbled the ensuing kickoff return and Baltimore’s Shareece Wright recovered at New England’s 22. Flacco then threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to a wide, wide, wide-open Kenneth Dixon and it was suddenly 23-17, and the Patriots were shaken.
It got down to 23-20 with 6:35 remaining when Mr. Automatic Justin Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal. The Ravens were forced to kick it because Rob Ninkovich sacked Flacco for an 8-yard loss on third down.
It was then up to Brady to make the game’s defining play.
On first down from New England’s 21, out of the shotgun formation, he found Chris Hogan running free down the center of the field. Hogan had lined up in the slot on the right and ran a seam route. No one covered him.
Brady hit Hogan in stride and 79 yards later the Patriots were ahead 30-20.
At times, Brady looked shaky, but when the biggest moment of the game arrived, he embraced it and – as usual – delivered.
New England’s offensive performance against the NFL’s top-ranked defense was remarkable: 496 total yards; Brady threw for 406 yards; 95 rushing yards (72 by LeGarrette Blount); seven receivers catching passes, led by Julian Edelman with seven for 73 and Hogan with five for 129.
Its defense played well too. Malcom Brown had a safety in the first quarter for the game’s first points when he tackled Dixon in the end zone. Devin McCourty had an interception.
The special teams even had a hand in the early lead as Shea McClellin leaped over the center and blocked a field-goal attempt.
But the gaffes by Jones – who surely has run out of chances to return punts for New England – and Slater marred the game.
New England is clearly a contender for another championship. So is Kansas City. So is Oakland. Pittsburgh can be dangerous.
Playoff games are not usually high-scoring offensive games. They usually come down to defensive stops and special teams play.
The Patriots need to find someone they can trust to return punts and kickoffs. Danny Amendola’s ankle injury hurts the team probably more as a returner than a receiver.
James White and Dion Lewis eventually returned kickoffs. Edelman and Patrick Chung returned punts late in the game.
There’s too much at stake now to rely on a rookie with no confidence.
Patriots fans certainly left happy and they should have.
At 11-2, the Patriots are clearly in control of the No.1 seed in the AFC, which means home games in the playoffs.
They proved Monday night that their offense can beat any defense, even the NFL’s best. Now if they can fix a couple of holes, this team will be in the hunt again for the game’s biggest prize.
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