Ups & Downs: Patriots Defense Impresses, Brady Throws Three Touchdowns Vs. Ravens
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It wasn't easy. It wasn't always pretty, either. But it usually isn't against the Baltimore Ravens, and in the end, the Patriots walked away with a win.
Had it not been for a pair of mistakes on special teams, Monday night's game could have been a blowout. The Patriots had nearly 500 yards of offense against one of the best defenses in the NFL, and the defense had one of their best games of the season against a formidable foe.
But the final score was a lot closer than it had to be, and the Ravens were threatening for much of the fourth quarter. Bill Belichick said after the game it was essentially how they thought it would go against a tough Baltimore squad.
"It came down to key plays there in the fourth quarter, especially in the last couple of minutes; some good situational football," said Belichick. "I thought our guys really hung in there. It wasn't perfect. We had three turnovers, obviously hurt us. But we kept battling and made some big plays in all three areas of the game there at the end when we had to make them. That's the important thing, is to come out of here with a win against a good football team."
The Patriots picked up their 11th win of the season, which puts them in the driver's seat for the top seed in the AFC. Here are the Ups & Downs from Monday night's 30-23 victory over the Ravens:
Ups
Defense Steps Up
The questions have been plentiful surrounding the Patriots defense throughout the season, and they've been warranted. But on Monday night, when the game got close and they had to rise up and show something, the defense did just that.
Take away some great field position by the Ravens thanks to a pair of special teams gaffes, and the defense likely would have kept Joe Flacco and company out of the end zone. After the Ravens scored a touchdown with 5:24 to go in the third quarter to cut the Pats' lead to 23-17, off a fumbled kickoff return, the defense buckled down and didn't let Baltimore find pay dirt the rest of the way.
A big part of their success was the Pats' defense getting off the field on third down, with Baltimore converting just six of their 16 third down tries. That was all highlighted by a key stop with 7:42 to play, when Rob Ninkovich pulled down Flacco for a sack. The Ravens had been threatening, down to the New England 12, but that sack ended the drive with just three more points going onto the scoreboard, making it 23-20. Baltimore never got any closer. It was one of the many big plays the defense came up with the outcome still uncertain.
Trey Flowers had New England's other sack of the night on Baltimore's first drive of the game, and some would argue he was robbed of a forced fumble when officials ruled that Flacco was down because of forward progress. And we can't forget about Malcom Brown's safety, as the defensive lineman swallowed up Kenneth Dixon in the end zone for the first points of the game.
In the secondary, the Patriots took away Flacco's deep targets and forced him to check down to short options.
The Ravens ended up with 23 points on the scoreboard, but 14 of those should be on the mistakes of the special teams unit. In a season that has been spent questioning the defense, the Patriots should feel better about that unit after Monday night.
Those Throws...
Tom Brady makes it look easy most times. A little too easy.
He did have a horrible pick, but now that that's out of the way, we can look at his three touchdowns. His first was a great throw to Malcolm Mitchell from six yards out, threading the needle between a pair of defenders. It was Mitchell's fourth touchdown in as many weeks.
Brady's second touchdown was a beautiful toss that dropped right into Martellus Bennett's hands, with linebacker Zachery Orr draped all over the tight end.
Bennett summed it up nicely after the game, in a way that only Martellus Bennett can.
"I had it. Sometimes there is one slice of pizza left and two hands that reach into the box. I'm always going to get the last slice," Bennett said after the game. "Unless it's my wife's hand; then I'll let her get it."
Brady's third score was his best, a 79-yard strike to a wide open Chris Hogan, who went streaking down the field untouched. Brady sold the play-action and no Baltimore defender thought to cover Hogan. It was the play that broke the Ravens' back, coming one play after they cut New England's lead to 23-20.
"Me and Tom are on the same page," Hogan said after the game. "It was something where I had the option of going to the corner or the middle of the field and we saw the same thing. Tom made a great throw and I think it was the time and the point in the game where we needed someone to step up and make a big play. I was just happy I was able to do that for this team."
Brady finished the night with 408 yards for his ninth career 400+ yard game, the fourth most of all-time in NFL history.
McClellin's Block
Jamie Collins who? Shea McClellin perfectly timed Baltimore's snap and his jump over the defensive line, blocking Justin Tucker's 34-yard try with a combination of grace and elegance. Well, maybe that's overselling it a bit, but it was pretty nonetheless:
It was the Patriots' third blocked kick of the season.
While New England's special teams had their struggles in the third quarter, the unit had a pretty strong game in the end. Ryan Allen was awesome, pinning the Ravens deep on several occasions, and Jonathan Jones also gets some praise after downing one of Ryan's punts at the 1-yard line in the first quarter. That set up Brown's safety, which helped set the tone of the game.
Offensive Line
Tom Brady had time to do his thing and was sacked only once. He was kept relatively clean throughout the evening thanks to some strong play by his offensive line, who also opened up some big holes for New England running backs. In all, the Patriots rushed for 95 yards against a Ravens D that was allowing a league-best 73.8 yards per game heading into Monday night.
Downs
Cyrus Jones
Not much has to be said about the rookie's night. He looked terrified on punt returns, and let one hit off his foot after deciding not to catch it. He didn't make much of an effort to recover after, and the Ravens came up with the ball on the New England 3.
That's just the latest in a string of issues Jones has had on special teams this season, and it was probably his last chance to redeem himself in Bill Belichick's eyes.
Jones didn't stick around to talk with reporters after the game, and his time as a returner is hopefully over. Look for Griff Whalen and D.J. Foster to get plenty of looks this week in practice, and potentially return punts next Sunday in Denver.
Turnovers
Along with Jones' mistake, Matthew Slater fumbled a kickoff return. That gave Baltimore a short field, and led to another seven quick points. The Ravens scored 14 points in a span of 1:26, turning what could have been a laugher into a nail-biter.
Brady also threw a pretty bad pick, forcing it to a double-covered Chris Hogan in the end zone in the second quarter.
Belichick highlighted the three turnovers after the game as an area his team needs to clean up.
Bad Start On Offense
We're kind of picking nits here, but the Patriots offense didn't do anything on their first three drives, which all ended in punts. Their first two drives were both three-and-outs. They finished with three three-and-outs overall, and another drive ended with a punt after just four plays.
Butler Hurt?
New England's No. 1 corner had to leave momentarily in the second half following a collision and he was seen limping in the locker room after the game. This could be big with the Patriots heading to Denver on a short week.
