4:35 PM ET, January 10,2015
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Top Performers
Passing: T. Brady (NE) - 367 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INTRushing: J. Forsett (BAL) - 24 CAR, 129 YDS
Receiving: R. Gronkowski (NE) - 7 REC, 108 YDS, 1 TD
ESPN.com news services
Interception Seals Patriots' Win Over Ravens
And now another game for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The quarterback who treats deficits as distractions dug the Patriots out of two 14-point holes -- the first team to do that in NFL playoff history -- to reach the AFC Championship Game for the fourth straight year with a 35-31 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
More from ESPN.com
Trick
plays, funky formations, Gronk on D ... Somehow, some way it added up
to a huge win for the Patriots, who twice rallied from a 14-point
deficit to eliminate the Ravens and advance to the AFC title game,
writes ESPN Boston's Jackie MacMullan. Story
As
he has so many times before, it was a case of New England Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady rising up in a critical situation and leading his
46th career game-winning drive, Mike Reiss writes. Story
Joe
Flacco's four touchdowns and the Ravens' smothering run defense
couldn't compensate for a secondary that brought Baltimore's season to
an end Saturday, Jamison Hensley writes. Story
Thanks to three touchdown passes by Brady and one by college quarterback turned receiver Julian Edelman, the resilient Patriots kept their season alive.
"Right now, it's all about giving us a chance to come to work again," said safety Devin McCourty, who batted down Joe Flacco's desperation pass into the end zone on the last play.
Brady led a masterful march -- completing eight of nine passes and running for a first down -- to the decisive 23-yard touchdown completion to Brandon LaFell with just over five minutes left to give the Patriots their first lead.
The top-seeded Patriots (13-4) will host the winner of Sunday's Indianapolis-Denver game in the AFC title game. The sixth-seeded Ravens (11-7) had won two of three playoff games in Foxborough over the past five seasons.
"We came to their home field and fought them to the end and we just came up short," said Kamar Aiken, who caught one of Flacco's four touchdown passes.
Brady completed 33 of 50 passes for 367 yards for an offense that picked up just 14 on the ground, the second fewest in team playoff history. His 46 career playoff touchdown passes surpassed Joe Montana's 45 for most in NFL history.
Flacco was 28 for 45 for 292 yards and two interceptions. Justin Forsett gained 129 yards on 24 carries.
Forsett had an outstanding season replacing the Ray Rice, who was suspended and then released for domestic abuse.
"We're all faced with challenges in life," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said, "and, as a teacher and coach that's what you ask of your guys. I guess what I'm saying is I'm so proud of the way they handled it."
It was a thrilling game of shifting momentum -- two touchdowns by the Ravens, the next two by the Patriots, two more by the Ravens and another two by the Patriots.
"We had two separate 14-point leads. Those guys did a good job getting it back to seven as quickly as they could," said Flacco, who threw his first two interceptions in six playoff games. "They don't panic."
Passing Their Way To A Win
The
Patriots dropped back to pass on 54 of their 66 plays Saturday (81.8
percent). Entering the day, teams were 3-59 in the last five seasons
(including playoffs) when dropping back to pass on 80.0 percent or more
of dropbacks. The winners included:| Team | Dropback % | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 87.3 | '13 Week 9 |
| Eagles | 81.9 | '12 Week 14 |
| Patriots | 81.8 | Saturday |
| Colts | 80.0 | '14 Week 14 |
| --ESPN Stats & Information | ||
Flacco completed his first eight passes, two for touchdowns of 19 yards to Aiken and 9 yards to Steve Smith, to give the Ravens a 14-0 lead. Then the Patriots tied it on a 4-yard run by Brady and his 15-yard pass to Danny Amendola late in the first half.
The Patriots were driving again -- until Daryl Smith intercepted Brady, who immediately grasped both sides of his helmet and then bent over in frustration.
"It was just a terrible play by me," he said.
Flacco capitalized with an 11-yard scoring pass to Owen Daniels with 10 seconds left for a 21-14 halftime lead.
And when New England punted on the first series of the third quarter, Baltimore added to its lead on Flacco's fourth scoring pass, a 16-yarder to Forsett, who was wide open in the flat and scored easily.
Then fortunes turned again.
Brady threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots got the ball back after a punt. This time, another strong arm lifted the Patriots into a tie.
With the ball at the New England 49, Brady threw behind the line of scrimmage to Edelman on the left side. The Kent State quarterback then lofted a deep pass to a wide-open Amendola after cornerback Rashaan Melvin came up toward Edelman.
"We've had it in for 10 weeks, and the coaches finally got to call it," Edelman said. "I had to loosen up the arm a little bit."
After Justin Tucker's 25-yard field goal gave the Ravens a 31-28 lead five minutes into the fourth quarter, the Ravens nearly stopped the Patriots. Brady threw a 9-yard completion to Shane Vereen and officials ruled he fumbled and Baltimore recovered. The call was reversed when replays showed Vereen was down by contact.
Seven plays later, LaFell scored.
Baltimore had two more possessions. The first ended when Duron Harmon intercepted Flacco's deep pass in the end zone with 1:39 left. On the final series, Flacco's desperation pass into the end zone was knocked down as time expired.
"It was a wild game," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "but I'm just thankful our players hung in there and made the plays they needed to make."
Game notes
Belichick tied Tom Landry for most postseason wins in NFL history with 20. ... Brady set franchise postseason records with 33 completions and 367 yards passing. ... The Ravens outgained the Patriots 428 yards to 422. ... Patriots center Bryan Stork left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn't return. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 10: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots warms up prior to the 2014 AFC...
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Team Stat Comparison
BAL
|
NE
| |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 28 | 29 |
Passing 1st downs
| 16 | 22 |
Rushing 1st downs
| 10 | 4 |
1st downs from penalties
| 2 | 3 |
3rd down efficiency
| 1-9 | 6-11 |
4th down efficiency
| 3-3 | 0-0 |
| Total Plays | 73 | 66 |
| Total Yards | 428 | 422 |
| Yards per play | 5.9 | 6.4 |
| Total Drives | 12 | 12 |
| Passing | 292 | 408 |
Comp-Att
| 28-45 | 34-51 |
Yards per pass
| 6.5 | 7.7 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 1 |
Sacks-Yards Lost
| 0-0 | 2-10 |
| Rushing | 136 | 14 |
Rushing Attempts
| 28 | 13 |
Yards per rush
| 4.9 | 1.1 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 4-5 | 3-3 |
| Penalties | 7-65 | 7-60 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
Fumbles lost
| 0 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 32:39 | 27:21 |
Receiving Leaders
| BAL | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith | 3 | 62 | 20.7 | 0 | 35 |
| Smith Sr. | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 1 | 19 |
| NE | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| Gronkowski | 7 | 108 | 15.4 | 1 | 46 |
| Amendola | 5 | 81 | 16.2 | 2 | 51 |
Scoring Summary
| FIRST QUARTER | BAL | NE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | TD | 12:18 | Kamar Aiken 19 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 5 plays, 71 yds, 2:42
| 7 | 0 |
| TD | 4:44 | Steve Smith Sr. 9 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 11 plays, 79 yds, 6:00
| 14 | 0 |
 | TD | 0:48 | Tom Brady 4 Yd Run (Stephen Gostkowski Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 78 yds, 3:56
| 14 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER | BAL | NE | |||
| TD | 3:37 | Danny Amendola 15 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick)
Drive info: 10 plays, 67 yds, 3:36
| 14 | 14 |
| TD | 0:10 | Owen Daniels 11 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 6 plays, 57 yds, 0:53
| 21 | 14 |
| THIRD QUARTER | BAL | NE | |||
| TD | 10:22 | Justin Forsett 16 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 9 plays, 70 yds, 3:40
| 28 | 14 |
| TD | 6:48 | Rob Gronkowski 5 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick)
Drive info: 9 plays, 80 yds, 3:34
| 28 | 21 |
| TD | 4:20 | Danny Amendola 51 Yd pass from Julian Edelman (Stephen Gostkowski Kick)
Drive info: 3 plays, 70 yds, 1:13
| 28 | 28 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | BAL | NE | |||
| FG | 10:17 | Justin Tucker 25 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 16 plays, 73 yds, 7:52
| 31 | 28 |
| TD | 5:13 | Brandon LaFell 23 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick)
Drive info: 10 plays, 74 yds, 5:04
| 31 | 35 |
Research Notes
From
Elias: This was just the third time in NFL history -- regular season OR
playoffs -- that a team overcame a pair of 14-point deficits to WIN. It
was the first time ever in the postseason and the first time in ANY
game since the Chiefs defeated the Packers in 2003. Kansas City won
40-34 at Lambeau Field, erasing 14- and 17-point deficits.
[+] |
Brady's
average throw distance was 9.9 yards downfield in the 1st half against
standard pressure. Brady's average throw was 4 yards shorter (5.9 yards)
against standard pressure in the 2nd half.
Brady was 3-of-9 for 83 yards and an interception on throws deeper than
10 yards downfield in the 1st half. Brady limited his shots downfield in
the 2nd half, but was 2-for-2 for 34 yards and the game-winning TD pass
on throws deeper than 10 yards downfield after halftime.
|
Tom Brady
was 10-of-16 for 146 yards and an interception against Baltimore's
4-man pass rush in the 1st half and was sacked twice. Facing Baltimore's
standard rush after halftime, Brady completed 16-of-22 passes for 151
yards without a sack and the game-winning pass TD to Brandon LaFell with 5:21 to play.
[+] |
The
Patriots took it to the air against the Ravens on Saturday. New England
dropped back to pass on 87.1 percent of plays, the highest percentage
in a playoff game over the last 10 seasons. And contrary to the trend,
it was a winning formula for the Patriots. The next-five teams with the
highest percentages over that span all lost those games.
[+] |
New England played Denver and Indianapolis in back-to-back games this season (Week 9 and Week 11 respectively).
They won each game by 22 points and Brady posted nearly identical Total QBRs in those games.
[+] |
Joe Flacco
didn't have the same deep pass magic Saturday that propelled the Ravens
in 2012. Although Flacco started the Divisional Playoffs 2-of-3 on
passes thrown 15+ yards downfield, he went 1-of-4 in the 2nd half with 2
interceptions.
[+] |
The
Patriots threw regularly down the left side of the field Saturday,
completing 25 passes and 4 TD when passing left of the hashes.
[+] |
The Patriots and Ravens combined for 96 pass attempts on Saturday, tied for 3rd most in a game in postseason history.
[+] |
The
Patriots dropped back to pass on 54 of their 66 plays Saturday (81.8%).
Entering the day teams were 3-59 in the last 5 seasons (including
playoffs) when dropping back to pass on 80.0% or more of dropbacks.
[+] |
Both of Joe Flacco's interceptions Saturday were when targeting Torrey Smith.
Flacco threw 8 of his 14 interceptions this season when targeting
Smith, the most interceptions to any target in the NFL this season.
In addition to being the target of both interceptions, Smith committed 2
15-yard penalties Saturday. Smith had been flagged only twice this
season entering the day, with just one accepted (10 yards).
|
In Tom Brady's
career, he has 7 postseason game-winning drives, more than 3 times the
amount of any other remaining QB in the playoffs.
In fact, if you added up the total game-winning drives in the playoffs
from the other 7 QB in the postseason, Flacco, Wilson, Romo, Manning,
Luck, Rodgers and Newton they would equal...7...the same amount of
game-winning postseason drives as Brady.
[+] |
With that 1st-quarter rushing score, Tom Brady now leads all active quarterbacks with 5 postseason rush TD.
|
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