New England Patriots 27, Baltimore Ravens 21
The Ravens traded punches with the Patriots the whole game until Mark Clayton dropped a pass deep in Patriots’ territory late in the game. Joe Flacco did his part completing 27 of 47 passes for 264 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT. Ray Rice also had a outstanding game as he carried the ball 11 times for 103 yards (9.4 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg). Derrick Mason pitched in with 7 receptions for 88 yards (12.6 avg) with a TD grab. The Ravens finished up with 363 total yards on offense (116 rushing, 247 passing).
The problem in this game for the Ravens was getting the defense off the field as the Patriots had the ball for 34:56 of this game. Ray Lewis led the way for the Ravens’ on D with 14 tackles. OLB Jarrett Johnson was solid again with 8 tackles, a sack and he had 2 tackles for a loss. DT Dwan Edwards made the biggest play of the game on defense for the Ravens in this game when he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD. The Patriots finished up with 319 total yards on offense in this game (85 rushing, 234 passing). The Ravens dropped into a tie with the Bengals atop of the AFC North with a 3-1 record.
The Ravens should have won this game in my opinion. They were on the wrong side of two questionable roughing the passer penalties on two separate Patriot drives in the first half, both of which led to touchdowns. I never like to see the refs have any type of influence on the outcome, but the Ravens should be more upset with their receivers and all the drops they made in the game, especially in the fourth quarter. Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton had back-to-back drops on 3rd and 4th down with Flacco driving the Ravens down-field. Flacco looked great, especially down the stretch but unfortunately his receivers did not.
It’s hard for me to get to down on Derrick Mason because he has had a good career. But, Mark Clayton has never lived up to his ability and he has to make that catch. It kind of reminded me of when Alex Gonzalez botched the double play ball after the Bartman play in the Cubs’ playoff game in 2003. If he turns the double play the Cubs would probably have went to the World Series. But, Clayton and Gonzalez both choked and cost their teams chances to win the game. As far as the refs go, they make mistakes just like the rest of us. But, you still can’t go after the QBs’ knees.