Patriots 23, Ravens 20 OT (10/17/'10): Revenge is a dish best served cold. And with a Bloody Mary. Mark and I had been sick and on the injury report all week, but as he says: We play on Sundays. With the help of some curative vodka and V8.
We didn't have any Worcestershire sauce or Tabasco, but Shep and Matt had brought some spicy ketchup from Germany. So in went that. We didn't have any celery or olives but we did have salsa. The chunky kind. In went that. "Whatever it takes to make it work," Mark said as we raised our cups and toasted yet another beautiful fall day of tailgating.
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DEION: Clutch as always. |
As we sat around before the game eating spinach and feta sausages (that's what the German ketchup was for), listening to music, and watching fathers and sons play catch, much of the talk was about last year's playoff beating at the hands of the Ravens. Had the Pats D improved enough to exact some revenge for getting embarrassed by Ray Rice? Was the offense -- without Moss -- capable of shutting up Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs? As a wobbly Ravens fan walked around the lot in a Lewis jersey taunting Pats fans like his hero, payback was on everyone's mind.
It seemed to be on the Pats' players minds too. Especially Brady. He was so fired up that many of his passes in the first three quarters were a little off. The offense -- without Moss (who coincidentally and poignantly was pictured on the game ticket) -- played hard against the league's best defense, but only had 10 points entering the fourth. Fortunately the defense was holding its own against Baltimore's offense. An offense that is actually better than the one that plowed over the Pats last January.
The key stat for the game was this one: Ray Rice -- 88 yards on 28 carries. In last season's playoff game he rushed for 159 yards on 22 carries. That was the biggest difference. The Pats D, flattened before, stood up to the Ravens time and time again. It wasn't always pretty (like the Ravens opening drive that seemed to last two hours), but if was effective. Vince Wilfork often shifted to the outside of the line with Gerard Warren or Brandon Deaderick taking the Big Man's spot in the middle. More importantly, rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes was right behind them, recording eight unassisted tackles. Mostly one-on-one battle with Rice. Battles Spikes won. That's a huge difference from last year. Jermaine Cunningham. Jerrod Mayo. Patrick Chung. The young players weren't perfect, but they made lots of plays and went hit-for-hit with one of the toughest teams in the league.
When Joe Flacco hit Anquan Boldin on a 25-yard TD pass -- one of the few big plays the D allowed all game -- the Ravens went up 17-7 with 10 minutes to go in the third. The teams then traded field goals and heavy hits, leaving Baltimore up by 10 (20-10) early in the fourth. What a fourth quarter it was.
The Gillette crowd -- which had been loud all day -- got the chance to really get into a big game for the first time in quite a while. It made for a fun atmosphere. A playoff atmosphere.
The Pats moved down the field on what will surely be one of the biggest drives of the season, paced by Wes Welker catches over the middle and a couple of great Danny Woodhead rushes. Brady faced a 3rd-and-2 from the five. A touchdown was needed. Brady looked left, looked left, then stepped up to the right and hit Deion Branch along the back of the end zone for a huge score. Brady to Branch. Touchdown. That won't be the last time we hear that.
Branch had an amazing game in his return to his old team. Nine catches for 98 yards. Most of those came in the fourth quarter and overtime. That's when Branch is at his best. When the pressure is on.
Brady and the Pats offense then went on a six minute, 13-play drive to set up the tying field goal. The highlight came when the Pats faced a 1st-and-25 at midfield. Brady dropped back as the blitz came right up the middle, Corey Redding nailing the QB in the chest just as he let the throw go. Rob Gronkowski made a great catch for a big 23-yard gain that kept the drive going. After the play Brady got in Suggs's face, the two barking at each other. The whole place was barking. Gostkowski finished it with a 25-yarder with just more than a minute left to send the game into overtime. And then things really got exciting.
Each team had two possessions that had tipped the field position deep into Pats territory. Zoltan Mesko -- the Romanian punter -- faced his biggest moment of the year so far with a kick from the shadow of his own goal line. Zoltan came through -- with a little luck -- and hit a 65-yard punt all the way to the Raven 18. Instead of getting the ball in Pats territory, Baltimore was now backed up deep. The defense came up big one more time, forcing the Ravens to punt. Brady got the ball at his own 38 and four passes later (two to Branch) the Pats were at the Baltimore 31. Ben Jarvis then ran it twice to set up Gostkowski for the winning field goal with just 64 seconds left in overtime.
Many in the crowd soaked in the moment, lingering until Branch came to the sideline. As he stood there in his new #84 waiting to be interviewed the fans gave him a huge ovation. Branch -- smiling as always -- raised his hand and acknowledged the cheers. It was a fitting ending to a day full of smiles. We headed back to our postgame tailgate meal of burgers and beer, high-fiving strangers all along the way. The effects of the Bloody Marys (and Don Julios) were wearing off at that point, but I was feeling much better about the Patriots.
During 20 years of tailgating, one of the surest measures of how good a home game was has always been the level of hoarseness in my voice the day after. My voice hasn't been this hoarse in two or three years. It feels good.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF BRANCH'S TD HERE
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