Ravens’ NFL-best defense was merely a nuisance for Tom Brady and the Patriots

The New England Patriots (11-2) defeated the Baltimore Ravens (7-6), 30-23, at Gillette Stadium on Monday Night Football. Here are four things you should know about this game.

Baltimore’s stingy defense, ranked No. 1 in the NFL prior to this game, could not stop Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The veteran signal-caller threw short passes and wasn’t afraid to push the ball down the field. Other than his one interception to Ravens safety Eric Weddle late in the second quarter, Brady played a mistake-free football game.

Throughout the entire game, Brady looked comfortable in the pocket. His offensive line gave him a lot of time to survey the defense and make plays with his arms.

After a Patriots linebacker Shea Mcclellan blocked a 34-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, Brady orchestrated a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount running in a 1-yard touchdown. New England took a 9-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Brady found receiver Malcolm Mitchell for a 6-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 16-0. Brady took the snap, read the blitz, and threw an accurate pass to Mitchell.

New England’s star quarterback wasn’t done throwing touchdowns. With a 16-3 lead midway through the third quarter, Brady threw a 19-yard touchdown to tight end Martellus Bennett to increase the lead to 23-6. Bennett caught the pass with Ravens linebacker Zachary Orr draped all over him.

Clinging to a 23-20 lead late in the fourth quarter, Brady threw a 79-yard touchdown to receiver Chris Hogan to put the game out of reach at 30-20. The veteran quarterback faked the handoff, dropped back in the pocket, and delivered a deep pass over the middle to Hogan for the touchdown.

Brady threw for 406 yards to go along with three touchdowns and an interception. And he did it without Rob Gronkowski. That’s nothing new for Brady against top-ranked defenses, though:

With just three more weeks to go, this game was a reminder that the AFC still belongs to the Patriots. Nobody’s going to change that until January, and even then, the chances seem slim.

In order to stop the Patriots’ high-octane offense, you have to keep Brady on the sidelines. You can do that by running the ball, but Baltimore decided to throw the ball a lot in this game. The Ravens finished the game with 42 rushing yards.

That plan did not work well for them. In the first half, Baltimore only gained 7 rushing yards on four carries. After New England took a 16-0 lead in the second quarter, the Ravens had to depend on Flacco to lead the team to victory.

The Patriots’ front seven did a great job of clogging up rushing lanes, but Baltimore resorted to passing the ball too early, something they’ve done all season. The Ravens are trying to run an offense built on short passes in place of a running game.

Joe Flacco leads the NFL with 549 passing attempts, and averages just 6.3 yards per attempt. If the Ravens are going to have a chance to do anything in the playoffs, and those chances are already slim, they’ll have to run the ball.

Flacco got off to a horrible start. He missed open receivers and looked uncomfortable in the pocket. Midway through the second quarter, the veteran quarterback threw an interception to Patriots safety Devin McCourty.

However, Flacco played much better in the second half. He stood in the pocket to make throws, avoided back-breaking turnovers, and threw two touchdowns.

Following a muffed punt by Patriots cornerback Cyrus Jones in the third quarter, Flacco found tight end Darren Waller for a 3-yard touchdown to reduce the lead to 23-10. Flacco stood in the pocket and delivered the pass to Waller towards the back of the end zone.

After that touchdown, Baltimore kicked the ball off to New England, but Patriots receiver Matthew Slater fumbled on the kickoff return. That turnover led to an 8-yard touchdown reception by running back Kenneth Dixon. Flacco found Dixon wide-open for the easy score, and that touchdown cut the lead to 23-10.

However, his two touchdowns in the second half wasn’t enough to secure a victory for Baltimore. Flacco finished the game with 324 yards to go along with two touchdown and an interception.

LeGarrette Blount now has 14 rushing touchdowns on the year, tying a franchise record for the most rushing touchdowns in a season.

Blount is having a fantastic year for the Patriots. He finished the game with 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. If he keeps playing at a high level, the Patriots’ offense will be hard to stop. With this performance, Blount has over a 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

New England will head to Denver for a Week 15 matchup against the Broncos. The Patriots are still the top seed in the AFC, and they must continue to play at a high level to clinch a first-round bye.

Baltimore will travel back home for a Week 15 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. With this loss, the Ravens move back to second place in the AFC North. Baltimore cannot afford to lose another game.