2013 AFC Championship, Ravens vs. Patriots: Baltimore wins 28-13

A quarterback going down for the slide is likely thinking about few things other than his own safety, but it did certainly look as though he were attempting to kick or trip Reed.

There’s been a lot of outrage over the lack of fines for Brady to this point, with the Internet in general seeming to disregard the fact that all fines come out on the same day, for the most part.

Mrs. Welker then encouraged her Facebook friends to check out Ray Lewis’ Wikipedia page, which highlights some of Lewis’ off the field troubles of the past, and sarcastically said, “What a role model!”

Needless to say, Mrs. Welker’s comments weren’t well-received, and she issued a statement to Larry Brown Sports, in which she apologized for her comments.

Even when the offense looks questionable, like it did in the first half against the Patriots, the Ravens have stuck with their game plan and their strengths to pull out wins.

So why has the Ravens’ offense flourished under Caldwell? The answer isn’t so black and white.

Tony Santorsa of Pats Pulpit provided us with this post-game reaction:

Perhaps Tony is right, or maybe Belichick is putting too much on Brady’s shoulders. The three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback has not been as clutch as he has been in the past. The Patriots’ defense did play well enough, but the New England offense was not as dominant or precise.

Zachary Beard of Baltimore Beatdown provided us with a post-game reaction:

The above image, which was tipped to us via Timothy Burke, shows just a normal, good old fashioned CBS postgame show featuring Bill Cowher and Dan Ma--

wait just a minute

That feeds into what Terrell Suggs said about the Patriots after the game, without a cheap shot at the poor, defenseless Pro Bowl.

No one understands us, Ray. No one.

When you turn on your television to tune in to the Super Bowl this year, you will see two teams led by coaches with the last name of Harbaugh: Jim and John Harbaugh will face off in the first ever brother vs. brother coaching showdown on the biggest scale in all of football.

The Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6 last season. That game marked the first time in NFL history that two brothers faced off as coaches. Stay tuned for the second edition of that historic meeting.

Here’s what Suggs had to say.

Hey, he can’t disparage the Pro Bowl like that!

The Baltimore defense did its job, but the game was going to come down to Flacco and whether or not he could execute for this offense.

The Ravens went into this one knowing they were going to have to score points, and they did so, racking up four touchdowns in Foxboro. Flacco made elite throws and showed confidence in his receivers to attack the football. The Ravens had a balanced game plan that proved to be efficient, but it was truly Flacco’s contributions that got this team over the hump.

It’s never happened before.

In fact, Brady was 67-0 at home when leading at halftime. He is now 67-1.

The Super Bowl is the most watched event in America: Last year’s event was the most watched show in American history, drawing 111.3 million viewers. A 30-second commercial spot in this year’s game will cost $4 million, with CBS charging a flat rate for each advertisement.

Here’s the info on the big game and how to watch it:

The season had its rough spots. Baltimore made a 9-2 run through Week 12. The Ravens lost their next three games, including a Week 14 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins that got offensive coordinator Cam Cameron fired with just three games left to play. Jim Caldwell took over the play calling duties in time for one more loss before a statement win over the Giants in Week 16.

A win also means linebacker Ray Lewis gets one more game in his storied career. Lewis, 37, announced earlier in the season that he would retire at the end of Baltimore’s playoff run, ending his 17-year career.

You’d think that after 17 years and so many accolades, we would just stop doubting Ray Lewis.

There was very little hope for a comeback after that, and even less after Brady threw an interception with 6:49 left at the Ravens 18 yard-line. Had New England managed to cut the lead to eight at that point, we could be talking about a much different outcome. But fittingly the Baltimore defense came up big against a powerful offense. The game ended when Brady threw his second interception on a desperation comeback bid, and the Ravens defense closed it out.

Anquan Boldin now has two touchdown receptions on the night. His second came from 11 yards out after the Ravens recovered a Stevan Ridley fumble early on in the fourth quarter. Baltimore now leads the Patriots 28-13 with time starting to wind down.

Joe Flacco is rising to the occasion in the second half. He now has 240 yards passing and three touchdowns on the night. Those who continue to question his ability may be silenced by the end of the night.

That’s not the most sincere congratulations we’ve ever heard. However, because he’s a Harbaugh we’re sure John was too focused on the game to give his brother any more than a half-assed congrats.

Ridley had to leave the game following the hit.

The Ravens were able to capitalize on the turnover, scoring 21 answered, now leading the Patriots. Even worse news is that Ridley is too shaken up to return. He has been their lead man in 2012, but now the team will have to count on Shane Vereen and Danny Woodhead to step up.

Things I hope he’s listening to on those headphones:

- Ke$ha, “Die Young”

Boldin ran a quick slant towards the back of the end zone, and Flacco lobbed a nice pass up for the physical receiver. Fading away from the coverage, Boldin hauled it in, marking two unanswered touchdowns for the Ravens.

Pitta now leads the Ravens receiving corps with four receptions for 49 yards and the one score up to this point. He’s become a reliable red zone threat for Flacco this season, and we saw what he can do in the territory as he found the end zone to take the lead.

Hey man, there are kids here. I’m assuming.

Not since the heady days of John Lackey have we seen such a display.

As you can see here, Brady watches a whole lot of Bruce Lee videos in his spare time. He’s already the NFL’s winningest quarterback in playoff history, so does he really need to be watching game film in his spare time?

Maybe RG3 can learn these secret karate ways from Brady in the offseason. That might have to wait until after the Super Bowl, though, if New England pulls off the victory over Baltimore.

The New England Patriots have a 13-7 lead on the Baltimore Ravens at halftime of the AFC Championship game in Foxboro. The Patriots, on the strength of a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Wes Welker and two Stephen Gostkowski field goals, have dominated possession meaning Bill Belichick must be very happy might not cuss at everyone in the locker room at halftime.

The game started out with both teams punting before the Patriots got on the board first with a 31-yarder by Gostkowski. The Ravens struck back quickly with heavy doses of Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce before Rice found the end zone from two yards out to stake them to a 7-3 lead.