AFC Wild Card Matchup
It seems as though the era of the New England Patriots may be coming to and end, or at least a temporary halt. The Baltimore Ravens, who were awarded with the sixth and final spot in the AFC playoffs, traveled to New England to take on the Patriots. New England is known for being a dominant team in the playoffs, especially when they get to play in front of their home crowd.
It didn’t take long for the Ravens to get on the board. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Ray Rice ran up the middle and busted through the middle and was off to the races for an 83-yard touchdown run. Within the first five minutes, Baltimore was already up 14-0 over the Patriots. New England had to wake up quick if they wanted any chance of winning the game.
With four minutes left in the first quarter, Ray Rice ran in for a one yard score to extend the Raven’s lead to 21 points. Billy Cundiff then added three more points to the lead with his 27-yard field goal. New England finally got on the board in the second quarter with a 6 yard touchdown pass by Tom Brady. Cundiff hit a 23 yarder to push the lead to 27-7 midway through the third quarter. The Patriots answered with a one yard touchdown pass to make it 27-14 Ravens. The Ravens stuck the dagger in with a 3 yard touchdown run by Willis McGahee, they failed on the two-point conversion so the lead was 33-14, and that would end up being the final score.
The Ravens travel to Indianapolis next Saturday to face the top team in the AFC for a division round matchup. The game will be played at 7:15 right after the Cardinals and Saints game.
New Orleans Saints
New England Patriots
The Patriots came into New Orleans with the opportunity to give the Saints their first loss of the 2009 season.
That idea was quickly forgotten as Drew Brees was a near perfect 18 completions on 23 passing attempts. He completed those 18 passes for a total of 371 yards and 5 touchdowns, with no interceptions on the night either.
Tom Brady never seemed to get himself into a good, solid rhythm with his offense as he went 21 for 36, 237 yards and 2 interceptions, no touchdowns.
The win for the Saints improves their record to 11-0, and the Patriots fall to 7-4 on the season. The Saints play the Redskins next week and the Patriots play the Dolphins.
New England Patriots vs Indianapolis Colts
The New England Patriots came into Indianapolis this past Sunday night to take on the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. This game featured two of the NFL’s most elite powerhouse teams. Also, two of the league’s best quarterbacks played in this game, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.
The Colts struck first on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Joseph Addai to take a 7-0 lead. New England answered right back to tie it with a one yard run by Laurence Maroney. The Patriots then went on to score 17 more unanswered points and took a comanding 24-7 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first half. Then with 4:17 to go, Peyton Manning hit Reggie Wayne on a 20-yard touchdown strike to make it a 24-14 game at the half.
Both defenses stepped up in the third quarter as neither team managed to put points on the board. New England opened the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown from Tom Brady to Randy Moss, to take a 31-14 lead, this seemed to wrap up a victory for the Patriots. The Colts responded quickly with a 29-yard pass from Manning to Pierre Garcon, making it 31-21 with 12:14 remaining in the game. Then, with only 4:12 remaining in the game, Stephen Gostkowski split the uprights to extended the Patriots’ lead to 34-21. Peyton Manning marched the Colts offense right down the field and on a third and one at the New England 4-yard line, Manning gave it to Addai, who ran it in for the score to pull within six points.
The Colts kicked it off needing a big stop by their defense to get a chance to win the game. The Patriots started the drive at their 20-yard line and went three-and-out. Now faced with a fourth down and two at their own 28-yard line, the Patriots were forced to punt it back to Manning and his offense, or were they? Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick made an unthinkable call to go for it on fourth down deep in their own territory, a first down would win the game for New England. It all came down to one play. Brady took the snap and tossed it over to Kevin Faulk who bobbled the ball, caught it, and was crushed just a half of a yard short of a first down. Belichick’s decision backfired and gave the Colts the ball with only 28 yards left to win the game. In four plays, Manning drove down and on the fourth play he hit Reggie Wayne in the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown.
With this win, the Colts remain unbeaten and move to 9-0 on the year as the Patriots fall to 6-3. The Colts will play at Baltimore this week and the Patriots host the New York Jets.
