Final, Patriots 30-23: The Patriots had to sweat this one out after some key special teams miscues, but they held on for their 11th win of the season.
Up next for New England is a date in Denver with the Broncos on Sunday afternoon. — CM
Fourth quarter, 2:01, Patriots 30-23: The Ravens went for the onside kick, but Patrick Chung recovered. It will be New England’s ball at Baltimore’s 47. — CM
Fourth quarter, 2:03, Patriots 30-23: Baltimore elected to go for the three points first, and they converted on a Justin Tucker 37-yard field goal. Will the Ravens now go for the onside kick? They have two timeouts and the two-minute warning remaining. — CM
Fourth quarter, 6:18, Patriots 30-20: Wow. Tom Brady found Chris Hogan for a 79-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive, giving the Pats back a two-score advantage. — CM
Fourth quarter, 6:35, Patriots 23-20: Joe Flacco completed a 47-yard pass down the sideline to Breshad Perriman, who beat Cyrus Jones on the play. That gave the Ravens the ball deep inside the Patriots’ zone, but they only managed a Justin Tucker 38-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 23-20. — CM
Fourth quarter, 12:55, Patriots 23-17: Well, that was ugly. The Patriots went three-and-out, and the drive ended on a nice tackle in the open field by the Ravens on Dion Lewis, who picked up 5 yards on third-and-8. The Ravens will take over at their own 24 after a punt. — CM
Fourth quarter, 14:23, Patriots 23-17: Mike Wallace ran about a mile to pick up 7 yards on third down, but it was far from enough. The Patriots will take over after a punt at their own 23. — Cameron McDonough
Third quarter, 3:11, Patriots 23-17: The Patriots gained one first down then went backwards on a holding penalty on starting left guard Joe Thuney. Punter Ryan Allen pinned the Ravens inside their 5-yard line on a 58-yard punt.
Third quarter, 5:24, Patriots 23-17: The Ravens are back in the game thanks to some horrible special teams play from the Patriots.
Matthew Slater fumbled his kick return, giving the Ravens the ball at the Patriots’ 22-yard line. It took four plays for the Ravens to score on an 8-yard pass to a wide open Kenneth Dixon.
Third quarter, 6:43, Patriots 23-10: Well, this game has shifted. Matthew Slater just fumbled his kick return, giving the Ravens the ball at the Patriots’ 22-yard line.
Third quarter, 6:50, Patriots 23-10: The Patriots forced a three and out with help from a false start on the Ravens. Then rookie cornerback/punt returner Cyrus Jones booted a punt return then failed to recover, giving the Ravens the ball at the Patriots’ 3-yard line.
It took the Ravens two plays to score on a 3-yard touchdown pass by Flacco to tight end Darren Waller.
Third quarter, 8:45, Patriots 23-3: The Patriots go up by 20 after Brady hit Bennett on a fade over Ravens linebacker Zachary Orr.
The Patriots picked up 28 yards on a flea flicker from Brady to Blount, back to Brady and then to Hogan.
Third quarter, 12:41, Patriots 16-3: The Patriots forced a three and out on the first possession of the second half. The Patriots have the ball on their own 35-yard line after the punt.
End half, Patriots 16-3: The Patriost kneeled on the ball to end the half. Brady went 15 of 26 for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception. LeGarrette Blount leads the team with nine carries for 41 yards with a touchdown. James White leads the team with three catches on three targets for 81 yards.
Safety Devin McCourty (interception), defensive tackle Malcom Brown (safety), defensive end Trey Flowers (sack) and linebacker Shea McClellin (blocked field goal) made big plays.
Second quarter, :11, Patriots 16-3: The Ravens got on the board with a 50-yard field goal by Justin Tucker. He set a new NFL record for 50+ yard field goals with his ninth on the season.
Second quarter, 1:00, Patriots 16-0: The Patriots went three and out again, and hte Ravens have the ball at midfield after the punt. Brady was sacked on third down to force the punt.
Second quarter, 2:18, Patriots 16-0: The Ravens picked up another first down then were forced to punt after being called for a false start while trying to go for it on fourth and 2. The Patriots have the ball on their own 17-yard line.
Cyrus Jones nearly turned the ball over as the punt nearly touched his feet as he jogged to pick it up. He’s had ball security issues all season.
Second quarter, 4:36, Patriots 16-0: Tom Brady just threw his second interception of the season. He was being dragged down and threw the ball into Ravens safety Eric Weddle’s waiting arms. It was a very poor decision by Brady, who was trying to hit Chris Hogan for the touchdown.
Second quarter, 8:33, Patriots 16-0: The Patriots are passing the litmus test.
Devin McCourty just picked off Joe Flacco on a deep attempt to Mike Wallace. McCourty then ran it back 40 yards. Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was called for holding on the runback. Whether McCourty was touched down where he picked off the pass is being reviewed.
UPDATE: McCourty was ruled down at the interception on the review, negating his 40-yard runback and the holding penalty. The Patriots have the ball on their own 23-yard line.
Second quarter, 9:28, Patriots 16-0: The Patriots went 89 yards on just eight plays. They gained most of those on a 61-yard completion to running back James White. They scored on a 6-yard pass from Brady to rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. That’s Mitchell’s fourth TD in four weeks.
Second quarter, 12:55, Patriots 9-0: The Ravens shot themselves in the foot multiple times on their latest drive. They committed two false start penalties and wide receiver Breshad Perriman was completely oblivious on a target from Joe Flacco.
The Patriots have the ball on their own 11-yard line after the punt.
First quarter, 1:04, Patriots 9-0: LeGarrette Blount tied the franchise record for rushing touchdowns on the season with his 14th score. He plowed forward for 1-yard to tie the record, which is shared by Curtis Martin.
The Patriots got down the field with a nice mix of runs and passes, going 74 yards on 10 plays. The biggest chunk came on a 28-yard completion to Edelman.
First quarter, 5:51, Patriots 2-0: McClellin totally redeemed himself after blocking Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s field goal by hurdling the line. That was Tucker’s first miss of the season.
The Patriots had allowed a 40-yard catch to fullback Kyle Juszczyk earlier in the drive, and cornerback Malcolm Butler was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a scrap with Steve Smith. Butler redeemed himself with a third-down pass breakup.
First quarter, 7:49, Patriots 2-0: The Patriots managed one first down and got into field goal range on an 18-yard completion to Bennett before they went backwards on an intentional grounding penalty on Brady. He then threw incomplete to Edelman on third down.
He was heated after the drive.
Linebacker Shea McClellin cost the Patriots 10 yards by knocking the ball into the end zone from the 10-yard line on the punt.
First quarter, 10:47, Patriots 2-0: The Patriots get on the board early with two points as Malcom Brown tackled running back Kenneth Dixon in the end zone for the safety. Brown forced back the Ravens’ fullback then came off the block to tackle Dixon.
First quarter, 10:53: The refs’ perplexing call, saying Flacco was down by forward progress, likely cost the Patriots some points. They were forced to punt.
Rookie cornerback Jonathan Jones avoided a touchback on the punt and pinned the Ravens inside the 1-yard line by diving and flipping the ball back to Matthew Slater.
First quarter, 11:52: The Patriots probably should have the ball at the Ravens’ 26-yard line. Trey Flowers sacked Joe Flacco and came down with the ball. The refs ruled Flacco was down by forward progress, however, and didn’t count the fumble. That’s a very odd call by Ed Hochuli.
The Patriots have the ball on their own 37-yard line after the punt.
First quarter, 13:40: The Ravens forced a three and out from the Patriots’ offense early. LeGarrette Blount ran for 2 yards, followed by an incompletion to receiver Julian Edelman, followed by a 6-yard completion to tight end Martellus Bennett. The Ravens have the ball on their own 21 after the punt.
First quarter, 15:00: The Ravens won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Patriots will start the game receiving the ball. Let’s go.
8:08 p.m.: Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan were the starting cornerbacks during warmups, as expected.
The Patriots will have to be disciplined over the top against speedy outside receivers Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman. Duron Harmon and Devin McCourty will be key at keeping them in check.
7:39 p.m.: Patrick Chung is returning punts during warmups with Cyrus Jones and Julian Edelman. Matthew Slater, James White and Dion Lewis are back for kickoffs.
7 p.m.: Here are the Patriots’ inactives:
WR Danny Amendola (ankle)
CB Eric Rowe (hamstring)
S Jordan Richards (knee)
OT LaAdrian Waddle
DT Woodrow Hamilton
RB D.J. Foster
WR Griff Whalen
— The Patriots are left with Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell and Matthew Slater at wide receiver. Running backs James White and Dion Lewis likely will be used heavily in the passing game.
— Slater is active after missing two games with a foot injury.
— Cornerback Justin Coleman is active after three straight games being a healthy scratch. He and Cyrus Jones are next on the depth chart after Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. The Patriots also could use safety Patrick Chung in a pseudo-cornerback role with Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon protecting the deep half of the field.
— It will be interesting to see who is used as a punt returner with Foster, Amendola and Whalen inactive. It likely will be either Cyrus Jones or Julian Edelman, though both are risky. Jones has had issues with fumbles, while having Edelman take on the duties makes him susceptible to injuries.
5:20 p.m. ET: The snow has stopped, the skies have cleared, and the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens are in for a crisp but clear Monday night matchup.
The Ravens present possibly the biggest challenge the Patriots will face throughout the rest of the season. They’ve won four of their last five games while the Denver Broncos, the Patriots’ Week 15 opponent, have lost in three of the last five weeks.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is one a roll, and Baltimore’s defense came into the week ranking second in points allowed and first in yards allowed. The Ravens provide a quality litmus test on both sides of the ball for the Patriots as New England gets ready for the postseason.
One player to watch during pregame is Patriots cornerback Eric Rowe, who suffered a hamstring injury in last week’s win over the Los Angeles Rams. He was jogging around the field during pregame and practiced Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If he can’t play, safeties Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon likely will see more action. Cyrus Jones and Justin Coleman would be next in line on the cornerback depth chart.
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images