Final, Patriots 23-17: The Ravens’ last-gasp final drive went nowhere, and the Patriots put the finishing touches on a signature upset at Gillette Stadium.
The win — which came amid monsoon conditions at Gillette Stadium — improved New England to 4-5 on the season with a matchup against the 2-7 Houston Texans on tap next Sunday.
Fourth quarter, 1:05, Patriots 23-17: The Patriots were able to drain more than three minutes off the clock before punting.
Lamar Jackson must drive the Ravens 83 yards with no timeouts in a worsening rainstorm.
Fourth quarter, 4:20, Patriots 23-17: Another blown snap — after a ridiculous Lamar Jackson scramble — resulted in a Ravens punt.
Devin McCourty very nearly intercepted Jackson’s pass on third down but couldn’t hang on.
A couple of first downs could put this game away for New England.
Fourth quarter, 7:09, Patriots 23-17: The Patriots picked up one first down (on a third-and-1 QB sneak by Cam Newton) before punting.
Baltimore takes over on its own 20-yard line after Jake Bailey’s 52-yard punt.
Fourth quarter, 11:25, Patriots 23-17: Willie Snead evaded a Jason McCourty tackle on third-and-12, but Kyle Dugger and Jonathan Jones teamed up to drop him short of the line to gain. Huge stop for the Patriots’ defense.
A holding penalty on Justin Bethel on the ensuing punt backed New England up to its own 4-yard line. Ball security will be vital here.
Fourth quarter, 13:14, Patriots 23-17: Quick three-and-out for the Patriots’ offense, their first of the night. Inopportune time for it after Baltimore just staged a long, time-consuming drive.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens can reclaim the lead with a touchdown here.
Third quarter, 0:08, Patriots 23-17: The Ravens are back within striking distance after an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
The Patriots nearly forced two turnovers during the drive (a Kyle Dugger interception and a forced fumble) but neither was given. Lamar Jackson eventually hit receiver Willie Snead for a 19-yard score.
That extra point New England missed earlier is looming large right now.
The skies also have fully opened. It’s pouring buckets at Gillette Stadium.
Baltimore lost tight end Nick Boyle to a scary-looking knee injury during this latest series. He was carted off the field and quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
Third quarter, 6:24, Patriots 23-10: The Patriots couldn’t find the end zone on two shots from inside the 5-yard line but added another Nick Folk field goal to extend their lead.
Third quarter, 9:40, Patriots 20-10: Fourth down, Ravens. Baltimore opts for the Wildcat. Center Matt Skura’s snap skips past running back Mark Ingram. 11-yard loss. Turnover on downs.
The Patriots have all the momentum right now.
Third quarter, 13:17, Patriots 20-10: The Patriots opened the second half by stampeding 75 yards in just four plays:
— 16-yard run by Damien Harris
— 25-yard run by Damien Harris
— 26-yard completion to Jakobi Meyers (plus a penalty for a late hit)
— 4-yard touchdown run by Cam Newton, who galloped untouched into the end zone
Harris has been an absolute force in this game. He’s over 100 yard for the third time in his last six games.
Injuries also are mounting for Baltimore’s defense, which already was playing without star D-lineman Calais Campbell. Nose tackle Brandon Williams has an ankle injury and won’t return, and defensive end Derek Wolfe and cornerback Terrell Bonds both required medical attention after Newton’s touchdown.
Halftime, Patriots 13-10: What a way to close out the first half for the Patriots.
After Meyers’ touchdown pass, rookie Josh Uche smothered Lamar Jackson for his first career sack, and J.C. Jackson intercepted an ill-advised deep ball from Jackson to send the underdog Patriots into the locker room with a three-point lead.
Jackson now has tallied an interception in five consecutive games, a new franchise record. He has six on the season, the most in the NFL.
Second quarter, 1:02, Patriots 13-10: Julian Edelman isn’t the only former quarterback in the Patriots’ receiving corps.
Jakobi Meyers, who played QB until his redshirt freshman year at North Carolina State, just delivered a gorgeous touchdown pass to Rex Burkhead to give the Patriots their first lead of the night.
Meyers also had a third-down reception a few plays earlier that extended the drive. The touchdown catch was Burkhead’s second of the night.
Nick Folk missed the extra point.
Second quarter, 5:32, Ravens 10-7: Another extended Ravens drive burrowed deep into Patriots territory, but a red-zone stand forced Baltimore to settle for a short Justin Tucker field goal.
The biggest play of the drive was a 31-yard dump-off to Gus Edwards, whom the Patriots had left all alone in the flat. Linebacker Terez Hall later was flagged for lowering his helmet, bringing Baltimore inside New England’s 10-yard line.
The Patriots’ defense stiffened from there, however, with John Simon bringing down Justice Hill with a nice open-field tackle and Chase Winovich forcing a third-down incompletion. Tight end Mark Andrews evaded Kyle Dugger in coverage on the play, but Winovich drew a hold and caused Lamar Jackson to throw low and incomplete.
Winovich has been highly active tonight, playing multiple roles in the front seven.
Second quarter, 11:46, 7-7: Excellent response by the Patriots’ offense, which drove 75 yards in seven plays to tie the score.
Jakobi Meyers got things going with a 19-yard reception that drew an additional 15-yard penalty for an illegal hit. After a couple of nice Rex Burkhead carries, tight end Ryan Izzo picked up 20 on an impressive catch-and-run and Cam Newton found a wide-open Burkhead for a 7-yard touchdown off a nifty play design by Josh McDaniels.
N’Keal Harry set a backfield pick to spring Burkhead, who beat cornerback Terrell Bonds to the pylon.
It was Newton’s first touchdown pass since Week 3.
Second quarter, 14:54, Ravens 7-0: The Patriots are showing some creative looks up front — Chase Winovich has played a lot of snaps at inside linebacker, for instance, with safeties Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips playing as pseudo outside linebackers — but had trouble setting the edge on this latest drive, which culminated in a short pop-pass touchdown to Willie Snead.
On Snead’s touchdown, he got outside of John Simon and Devin McCourty and bounced off a tackle attempt by Jonathan Jones.
Baltimore also succeeded in getting receivers open against New England’s zone. Mark Andrews, Snead and Devin Duvernay hauled in receptions for 13, 21 and 19 yards, respectively.
First quarter, 7:58, 0-0: The Patriots went run-heavy to begin their opening possession (six handoffs, QB run, screen pass, QB sneak on fourth-and-1) but stalled once they went to the air.
Cam Newton’s first-down pass to Jakobi Meyers was nearly intercepted, his second-down throw to James White picked up just 4 yards and he was sacked on third down, with Matthew Judon cleanly beating standout rookie right tackle Mike Onwenu on the play.
The Ravens will start on their own 6-yard line after a nice punt by Jake Bailey.
First quarter, 13:13, 0-0: Ideal start for the Patriots’ defense, which surrendered a 17-yard catch-and-run to Mark Ingram on the game’s first play and then locked in.
Baltimore’s next three plays went 1-yard loss, incomplete, incomplete, with John Simon swatting down Lamar Jackson’s pass on one incompletion and Jason McCourty providing textbook coverage on the speedy Marquise Brown on the other.
Rookie safety Kyle Dugger got the first start of his NFL career and covered star tight end Mark Andrews on third down. Dugger also was in on New England’s tackle for loss along with nose tackle Carl Davis. Looks like he’ll be heavily involved tonight.
First quarter, 15:00, 0-0: The Patriots won the opening coin toss and chose to defer.
The wind is whipping here. We’ll see what impact that has on the kicking and passing games as the night progresses.
7:53 p.m.: More notes from warmups:
The weather’s starting to get nasty here in Foxboro, with rain falling and the wind picking up. A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for all of southern New England.
6:53 p.m.: Here are tonight’s Patriots inactives:
— This will be the third straight game Stephon Gilmore has missed and the second straight absence for Ja’Whaun Bentley. Practice squad call-up Terez Hall started in Bentley’s place last week.
— Running back Damien Harris (chest, ankle), wide receiver N’Keal Harry (concussion) and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy (shoulder, elbow, knee) all are active. Getting Guy back could be a boon against Baltimore’s top-ranked rushing offense.
— Receiver Isaiah Ford will make his Patriots debut. Defensive tackle Isaiah Mack will have to wait.
— Ryan Izzo is the only active tight end for the third consecutive week.
— Offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor returns to the lineup after being activated off injured reserve.
Ravens running back Mark Ingram is active after missing the last two games and sitting out Baltimore’s last two practices. Cornerback Jimmy Smith and defensive lineman Calais Campbell are among the Ravens’ inactive.
6:45 p.m.: Damien Harris and N’Keal Harry both are among the 20 or so Patriots players warming up with strength coach Moses Cabrera. This likely means both will be active after being listed as questionable.
No sign yet of Stephon Gilmore, who typically stretches with this group. Harry and Gilmore both have missed the last two games.
It will be interesting to see how Harry’s return (if he is indeed active) shakes up the Patriots’ receiving corps. Jakobi Meyers took over Harry’s snaps has been the clear top target in that group over the last three weeks. Wideout Isaiah Ford also appears poised to make his Patriots debut.
9 a.m. ET: from Foxboro, Mass., where the 3-5 New England Patriots are preparing to host the 6-2 Baltimore Ravens on “Sunday Night Football.”
To bring everyone up to speed, here was the series of roster moves New England announced yesterday:
— Placed outside linebacker Shilique Calhoun on injured reserve
— Activated offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor off IR
— Elevated inside linebackers Terez Hall and Cassh Maluia from the practice squad
— Waived defensive tackle Nick Thurman
— Added tight end Jordan Thomas to the 53-man roster
— Signed fullback Paul Quessenberry to the practice squad
— Did not activate running back Sony Michel off IR
We’d still be a bit surprised if Thomas was active tonight considering he’s yet to practice with the Patriots. We’ll see whether Eluemunor is able to reclaim his starting right tackle spot from dominant rookie Mike Onwenu.
With Hall and Maluia up, there’s a chance Ja’Whaun Bentley (groin) could be inactive for the second straight week. Bentley is one of 16 Patriots players listed as questionable, along with:
S Terrence Brooks (illness)
S Cody Davis (calf)
DB Kyle Dugger (ankle)
K Nick Folk (back)
CB Stephon Gilmore (knee)
DT Lawrence Guy (shoulder, elbow and knee)
RB Damien Harris (ankle, chest)
WR N’Keal Harry (concussion)
TE Ryan Izzo (hamstring)
CB Jonathan Jones (illness)
G Shaq Mason (calf)
OLB John Simon (elbow)
G Joe Thuney (ankle)
DE Deatrich Wise (knee, hand)
OT Isaiah Wynn (ankle)
Harris said Friday he’s preparing himself to play, but he’ll be closer to a game-time decision, according to a report from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
With Michel not yet activated, the Patriots would be down to Rex Burkhead, James White and J.J. Taylor at running back if Harris can’t go.
Expect to see recently acquired wide receiver Isaiah Ford active for the first time. Defensive tackle Isaiah Mack also could make his Patriots debut.
The Ravens will be without star defensive end Calais Campbell, who leads them in sacks and has been one of the NFL’s top run defenders at his position, and could be missing No. 1 running back Mark Ingram. Ingram sat out the last two games with an ankle injury and did not practice Thursday or Friday.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. Click the link below to read our full game preview, and follow along here throughout the day for full pre- and in-game coverage from Foxboro.
