Patriots Enter Primetime Matchup With Ravens As Monumental Underdogs

Nov. 11, 2001. That’s the last time a New England Patriots opponent was favored by a touchdown or more in Foxboro, Mass.

That drought should end Sunday.

Though the line could shift in the coming days, the Patriots were, as of Wednesday morning, pegged as seven-point home underdogs for their primetime matchup with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

That spread speaks to the current state of the Patriots franchise.

New England carries a 3-5 record into Week 10. It just needed a late-game comeback and a last-second 51-yard field goal to beat the winless Jets 30-27. Since the start of last November, the Patriots’ record is 7-10, including playoffs.

Baltimore, meanwhile, enters at 6-2 after beating a good Indianapolis Colts team by two touchdowns in Week 9. The Ravens’ two losses have come against the Kansas City Chiefs (by 14) and Pittsburgh Steelers (by four), the AFC’s top two teams.

Jackson, last year’s NFL MVP, is 25-5 in his career as a starter. He cut up the Patriots’ league-leading defense last season, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing another in a 37-20 rout.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday called the Ravens “an impressive team to watch.”

“The Ravens are physical,” Belichick said in a video conference. “They’re an explosive team. … Obviously, they have a lot of big-play potential on offense, but they’re a physical, hard-nosed team that can run the ball, stop the run, play good in the kicking game. Big challenge for us this week to get ready to go in all three phases.”

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have been home underdogs just five times, and never by more than a field goal. The last such game was in 2014, when they blew out Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos 43-21 as three-point ‘dogs.

Only two Foxboro visitors have been favored by seven or more during the Bill Belichick era: the aforementioned 2001 Rams — whom the Patriots later defeated in Super Bowl XXXVI — and the 2001 Indianapolis Colts, who lost 44-13 as 11 1/2-point favorites in Tom Brady first start.

A loss this weekend would deal another blow to the 2020 Patriots’ precarious playoff chances. They currently sit in 11th place in the AFC, two games back of the conference’s final wild-card spot and 3 1/2 behind the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.