The Baltimore Ravens are 6-2 after an impressive win against the New England Patriots. There was an incredible amount of good, some bad and some ugly moments from this game. Let’s take a look at it all:
The Good:
Wow Ravens. Wow. You couldn’t have asked for a better start for the Ravens. It wouldn’t have happened better in a dream. The Ravens got a touchdown after a Patriots penalty took Justin Tucker off the field and put Lamar Jackson back on it. Jackson basically walked into the end zone. Then the Ravens got a stop and scored a field goal after moving right back down the field as if it was easy. Before you knew it, the Ravens had the ball again and Mark Ingram had a 53 yard run. Gus Edwards finished the drive with a touchdown run. M&T Bank Stadium was rocking and the Ravens were dominating one of the last undefeated teams in the league.
Marlon Humphrey got the second half off to a great start with a fumble recovery that he took 70 yards for a touchdown. It begs a question: Is there a better player in the NFL at a scoop and score? He did it against Seattle and he essentially scooped up a win (but not a touchdown) against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens went up 24-13 and gained back the momentum Baltimore craved. After the Patriots marched down the field and scored to make it 24-20, the Ravens answered the bell.
Lamar Jackson completed a pass on a fourth down conversion that was one of the biggest plays of the entire season. Jackson’s heroics kept things going on one of the Ravens’ signature long drives. Jackson and company kept the football for 14 plays and over eight minutes. The drive ended with two things you don’t see often. First Nick Boyle got his first career touchdown and then Justin Tucker missed an extra point.
The Ravens led by 10 in this roller coaster of a game. Then the Ravens started to pull away again. Earl Thomas had a big interception and his return set Baltimore’s offense up with great field position. The Ravens scored again. The Ravens won 37-20. They dominated time of possession and their offense put the game away. Jackson looked like an MVP. It was an incredible night.
The Bad:
One of the things that had to drive Don Martindale crazy is how the same players got most of the production for the Patriots. Mohammed Sanu and Julian Edelman both had 10 receptions for over 80 yards. Brady had a pick and didn’t have the night he wanted, yet he was annoyingly efficient. Before the Ravens sealed the deal late in the fourth quarter to provoke garbage time, Brady was completing about 66 percent of his passes. The Patriots offensive line was struggling to protect Brady in the pocket and he had to get rid of the ball quickly. The defense allowed Brady to nickel and dime them too much.
Baltimore gave up only about 75 rushing yards yet James White, Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel all averaged over four yards per carry. The Ravens defense won the day, yet the Patriots had almost the same amount of yards. The purple and black had multiple chances to put the game away. They went up 17-0 and allowed the Patriots to climb back into the game. They had a defensive touchdown early in the third quarter and the Patriots drove down the field, quickly.
The biggest problem of this game was that momentum was so fickle. Baltimore ended up with a dominant win. John Harbaugh’s team could have beat the Patriots even more severely. This was far from a perfect game. It is a perfect result, however. There isn’t much complaining to do, yet the first half was tense when it shouldn’t have been.
The Ugly:
The purple and black were rolling. They were absolutely rolling. They were rolling to the tune of 17-0. Cyrus Jones muffed a punt and then the entire thing changed. The Ravens momentum got taken away. It was a disastrous moment. Some bad things happened after that point for Baltimore, but that was the ugly moment that set everything in motion. The Ravens went into the half with a 17-13. Jones muffed a chance for the Ravens to add to the lead. It was a monumental shift in this game.
Mark Ingram’s fumble was awful as well. The thing is however that these fumbles are about as different as they get. Ingram made a mistake going full speed, trying to churn out extra yards. Jones just muffed a punt. He made a bonehead mistake that ruined the 17-0 party of the purple and black.
This was an up and down game. It was a roller coaster of emotions. The problem is that the Ravens allowed the Patriots to make this one interesting. Take a second to realize something. At the end of the day nothing matters except for the fact that Baltimore got the biggest win of their season, against an undefeated team. Baltimore beat a team that most analysts thought would win. They took the national stage and showed off how good the Baltimore Ravens were.