Patriots Keep Playoff Hope Alive in Win Against Ravens

Despite the wind and rain, the New England Patriots would seal playoff hopes with a win against the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots were not only able to hold back a Lamar Jackson led Ravens team but created some historic moments for themselves as well.

Patriots were hoping to build off of last week’s come from behind win against the New York Jets. Also on the line, was playoff chances as the Patriots franchise had not missed a playoff in 12 years… no pressure.

The Patriots would be facing a team that was defined by their quarterback along with their defense.

Fortunately for the Patriots, both would have a bit of a struggle in Sunday night’s game. Ravens would be missing both defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback Jimmy Smith due to injury.

Weather conditions weren’t favorable in Foxborough, especially not for the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, who were not quite as prepared for it as their opponents. Along with the 50-degree weather, kickoff would be welcomed with wind speeds of 14mph and light rain.

The play would move forward nonetheless, and it would be the Ravens with first possession. The first eight minutes of play would offer no scoring. The Ravens, however, would be determined to fix this.

Baltimore was first in the league in rushing due primarily to their exceptional quarterback Lamar Jackson, and he was ready to get his team going.

Jackson would put his feet to work to convert on third down with a gain of 3.

Not only was Jackson phenomenal in the rushing game, but the passing as well. He would find tight end Mark Andrews wide open down the middle of the field to gain 13 yards. Wide receiver Willie Snead IV was ready to add his touch. He would receive a perfect 21-yard shotgun from his QB, bringing his team to the New England 43. Jackson would connect to wide receiver Devin Duvernay who would get the first down and then some, picking up 19 total yards on the play.

Ravens would end the 1stquarter at the New England 6 with a touchdown in sight.

Snead would go right, receiving the handoff from Jackson taking the ball six yards into the end zone!

This would conclude an eight-minute 94-yard drive for the Ravens to start the 2ndquarter. Justin Tucker’s kick was good, and the Ravens were up with the first touchdown of the game.

The Patriots were ready to answer. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers would pick up a gain of 19 while taking contact from Ravens safety DeShon Elliott. Elliott would collect a penalty adding an extra 15 yards to the play.

Quarterback Cam Newton would complete a gorgeous 20-yard pass to tight end Ryan Izzo to bring his team to the Baltimore 7! Running back Rex Burkhead then carried the ball into the end zone for the 7-yard touchdown! The kick went straight through the uprights, tying the game 7-7.

Judging by his success, Newton was seemingly unphased by the elements that prevailed around him in Gillette Stadium.

On the next drive, a pair of runs by Jackson, a 31-yard rush by running back Gus Edwards, and a personal foul on New England linebacker Terez Hall would grant field goal position to the Ravens, but nothing more. J. Tucker’s kick from the 24-yard line would be good, putting Baltimore up three.

The Pats would get the ball back with five and a half minutes remaining before halftime.

New England would pick up a combined 12 yards before Newton would handoff to running back Damien Harris, who would pick up an additional 12. After a series of plays that followed the two-minute warning, the Pats would want to issue a new game plan. They would take the timeout with a minute and ten on the clock.

Newton would remain in play, but this time, it wouldn’t be him letting the ball fly. Say it with me… Ja-Ko-Bi Meyers!

Meyers, who had previously played quarterback before being switched to wide receiver, would have his time to shine. Meyers would connect to Burkhead with a gorgeous 24-yard jewel in the end zone for the touchdown! This play not only shocked this Ravens defense but also probably a lot of Patriots living rooms as well.

The extra kick, however, would be no good as the wind clearly didn’t care to extend the excitement of the play and would offer no grace to Folk.

Nevertheless, after answering a field goal with a storybook 24-yard touchdown, the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick weren’t too concerned.

With only a minute left of play, the Ravens and Lamar Jackson would have to act fast, hoping to at least tie the 13-10 game.

New England would take a timeout, hoping to add to the pressure. Baltimore would eventually take its own consecutive timeouts.
Jackson would pick up the necessary downs to get his team into field goal position at the New England 38. With 7 seconds left on 2nddown and with the wind conditions in mind, Jackson would hope to eat off a few more yards for Tucker.

This hope would be shot down quickly as Jackson’s deep right pass would only be intercepted by J.C. Jackson at the New England 6! This would mark the previously undrafted cornerback’s 5thconsecutive game with an interception and establish a franchise record!

What a performance by the Patriots to end the half!

With great field position and high spirits, New England’s opening drive would be quick and to the point.

Harris would receive back to back handoffs from Newton to bring in two first downs and a combined 41 yards. This would establish Harris’ 3rdcareer 100-yard game!

The Patriots weren’t done yet. Meyers, knowing what is needed as a QB, would create a perfect window for his, leveraging the defender to the right side, before quickly changing directions and receiving the 26-yard-deep left shot from Newton.

It would ultimately be Newton, who would leap into the end zone to finish off the touchdown drive. And at 6’5” 245 lbs., no one would stop him. Newton was thrilled as he raised his arms, put two #1s in the air, and proceeded with his own personal end zone dance.

The play would mark Newton’s 67thcareer rushing touchdown, extending the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a QB! But that’s not all; just to add a little icing on the cake, it would also be Newton’s 41stcareer game with a rushing touchdown and passing touchdown, also extending the NFL record!

Desperately needing an answer on their three and half minute drive, the Ravens would go for it on 4thand 1. As the rain had now amped up its speed, the Ravens would come up short after the ball slipped out of the hands of the receiver.

The Patriots would start the next drive with great field position but would ultimately settle for a field goal from the 20-yard line. Folk would push past the weather conditions and successfully add the extra three to his team’s lead.

Down 13 with six minutes left in the 3rdquarter, Lamar Jackson would finally find his magic taking his team to the New England 48.

The Patriots would take the timeout, but Jackson was determined.

He would convert on 4thand 1, handing off to Edwards for an 11-yard gain. At the 23, he’d enlist his feet to pick up a crucial 1stdown. Snead IV would be the final touchdown target as he received a perfectly thrown 18-yard pass in the end zone! The kick from Tucker was good.

This was great news for the Ravens, but with the Patriots still leading by 6, they would need more.

The rain chose to make its presence a little more known in the 4thquarter as it was quite literally raining havoc on the field. This no doubt affected play as neither team was able to seal an effective rhythm.

The 4thquarter would allow no scoring. For the Pats, knowing that included the Ravens and their talented captain Lamar Jackson, that was a victory in itself.

The Patriots were not only able to end the game on top 23-17, but mutually pulled off a season-saving victory. New England had improved its record to 4-5 after being 2-5, just six days prior.

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