The Ravens had the game in the palm of their hands not just once but twice.After Tom Brady was picked off in the end zone to miraculously give the Ravens the football, Baltimore drove it deep into New England territory, thanks to a 16 yard pass from Joe Flacco to Eric Dickson, spotting the ball at the Pats 37. Following a couple nice runs by Ricky Williams and Ray Rice, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron then blew it.
With the Ravens facing a third and three, the obvious call would have been to throw the football for the first down to keep the drive alive, but no; Cameron decided to run up the middle with Rice, even with the Patriots loading up the box with eight men. Result: Rice was tackled for a three yard loss, putting Baltimore in an impossible fourth and six. On fourth down, Flacco's pass fell incomplete to give the ball back to the Patriots.
After the Ravens defense forced the Patriots into a three and out, the Ravens had one last shot to win the AFC Championship game and head to the Super Bowl.
Flacco was great. He hit Anquan Boldin for gains of 13 and nine yards to move the ball to the 48 yard line. With 0:56 to go, Flacco hit Bodin down the sideline for a 29 yard gain to the Patriots 23 yard line. Finally, Flacco found Boldin one more time for a nine yard gain to the New England 14. With time ticking down, the trip to the promised land was right there for the Ravens.
It was there for the taking, but the Ravens blew that, too. Flacco threw a perfect pass to Lee Evans in the end zone for the a sure touchdown. Evans had the ball for a second, but the ball was jarred loose by Pat Chung, forcing Evans to drop the ball. If Evans had held onto that football it would have been a game winning score with :22 seconds.
Finally, on fourth and one, Billy Cundiff came out to kick what should have been a easy 32 yard field goal; instead, the kicker choked under pressure and missed it wide left. Laces out Cundiff. The kid blew it and will go down as the ultimate goat of the game, which is a situation both fair and unfair at the same time. Blame should also go to Evans for dropping the TD, and to Cameron for screwing up a potential scoring drive earlier in the quarter.
On the other hand, the Patriots did nothing in the second half to win this game. Tom Brady was bad. He was picked off twice, and, at one point, he had a one-yard touchdown taken away from him when his knee fell short of the goal line.
For their own part, the Ravens defense was not great in this game either. They allowed the Patriots to move up and down the field with alacrity in the first half, but they did pick up the slack and hold down the Pats in the second half. PATRIOTS vs. RAVENS Gallery.
For all of the Joe Flacco doubters out there, they have to shut up. Flacco had the game of his life. In spite of the kicker, the receiver and the offensive coordinator, Flacco was great. He threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't wilt under the pressure, and he put the ball on target to win the game. Problem was, the help wasn't there.
The Ravens should be going to the Super Bowl, but they are not. It will be a game they will live to regret for the rest of their lives.
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