Patriots Fend Off Ravens

NFL News - October 4th, 2009 - Written by John

The Patriots wanted to know where they stand in the AFC after an up-and-down three weeks. Now, they know they are right were they started, among the elite and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Tom Brady found Randy Moss, who said he was too sore to walk on Monday, for their first touchdown of the year and the Patriot defense didn't budge late to fend off the Baltimore Ravens, 27-21, on Sunday.

Baltimore, who seemed to gain 400 yards at will this season, was stuffed twice on fourth down late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. First it was Willis McGahee who was blasted at the line on fourth-and-1 that allowed New England to maintain their six-point lead. They got the ball back with five minutes left, however, and moved all the way down to New England's 14-yard line with 35 seconds left. But after two incompletions and a short-yardage play, they found themselves with fourth-and-short again. Flacco then hit Mark Clayton beyond the first-down marker, but the 11-year wideout dropped the pass and New England sat on the ball to seal the win.

After falling behind early, 7-3, the Patriots took command of the game with 14 unanswered points to head into the half. Brady and Sammy Morris both had touchdown runs that gave Baltimore it's first halftime deficit all year. But the Ravens clawed back and got a crucial defensive score when Brady was sacked from behind deep in his own territory, and Baltimore's Dwan Edwards pounced on the ball into the end zone.

That's when Moss took over, catching a 14-yarder to give New England a new 10-point lead. Willis McGahee then added his seventh touchdown of the year before Stephen Gostkowski knocked through a 33-yarder to make it 27-21.

With the win, New England re-established itself as one of the top-two powers of the conference alongside Indianapolis. They are down a game in the division, but now have two straight impressive wins over probable playoff teams.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/