What New England Patriots Should Take Away from Baltimore Ravens Win on Sunday

There are 17 games worth of tape on the Baltimore Ravens, and though Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots will certainly watch all of them, they can get a very good idea of how to beat the Ravens by watching just a few in particular.

Although the Ravens ended Sunday's game against the Houston Texans with the advantage on the scoreboard, there were at least a couple of key weaknesses of their team which were exposed. 

The Patriots have a golden opportunity to capitalize on some of the weaknesses that were on display in that contest.

No pressure

The vaunted Ravens defense logged a whopping 0 sacks against the Texans offense.

That stuff will fly against rookie quarterback T.J. Yates and a run-based offense, but that just won't cut it against one of the most cerebral quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen.

As we saw on Saturday night, a protected Tom Brady is a lethal Tom Brady. If the Ravens pass-rush doesn't get there, it's going to be a long day.

The matter gets much more complicated when you factor in the Ravens' lack of depth in terms of pass-rushers. They get most of their pressure from one guy, Terrell Suggs. He had the best season of his career in 2011 with 14 sacks and two interceptions, but we all know how well the Patriots operate when they know who the best player is and they are able to key in on that player.

Expect New England to keep an extra guy in to chip Suggs at the line, if they even need to; they were able to give Brady a great pocket using just their offensive tackles on Saturday against vaunted Broncos pass-rushers Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil.

No offense

It didn't exactly take a lights-out performance from the Ravens offense to knock off the Patriots, 33-14, in their last playoff meeting.

But this isn't the same lights-out defense that took the field at Gillette Stadium back in January, 2010. And if the same offense that took the field on Sunday makes the trip to Foxboro, the Ravens' Super Bowl dreams could quickly turn into a nightmare.

The Ravens didn't do anything well offensively, and although they were up against one of the league's best defenses, much of the pain was self-inflicted. They converted just 4-of-16 third-down tries (25 percent) and continually failed to capitalize on big opportunities presented by their defense.

What's more, the Ravens' rush attack that had become one of the most feared in the league was held to a very tame 2.8 yards per rush. Running back Ray Rice, usually a wrecking ball in the running game, was held to 60 yards on 21 carries and 80 total yards on 25 touches. 

The Patriots need to build on the success they enjoyed against the Broncos, as they were slicing into the backfield and stopped 14 total plays short of the line of scrimmage (nine tackles for loss, five sacks). It's unlikely that Joe Flacco will beat the Patriots by himself, and if the Patriots can zero in on the running game and force the ball into Flacco's unsteady hands, they greatly improve their chances of winning.

Tom Brady > T.J Yates

Just by a little.

I think it's safe to say Brady won't be throwing three interceptions and doing all he can to kill the Patriots every last hope of a win.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter.