Ravens vs. Patriots: Biggest Keys for New England to Return to Super Bowl

The New England Patriots will be in the Super Bowl...if they can execute the following essential items. 

This is a classic matchup of offense vs. defense. In an instance like this, it usually comes down to which team's weakness is less of a liability. 

That means the Patriots will have to find some way to get some stops, and not let the Ravens move the ball at will. It will also help if they can keep Tom Brady upright long enough to inflict damage on the stout Ravens defense. 

Protect Brady

You can't shut down Tom Brady. You can only hope to contain him, and the only way teams can realistically hope to contain him is by applying ample amounts of pressure on the golden boy QB. 

On the surface, the Ravens seem well equipped to handle this. They were on one of the best teams in the NFL at pressuring the QB. They finished fourth in the NFL in sack percentage. However, they have fallen off the map in terms of pass rush. 

In their past four games, they have a total of just three sacks, and that includes zero last week against rookie TJ Yates. 

Meanwhile, New England is doing an increasingly better job of protecting their QB. They finished seventh in sacks allowed percentage at 4.72 percent. 

And they did an amazing job of that this last week. The Broncos did not sack Brady one time. If the Patriots can maintain that level of efficiency, they will be well on their way to winning this game. 

Shut Down Ray Rice

The Patriots' putrid 31st ranked defense needs to focus on slowing down Ray Rice, and take their chances with Joe Flacco beating them over the top. 

Baltimore is clearly at their best when Rice is running the ball. Rice has had five games this year where he has gained 57 yards or less. The Ravens lost four of those games. 

New England needs to stack the box and make sure that at least one player has his eyes on Rice at all times. 

Last week, the Patriots did an amazing job of stopping the run. They held the potent Broncos running attack to just 3.6 yards per carry. 

Don't Forget About the Run

The Patriots have made it to the championship game because they can pass the ball. While this will certainly be their best weapon in this game, they can't go to the pass exclusively. The Ravens' defense is too good. 

New England must keep Baltimore honest. The Patriots are not void of a rushing attack. They finished 18th in rushing yards, and 20th in yards per rush. At the same time, those numbers don't indicate that they will have success against Baltimore. 

The Ravens finished second in the NFL in yards allowed per rush at just 3.6.

Success or not though, the Patriots must make sure they continue to mix in the run. This will slow down the Ravens pass rush, and possibly set them up for big plays off of the play action.