Ravens vs. Patriots: 3 Situations Where the Defense Bailed Out the Offense

Somewhere between the regular season and the postseason, the New England Patriots' defense went from Clark Kent to Superman.

The 32nd-ranked squad won the game for New England today, and Tom Brady was not loath to admit it, acknowledging to fans at Foxborough, "I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us."

Though the offense did their part, putting 23 points on the board, they blew key opportunities and were largely responsible for the game's nail-biter status.

Here's a look at three situations where the Patriots' offense and special teams asked the Pats' D to clean up their mess.

Woodhead Fumbles

With 3:38 left in the third quarter, Danny Woodhead stepped in on special teams. After a 35-yard kickoff  return, he fumbled at New England's 28-yard line and Baltimore recovered the ball.

The Ravens had just snatched their first lead of the game, going up by a point following a 29-yard touchdown—and now they could start the runaway.

A Baltimore touchdown would have doled a crushing psychological blow to New England—but the Patriots D resisted. They allowed only one first down and sacked Flacco for a loss of 12 yards on a 3rd-and-8 play to hold them to field goal.

Brady Throws Deep

With 7:22 left in the game, the Patriots' offense committed the worst transgression of the AFC Championship game.

Up a field goal, New England would have been best served to play conservatively, drawing out plays and executing a long touchdown drive to put them up two scores, leaving the Ravens with little time to retaliate.

Going against reason, the Patriots called an extremely risky play. Brady launched a pass deep downfield into double coverage—and it was picked in acrobatic fashion by Jimmy Smith.

Instantly, the teams' roles were reversed.

Baltimore, down three with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, had an opportunity to run out the clock on a long scoring drive and trust their defense to stop a struggling Tom Brady.

Instead, the 32nd-ranked D stepped it up to halt what was assuredly a game-changing momentum shift, including a huge stop on 4th-and-6.

The result? Baltimore increases their score by zero, and Tom Brady gets the ball again up three with 2:46 left in the game.

Pats Can't Convert

When Tom Brady got the ball with under three minutes left in the game, the Patriots were only a few first downs away from kneeling their way into the Super Bowl.

But they couldn't even drive for 10 yards, going three-and-out and giving Flacco the opportunity to dig in the knife.

Enter Sterling Moore, the crunch-time player of the week.

With 27 seconds left in the game, the Ravens were in a 2nd-and-1 situation, 14 yards from the Patriots' end zone. Flacco hit up Lee Evans who was in perfect position to haul in an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown.

But Sterling Moore batted the ball to the turf, salvaging the Pats' season and reigniting energy in Foxborough.

On 3rd-and-1 from the same spot, Moore got a hand on the ball to deflect a pass intended for Dennis Pitta, forcing a fourth down and a field goal attempt—effectively quashing Baltimore's ability to win the game in regulation.

Pats' D to the rescue again.