Ravens Pass Rush Key to Stopping Tom Brady, Patriots Offense

The Baltimore Ravens' biggest asset this season has been their pass rush. The Ravens defense totaled 49 sacks in the regular season, tied for second-most with the Philadelphia Eagles. Baltimore added to that total in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times in a 30-17 win.

That pass rush will be the biggest factor in whether the Ravens can escape Foxborough with a win over the New England Patriots on Saturday. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is particularly frustrated under pressure, and the Ravens' constant attempts to knock him down could alter his game so drastically as to bring down his entire team.

The success of the Ravens' pass rush is twofold: Though it begins with bringing pressure to quarterbacks, it also requires the shutdown of the run game, allowing no outlets for the quarterback when he cannot throw. 

Luckily for the Ravens, their defense is allowing just 87.1 rushing yards per game through the Wild Card Round and just 3.6 yards per rush. Though the Patriots are averaging 107.9 rushing yards per game, the Ravens defense has given up 100 or more rushing yards only five times in the regular season and hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 27 games. 

As long as the Ravens run defense continues to perform at the level it has for nearly two seasons, then the pass rush can turn its attention to Brady.The more the Patriots offense is one-dimensional and Brady-centric, the better the chance Baltimore's defensive front can rattle Brady both physically and mentally.

Brady has been well-protected this year, having been sacked just 21 times. But pressure manifests itself as more than just sacks, and the last time the Patriots and Ravens met in the playoffs provides a prime example.

In that game, the AFC Championship to cap off the 2012 season, the Ravens defeated the Patriots in Foxborough 28-13. Though the offense had a strong game, with a balanced attack featuring quarterback Joe Flacco throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions and the run game putting up 121 yards and an additional touchdown, the defense had its hand in the victory as well.

Though Brady wasn't sacked once, he was hit six times and hurried an additional 15 times according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). While Brady wasn't fazed by the blitz, completing eight of 11 passes while facing an extra pass-rusher for 82 yards and a touchdown, traditional three- and four-man pressure took him out of his comfort zone.

Under traditional pressure, Brady completed only four of 16 passes for 48 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. He had a 13.5 passer rating when facing a pass rush compared to a 124.1 passer rating versus the blitz.

The Ravens aren't a heavy-blitzing team this year—only safeties Matt Elam and Darian Stewart have double-digit snaps played as pass-rushers among the Ravens' defensive backs. Traditional in-your-face pressure produced by the linebackers and defensive line has been the hallmark again this season.

Baltimore is led by linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs. Dumervil had 17 regular-season sacks and added two more against Roethlisberger and the Steelers. Suggs had 12 regular-season sacks.

Reg. Season		Playoffs
Player	Sacks	Player	Sacks
Dumervil	17.0	Dumervil	2.0
Suggs	12.0	Williams	1.0
McPhee	7.5	Upshaw	1.0
Jernigan	4.0	Ngata	1.0
Mosley	3.0
Ngata	2.0
Smith	1.0
Tyson	1.0
Elam	.5
Williams	.5
Total	49.0	Total	5.0

Hybrid linebacker-defensive end Pernell McPhee might be Baltimore's most underrated pass-rusher with 7.5 regular-season sacks. And nose tackle Haloti Ngata also added two sacks in the regular season and another against Roethlisberger. Rookies Timmy Jernigan and C.J. Mosley combined for seven sacks; Jernigan's were earned while playing just 202 pass-rushing snaps on the season.

Though Brady has been well-protected this season, when pressure has gotten to him he hasn't been very accurate. Of Brady's 613 regular-season dropbacks, he saw pressure on 176 of them, or 28.7 percent. Though sacked on 11.4 percent of his dropbacks, pressure affected him in other ways.

Brady completed only 45.5 percent of his pressured passes on the season, the same as Cincinnati's Andy Dalton (who is very negatively affected by a pass rush) and threw just four touchdowns to six interceptions when facing pressure.

Tot. DBs	Pres. DBs	Pres. Atts.	Pres. Comp.	Comp.%	TD	INT	Pres. %	Sack %
613	176	154	70	45.5%	4	6	28.7%	11.4%

Just as in the AFC Championship meeting, blitzing hasn't gotten to Brady as much as traditional pressure this year—his passer rating when blitzed this year was 95.4, but just 53.5 when staring down linebackers and defensive ends. Just like three years ago, it appears that Baltimore's defense can control the pace of New England's offense to its advantage.

With the exception of the Buffalo Bills, with whom the Patriots split their two-game series this season, Brady and the Patriots have not faced a comparable defensive front to the Ravens' all season. While they are undoubtedly preparing for the pressure the Ravens will bring—it's hard not to notice a defense that totals 49 regular-season sacks—that preparation does not mean success.

The less the Patriots can run, the more Brady will have to throw. And the more that Brady drops back, the greater chance that Baltimore's formidable pass rush can get to him. Once that happens, Brady will be drawn out of his comfort zone, opening him up to throwing hurried, errant passes that can end drives—or even result in turnovers.

The combination of the Ravens' ability to stop the run and pressure the quarterback could grind the Patriots' offense to a halt on Saturday. There's no doubt, at least, that the Ravens possess the perfect defensive strategy to stymie Brady's Patriots.

Advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) unless noted otherwise.