Ravens vs. Patriots: Full Game Grades for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens battled the New England Patriots in a classic game that came right down to the wire. It looked like it might get out of hand early, however, after Baltimore scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead.
Both drives ended with Joe Flacco throwing touchdowns, as he was red hot to start the game. The first score saw Kamar Aiken haul in a 19-yard score. The second one came on a nine-yard strike to Steve Smith, as Flacco was picking apart the Patriots' much-hyped secondary.
However, the Patriots responded with consecutive scoring drives to tie the game. They did so on the arm of Tom Brady, who ran four yards for the first score to cut the lead to 14-7.
After the Ravens punted, Brady led the Pats down the field again before hitting Danny Amendola for a 15-yard score to tie the game at 14-all.
Momentum appeared to be swinging in favor of New England after Flacco threw an interception on the ensuing drive. However, the Patriots went three-and-out as the defense stiffened.
Then, with less than a minute in the half, left Daryl Smith intercepted Brady to give the Ravens the ball near midfield. Flacco once again guided the offense down the field before Owen Daniels for an 11-yard score to give Baltimore a 21-14 lead at halftime.
The second half was much of the same, with both offenses relying heavily on the pass while moving the ball at will against struggling defenses. The Ravens scored a touchdown on their first possession after Flacco hit Justin Forsett for a 16-yard score.
That gave Baltimore a 28-14 lead and another 14-point lead that would eventually be squandered. Brady led the Patriots on consecutive scoring drives to once again tie the game.
After Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a five-yard score, the ensuing drive saw the Patriots pull out a trick play Baltimore wasn't expecting. Brady threw a backward pass to Julian Edelman, who then threw it deep to a wide-open Amendola for a 51-yard score to tie the game at 28-all.
Flacco would respond by leading the offense down the field into a 1st-and-goal situation with less than 11 minutes to play.
However, New England's defense would hold and force a 25-yard field goal by Justin Tucker. That gave the Ravens a 31-28 lead with 10:17 left.
Like he has so many times before, Brady guided the Patriots offense down the field for the game-winning score. He got the offense close to the red zone before hitting Brandon LaFell for a 23-yard score.
That gave the Patriots their first lead of the game at 35-31, but Baltimore got the ball back and drove right back into Pats territory behind the arm of Flacco.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, it would live and die by the arm of Flacco, who threw an interception in the end zone after Duron Carter picked off a pass intended for Torrey Smith.
The Ravens defense would force a three-and-out to give the offense the ball back with four seconds left, but Flacco's Hail Mary pass was batted down to end the game.
Though it fought valiantly, Baltimore's season ended with a 35-31 loss at New England in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Here are my grades for each Ravens unit.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Joe Flacco has been Joe Cool when it comes to playing in the postseason. He came into this game 10-4 in the playoffs after last week's win at Pittsburgh, where he threw for 259 yards, two scores and no turnovers.
He needed to have an equally good performance this week for Baltimore to even have a shot at upsetting the Patriots. Flacco did just that with an amazing performance that should have been enough for Baltimore to win.
He threw for 292 yards and four scores but heave the game-sealing interceptions with less than two minutes left, his second turnover of the game.
Still, with four scores and his team holding a 31-28 lead, that should have been enough. Baltimore's defense blew a pair of two-touchdown leads that Flacco was primarily responsible for.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
For much of the regular season, Baltimore's offense relied heavily on running back Justin Forsett. He finished fifth in rushing yards with 1,266 yards, but he had struggled down the stretch coming into this game.
Forsett had rushed for just 226 yards and no scores in his past four games, including a mere 40 yards on 16 carries in the wild-card win at Pittsburgh.
That wasn't going to cut it against the Patriots, as Baltimore needed all of its offense clicking to win at New England. The Ravens responded in a big way, gouging the Patriots for 136 rushing yards on 28 carries (4.9 yards per rush).
With Flacco picking apart the Patriots, that opened up the run game, which helped Forsett rush for 129 yards on 24 carries.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The Ravens wide receivers were facing their biggest test of the year going against a star-studded Patriots secondary. You may not find a better cornerback trio than New England has with Darrelle Revis, Logan Ryan and Brandon Browner.
Needless to say, Baltimore's pass-catchers needed to bring their A-game to stand a chance in this one. Steve Smith brought his A-game and then some.
Though he only caught three passes for 44 yards and a score, he did several things that won't show up on a box score. He threw some crushing blocks on the edge to spring big runs by Justin Forsett, including a decleater on Devin McCourty in the first half.
Smith also drew several defensive penalties on the man covering him to give Baltimore several first downs. Torrey Smith chipped in three catches for 62 yards.
Tight end Owen Daniels was targeted a team-high 11 times but only caught four passes for 41 yards. He did haul in a touchdown.
Marlon Brown and Michael Campanaro also combined for nine catches and 78 yards. Overall, this unit had a solid game, which should have been good enough for the win.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Ravens offensive line had battled through multiple injuries to get into the playoffs and win at Pittsburgh last week. Starting left tackle Eugene Monroe had missed the previous two games with an ankle injury coming into this game.
With starting right tackle Ricky Wagner being lost to a season-ending foot injury in Week 16, Baltimore was in dire need of Monroe against the Patriots.
He didn't play though, despite being active, but the line still performed great. The unit opened up big lanes for running back Justin Forsett.
The line also didn't allow a sack and surrendered just four QB hits. Despite all of the injuries and shifting the line had to do, it played a great game against New England.
Grade: A-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
With the return of Haloti Ngata last week, Baltimore's defensive line looked like its dominant self once again. With the All-Pro back in the lineup after serving a four-game suspension, the Ravens held Pittsburgh to just 68 rushing yards in their 30-17 win.
They needed to have a similar performance against the Patriots this week and make them one-dimensional. They did just that and then some in suffocating the Patriots' ground game.
New England was held to a season-low 14 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Baltimore not only took away the ground game but essentially made it a hindrance to the Patriots offense, which had to rely exclusively on the pass.
Timmy Jernigan was a force off the bench as a pass-rusher with one sack and two QB hits. Other than that, the line didn't do much that showed up on the box score, but it consistently occupied blockers and allowed the linebackers to make the play.
Grade: A-
Linebacker
6 of 10
In Baltimore's biggest game of the year, the best unit had to perform as such for the Ravens to upend the Patriots. The linebackers gave it a good run by grounding the Patriots offense.
They were a key reason why New England gained just 14 yards on 13 carries. They were all over the field and never allowed New England to establish the run.
However, they simply didn't do enough to rush the passer and keep Tom Brady out of rhythm. Outside linebackers Pernell McPhee, Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil combined for 41 sacks in Baltimore's last 17 games, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
However, those three combined for a mere one sack and four QB hits as the Patriots threw for 408 yards and four scores.
This unit had to come up big for Baltimore to win this game, and it came up small in a narrow loss that will be hard for this team to stomach.
Grade: C+
Secondary
7 of 10
The Ravens were worried the Patriots could gouge this unit for big plays. A battered and thin secondary was going against a bevy of dynamic pass-catchers, including Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman and the All-Pro Rob Gronkowski.
The defensive backs were no match for Brady, who picked them apart throughout the game to the tune of 33-of-50 passing for 367 yards and three scores. If you count the 51-yard score Julian Edelman threw, that's 408 yards and four scores through the air.
They were often giving too much cushion, which allowed Brady to audible to short passes to keep the ball moving slowly and methodically. The defensive backs also committed several key penalties that led to Patriot first downs.
They simply could not keep up for four quarters against a loaded New England offense.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
Against the top-seeded Patriots, Baltimore needed its offense, defense and special teams to all be on point to escape with a win at New England.
The Ravens did well overall, but a couple of illegal blocking penalties on the return units impacted several drives.
Jacoby Jones didn't do much in the return game; he had four kickoff returns for an average of 24.7 yards. His three punt returns netted just 20 yards, and he was effectively held in check on both return units.
Justin Tucker hit one field goal, an easy 25-yarder to give the Ravens a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter. He also chipped in four extra points.
Punter Sam Koch boomed four punts for an average of 50.3 yards per punt, but none of them was downed inside the 20-yard line.
Overall, this was a good but not great performance by the Ravens special teams.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
The Ravens came into this matchup with a great offensive game plan that was executed very well. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak called a near-perfect game that translated into 31 points.
New England rarely could find a way to stop Baltimore's balanced attack. The Ravens gained 136 yards on the ground and 292 yards through the air.
The blocking scheme was also nearly flawless, as Baltimore didn't allow a sack and just four QB hits. Anytime your offense scores 31 points, you've called a good game, and Kubiak did just that.
It wasn't enough for a win though, and most of that blame can be placed on the defense. Only the Steelers scored more than 35 points against the Ravens coming into this game, but that's how many points Dean Pees' defense allowed.
While the defense did stop the run, it sacked Brady just twice, which isn't much considering Brady attempted 50 passes while completing 33 of them for 367 yards and three scores.
Baltimore was also completely surprised by the Patriots' trick play that saw wide receiver Edelman throw a 51-yard score to Amendola, who was wide open behind the defense.
Then there were the penalties. Baltimore has had problems with these throughout the year, and the team committed seven for 65 yards in this one.
That's not counting the several others that were declined after New England's offense got big plays despite the flags.
Had the coaches made a few more correct adjustments and had the players been more disciplined to commit fewer penalties, the Ravens probably would have won this game.
Still, the coaches did a good job overall in having the Ravens in a position to win at top-seeded New England.
Grade: B
Cumulative Grade
10 of 10
Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
QB | A- |
RB | B+ |
WR/TE | B+ |
OL | A- |
DL | A- |
LB | C+ |
Secondary | C- |
ST | B |
Coaching | B |
Cumulative Grade | B- |
This was a tough way for the Ravens' season to end, but they went down fighting like the champions most of these players are.
Though this team is two years removed from its Super Bowl win, a lot of the players who helped win that title are still here. Against the heavily favored and top-seeded Patriots, Baltimore didn't back down while putting itself in position to win this one.
Though the Ravens lost, it was still a good season after going 8-8 last year. An 11-6 mark is nothing to be ashamed of, and it has helped brighten the future for a promising team going forward.
The majority of this roster is still under contract next year. With a few additions through free agency and the draft, Baltimore will be a Super Bowl contender next season.
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