It was a hard-fought affair against a hard-edged opponent who refused to go down until the very end, when Mark Clayton dropped a fourth-and-4 pass by Joe Flacco from the New England 14 with 32 seconds left.
“It was quite a finish,’’ said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who will get set to prepare his team for a trip to Denver and a reunion with former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, now the Broncos coach.
“That was a good football game out there today,’’ Belichick said. “I’m really proud of our players, couldn’t be prouder of them. They stepped up, went toe to toe with a team that, offensively, already set some franchise records this early in the season. Defensively, [they are] probably as good a defense - really, clearly the best defense - in this decade. They’ve got some great football players. I thought our guys really hung in there and made enough plays to win.’’
And, in that sense, it made the Patriots’ third win of the season supremely satisfying.
It didn’t matter if it was offense, defense, or special teams. The Patriots bronzed this triumph with moments in which they didn’t back down to their brash opponents, coming up with pivotal plays in each phase of the game.
Offensively, there was Brady’s 1-yard TD plunge in which the Patriots quarterback knocked heads with none other than Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis.
“I know Tom is a competitor and he’s really tough,’’ said running back Sammy Morris, who had five receptions for 35 yards, rushed six times for 21 yards, and scored on a 12-yard scamper to give the Patriots a 17-7 lead with 3:57 left in the first half. “He’s a competitor and he’s going to do what he’s got to do to help us win the game.’’
The Patriots were unable to convert Brandon McGowan’s recovery of Chris Carr’s fumble at the Baltimore 12 on the opening kickoff into a touchdown, settling instead for Stephen Gostkowski’s 32-yard field goal. But Brady punched it in himself in the second quarter, setting up the score with a 5-yard keeper on the previous play.
