Monday, December 23, 2013

Day 267: Pats Win Big. Now That's More Like It!

It's something I've been longing for this entire football season—a dominating win where I didn't feel like I was going to throw up throughout the whole game. The New England Patriots beat, no walloped, the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to improve to 11-4 and holding tight at the #2 seed in the AFC. The final score was 41-7 even with Tom Brady having just a mediocre day going 14-for-26 for 172 yards and one touchdown.

The real story in this game was the Patriots' defense—a defense that has been decimated by injuries but rose to a level we haven't seen much of this season. A defense that made Joe Flacco look like a college freshman. The Ravens were shut out in the first half and never even made it into Patriots' territory until the first play of the third quarter. Flacco was just 22-for-38 for 260 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions that both went for scores the other way.

The Ravens brought in back up quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, to take a few snaps. He promptly fumbled on the first play resulting in a Patriots touchdown. On the next series, Taylor moved the ball down the field and into Patriots territory... aaaaand then he tossed a pick that the Pats ran back for a 74-yard touchdown. Ooops.

LeGarrette Blount led the rushing attack with 16 runs for 76 yards and two touchdowns. While his numbers weren't outstanding, it just seemed like he always had the ball and he was just pounding through the defensive line like it was butter. I expected those numbers to bigger.

It was one of those games that was just plain fun to watch. There wasn't a point where I felt nervous or anxious that the Patriots didn't have the game completely under their control. Something that hasn't happened much this season. And although they had clinched their fifth consecutive AFC East title earlier in the day when Miami lost, they played like they had something to prove.

I just have one question for the Patriots... why couldn't you have beaten the Ravens like this back in last year's AFC Championship? Huh?

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