New England Patriots (10-4-0) at Baltimore Ravens (8-6-0)
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
December 22nd, 2013, 4:25PM
It cannot be stressed enough, the magnitude of this game for both New England and the Baltimore Ravens.
The mission is simple, win the game and you’re in, winners of the AFC East and a team with the opportunity to hold onto a first round bye if they manage a win in their final game of the season. However, if they lose this pivotal game, things will get hairy. 2 weeks ago the Patriots pulled out that magical last second comeback culminating in Stephan Goskowski's onside kick and the ensuing Danny Ammendola touchdown and yet the most lasting impact that game had on the Patriots was not improvement in the standings but instead the loss of Rob Gronkowski to a brutal mangling of his left knee.
In his absence the Patriot's whose previously unstoppable (but now equally injury riddled) defense won them games during Rob Gronkowski's 1st stint on the inactive list this season has faltered meaning that when New England took the trip down to Miami last week, that brutal combination turned out a rather disappointing 20-24 loss. 7 days after that defeat the Patriots will return to action as they make yet another trip this time to face the always potent Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens need this win just as much as New England does seeing as a loss here will effectively eliminate them from post season contention. Furthermore, their star QB, Joe Flacco has been slightly hampered of late as he will wear a brace (if he even makes the start) for the entire duration of Sunday's game. Having Flacco starting will be crucial for the defending champion Ravens as throughout a season where the Ravens running game has been historically bad, Joe has stood tall backing up last season’s Super Bowl MVP performance with 18 touchdowns and 3,460 passing yards all thrown to a receiving core devoid of last season's star, Anquan Bouldin.
That last discrepancy between last season and this will most likely benefit the Patriots the most. Fact is, New England has not played well against Baltimore for nearly 5 years now as in each of the last 4 seasons Tom Brady's worst in game passer rating has come against the Ravens. Even in the 2011 AFC Championship where New England barely squeaked past the Ravens via that Billy Cundiff missed field goal Tom publicly admitted that he "sucked pretty bad" and that the defense really bailed him out. During that 4 year span, the Patriots have gone 2-3 against the Ravens splitting their back to back AFC Championships in 2011 and 2012 that on both occasions served as low points for Tom Brady.
However, while the past does preach a tale of 2 evenly matched teams, the Patriots have gone 10-0 in their last 10 Week 16 games proving a trend of finishing seasons strong no matter who the opponent. Also, the Ravens are a nearly unrecognizable team when you compare them to those that have given New England trouble over the past few years as without the services of Ray Lewis and former "always good against the Patriots" wide out, Anquan Boldin, Flacco, like Brady, has spent that majority of 2013 throwing to a whole host of young receivers.
Sunday afternoon in Baltimore will be a moment of truth for 2 football crazed fan-bases. Both teams need wins desperately while both are dealing with similar levels of roster depletion via injury and veteran loss as a result of free agent losses. As we sit down on our couches tomorrow, we will be watching not only to see who wins this game but also to see which one of these teams that has already overcome so much adversity will simply do it all again.
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