Baltimore vs. New England
Ravens Win AFC Championship Rematch With Patriots on Tucker’s Walk-Off Field Goal
The scene was eerily familiar.
New England was ahead in the final seconds of the game with Baltimore lining up for a manageable field goal.
Flashback to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in January. New England 23, Baltimore 20. Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yarder wide left that would’ve sent the AFC Championship game to overtime.
On Sunday night, the stakes weren’t as high but still a critical situation for each team to try and avoid a 1-2 start to the season. New England 30, Baltimore 28. Rookie Justin Tucker, who won the job from Cundiff in training camp, set up from 28 yards out with eight seconds remaining.
Tucker’s kick was good—by the thinnest of margins—and the Ravens came away 31-30 winners over the defending AFC champions in a wildly entertaining contest.
Baltimore is now 2-1 after the 31-30 win extended the Ravens’ home winning streak to 12.
“What would be a better story than the one you saw?” head coach John Harbaugh asked after the game. “Our team just fights. We just have a bunch of guys that will not quit. I couldn’t be more proud of the football team.”
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Baltimore was down nine points early in the fourth quarter and came back to win. It was an emotional night for the team as wide receiver Torrey Smith learned late Saturday night that his 19-year-old brother Tevin Jones had been killed in a motorcycle accident.
He didn’t decide that he would play until he arrived at M&T Bank Stadium this afternoon. And play he did. Smith caught two touchdown passes and accounted for 127 yards on six grabs to honor his brother and put a smile on the faces of his family members.
"It means a lot not just for us but for my family. ... That's for my little brother," Smith said after the game.
“I didn’t know until 4 o’clock if I was going to play. I only had like an hour of sleep. Emotionally, I didn’t know how I was going to hold up. When I came here, the more I was grounded. The more comfortable I began to feel. I’m glad I came back up here. It helped me out a lot.”
Harbaugh said that he understood how being in a familiar place—along with the support of his teammates—would give Smith comfort and the ability to perform at a high level.
"If you're around athletics, I guess you feel like it's an escape, an opportunity to do what he does. He's been doing it his whole life; he knows what to do. When Torrey said he wanted to play, the decision was finished. He was going to get the opportunity to play, he deserved that,” Harbaugh explained.
"There's not a better person on this team than Torrey Smith, and to come out tonight and play the way he did with all that adversity and turmoil in his life right now, the guy is unbelievable," tight end Dennis Pitta said. "Enough can't be said about him."
Smith’s second touchdown pass came with 4:08 left and cut the Patriots’ lead to 30-28. The Ravens defense did allow the Patriots to get to midfield on the ensuing drive, but Dannell Ellerbe and Haloti Ngata sacked Tom Brady on 2nd and 9 from the Ravens’ 44-yard line. After an incomplete pass on 3rd and 16, New England punted at the two-minute warning.
From the Patriots’ 34 on 3rd and 9, Patriots defensive end Devin McCourty was flagged for pass interference while defending Jacoby Jones. The spot foul put the ball on the 7-yard line.
Tucker’s kick went sharply to the right off his leg, and traveled above the right upright. The referees ruled that the ball went inside the upright as it passed overhead, much to the chagrin of the visitors.
Vince Wilfork argued with an official on the field, and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick grabbed one by the arm as he ran off the field. The official kept running, and Belichick didn’t pursue him further.
"I'm not going to comment on that," Belichick said of the brief confrontation. "You saw the game. What did we have, 30 penalties called in that game?"
There were 24 penalties called in the contest—14 of which went against Baltimore. The biggest one, however, was the pass interference call on McCourty to set up a short game-winning attempt for Tucker, who remains perfect in his rookie season by making all seven of his attempts in the first three games.
"It kind of goes back to something I've been saying, something I've been trying to stick to: I try to treat every kick the same way," said Tucker. "In that regard, I'm happy with the end result. It was good and the Ravens win so just mission accomplished."
It was a banner night offensively, as Joe Flacco was 28-of-39 for 382 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Pitta caught the other touchdown pass, and Ray Rice ran for 101 yards and a score.
Brady threw for 335 yards and a touchdown. He also had 41 pass attempts as the Patriots were only able to gain 77 yards on the ground against the Ravens’ defense.
The win was the Ravens’ first over New England in seven tries during the regular season. The only win to date was the 33-14 victory in the first round of the 2009 playoffs on the road in Foxborough.
UP NEXT
The Ravens will already play their third prime-time game of the season Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. It also marks the third night game at home in as many games in the young season. Cleveland is 0-3 after losing 24-14 at home to Buffalo earlier today.