QB Joe Flacco, WR Torrey Smith lead Baltimore Ravens beat New England Patriots 31-30 – NFL News
It took the bothering wait of almost eight months since the Baltimore Ravens lost the conference title game to the New England Patriots and then a superb effort from the offensive line that helped the hosts Ravens revenge their defeat with 31-30 victory
over the Patriots in front of a capacity crowd at M&T Bank stadium on Sunday (September 23).
The result might have been the same like the last game if Ravens’ new kicker Justin Tucker had missed the 27-yard field goal opportunity, the way their former kicker Billy Cundiff had done last season, with both opportunities presenting themselves in the
closing minutes of the game. The only difference was that Billy’s missed goal was a 32-yard attempt.
It was a job well done by Tucker, who after showing immense promise during the preseason took over the place of Billy who was let go with a sense of guilt that he had missed the opportunity to score the goal and win in the conference game.
Also, it was another brilliant performance from Ravens transformed quarterback Joe Flacco, who seems to be thoroughly enjoying the run offence. He was able to complete 28 of 39 passes for 382 yards.
The most scintillating performance was of wide receiver Torrey Smith, who managed well to overcome a family tragedy of 19-year old brother’s death less than 24 hours earlier to hold six catches for 127 yards.
Smith said of the situation:
"It was tough, emotionally. I didn't know how I would hold up. It means a lot not just for us but for my family. That's for my little brother."
Patriots QB Tom Brady on the other hand managed to finish 28 out of 41 passes successfully with 335 yards, but was unable to help the team survive the pressure exerted by the Ravens in the final minutes.
Smith held a five-yard touchdown pass with about four minutes left in the game and then completed six straight out of the total last seven passes in the 92-yard drive which helped the Ravens get past the Patriots’ 30 points to finish the game at 31 points.
Coach John Harbaugh was pleased with the result and with the fact that Ravens were able to redeem their reputation from the previous loss.
It was a tough game for the coaches as well given the replacement referees gave 24 penalties in the game and made both coaches yelling at them during the entire game. The Ravens received a tally of 14 penalties which made Harbaugh go furious against the
Refs who seemed to be less bothered about the coach’s outbursts.
It is pertinent to note here that the win has helped the Ravens to improve to 2-1 in the American Football Conference (AFC) North division tied with the Cincinnati Bengals. Their other rivals Pittsburgh Steelers have a single win while Cleveland Browns are
yet to score one.
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