Playoff Rewind: Ravens Aren't Afraid Of Patriots, Gillette Stadium
BOSTON (CBS) -- After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night, up next for the Baltimore Ravens is a trip to Gillette Stadium for the AFC Divisional Round against the New England Patriots.
Such a matchup would usually cause a few quivers and shivers for an incoming opponent, but not the Ravens. This weekend will be their fourth postseason trip to Foxboro in the last six years, with Baltimore going 2-1 in their previous playoff meetings. Notching a pair of road playoff wins at Gillette is an impressive total for Baltimore, who account for two of New England's three home playoff losses in the last 14 years.
As we detailed earlier, these are not the same Ravens who beat the Patriots in the 2012 AFC Championship game on their home turf (these Ravens had just one win against an opponent with a winning record in the regular season: Week 2 over the Steelers). And the 2014 version of the Patriots? They're pretty darn good, going 7-1 at home and clinching the top seed in the AFC.
Listen: 105.7 The Fan's Vinny Cerrato Breaks Down Ravens On Toucher & Rich
But the playoffs are always a different animal, and the Ravens will have no shortage of motivation against a team they love to hate. They're a cocky and confident bunch, and that cockiness and confidence will find a new level this week following Saturday night's 30-17 win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
"We all know who we're dealing with next," linebacker Terrell Suggs said Saturday night.
Here's a look back at the three times the Ravens have come into Gillette for a playoff game:
2009 AFC Wild Card Round: Ravens 33, Patriots 14
After missing the postseason in 2008 without Tom Brady, the Patriots were back in the playoffs and poised to make some noise. They weren't the usual powerhouse they had brought to the field in years past though, and found themselves hosting a game on Wild Card weekend.
It would be their only playoff game of the season, and they were sent home in embarrassing fashion at the hands of the Ravens.
This one was over before it really got started, with Ray Rice breaking an 83-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to give the Ravens a lead just 17 seconds in. Baltimore was up 24-0 at the end of the first quarter, and even when a Julian Edelman touchdown catch in the third quarter made it a 27-14 game, there was little chance of a Patriots comeback due to a smothering Ravens defense.
With Wes Welker sidelined after blowing up his knee in Week 17 and Randy Moss blanketed for much of the afternoon, Brady had very little success in his first playoff game since Super Bowl XLII. The Pats' QB was just 23-of-42 for 154 yards, was picked off three times and lost a fumble. He spent most of his day on the run, getting sacked three times and hitting the ground countless others.
The loss snapped New England's home playoff win streak at 11 games, and was the first home playoff loss for Brady and Bill Belichick.
2011 AFC Championship Game: Patriots 23, Ravens 20
The Patriots needed a lot of luck to punch their ticket to Super Bowl XLVI, barely holding on for a 23-20 win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship at Gillette.
It was a back-and-forth affair, with the Patriots jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the second quarter on a BenJarvus Green-Ellis touchdown run. Baltimore answered on their next drive to tie the game, but the Patriots were back on top with a 16-10 lead early in the third quarter. Baltimore scored 10 unanswered to end the frame though, taking a 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter. They wouldn't score again.
The fourth quarter was one to remember. The Patriots started with great field position, thanks to a Terrell Suggs penalty that offset a Cary Williams interception near the end of the third. A few plays later, New England was on the Baltimore one-yard line, and Tom Brady was leaping over a pile of defenders and into the end zone. The Pats took a 23-20 lead with 11:29 to go in the game, and had to hold on for dear life the rest of the way.
Flacco was picked off by Brandon Spikes on Baltimore's following drive, but Jimmy Smith intercepted Brady on the very next play. The two teams traded drives that went nowhere before Baltimore got the ball back with 1:44 to play.
Flacco connected with Anquan Boldin for 60 yards on the drive, and the Ravens found themselves at New England's 14-yard line with under a minute to go. On 2nd-and-1, Flacco hit Lee Evans in the end zone, but Sterling Moore knocked the ball out of the receiver's hands. Two plays later Billy Cundiff took the "goat" label from Evans, hooking a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal to hand New England the win.
It was an impressive victory for the Patriots, given the fact Rob Gronkowski was hobbled for most of the second half by an ankle injury (courtesy of Patriots' villain Bernard Pollard) and Julian Edelman was covering Boldin in a depleted New England secondary. Brady didn't throw a touchdown in the game and was picked off twice, but still earned his 16th postseason win in the process.
2012 AFC Championship Game: Ravens 28, Patriots 13
All the luck the Patriots had on their side in 2011 disappeared when it came time for the 2012 AFC Championship game the following year.
The Ravens, riding the "Ray Lewis Farewell Train," got the rematch they wanted and made sure this time it wouldn't come down to their kicker. The Patriots took a 13-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, but wouldn't score again in the final 30 minutes of the game as the Ravens suffocated their attempts to drive down field.
Brady wasn't sacked in the loss, but he was hit seven times and rushed on nearly every play. He threw the ball 54 times, completing just 29 of those passes for 320 yards and a second-quarter touchdown to Wes Welker. Flacco meanwhile threw three touchdowns in the second half, one to Dennis Pitta in the third quarter to give Baltimore a 14-13 lead and two to Boldin in the fourth quarter, en route to a 28-13 victory and a trip to New Orleans..
It was the first time the Patriots had ever lost an AFC Championship at home.
Tune in to Saturday's Patriots-Ravens AFC Divisional Round playoff game on 98.5 The Sports Hub -- the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30pm with Patriots Preview, and stay tuned for three full hours of postgame coverage following the game. Tune in to a special edition of Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV at 11:30am on Saturday, with Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 immediately following the game.
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