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Pretty in Pink: No Matter How It Looked, Patriots Take Key Win
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FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 07: Chad Pennington #10 of the New York Jets and Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots take a knee after their AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium on January 7, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots won the game 37-16. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Plenty of Ravens and Patriots players wore pink on Sunday -- matching shoes and gloves -- in honor of breast cancer awareness. Myra Kraft, wife of Patriots owner Bob Kraft, noticed.
She stood on the Patriots sideline only minutes before kickoff as both teams stretched and styled nearby. It takes a real football player to pull off pink, we agreed.
"And I am so glad they are manly enough to help with this cause,'' she said. "I wasn't so sure they would actually do it.''
The Patriots then set out to ensure that their social conscious should never be confused with their football tenacity.
They did just that -- even in pink, the Patriots still pack a punch.
Their defense mauled the Ravens offense, stopping Baltimore on a huge fourth-and-1 Willis McGahee run near midfield with five minutes left. And then for emphasis, the Patriots defense denied the Ravens' final drive, one that ended when Baltimore receiver Mark Clayton dropped a Joe Flacco pass on fourth-and-4 inside the Patriots 10 in the game's final 30 seconds.
It was a big game for the Patriots psyche, a 27-21 victory over a previously-unbeaten AFC foe that could prove pivotal for possible playoff seedings come January.
For now, both own 3-1 records.
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Sunday, we learned that the Ravens are not dominant -- yet. We also learned that the Patriots still have a ton of fight in them.
"We stopped them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "That's when you've got to be there.''
Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather said: "(Baltimore's) a good team. This builds a little confidence for us. People still look at our defense as the question mark. We've got Tom Brady on our team, what would you expect? Who else would be the question mark? I think we played more freely on defense as this game went on.''
The Ravens were incensed at a handful of officials' calls in the game, particularly a couple of roughing the passer penalties that they believed Brady cajoled from the officials. Brady demanded a flag, it came out, he clapped and the Ravens were livid.
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St. Louis Rams quarterback Kyle Boller (12) stands on the field after being knocked down during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Josh Morgan (84) catches a 24-yard touchdown in front of St. Louis Rams safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (21) and cornerback Justin King, rear, in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Clinton Portis #26 of the Washington Redskins runs the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Clinton Portis
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Cornelius Griffin #96 and Andre Carter #99 of the Washington Redskins walk off the field after the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Cornelius Griffin;Andre Carter
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Josh Johnson #11 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Johnson
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Carnell WIlliams #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carnell WIlliams
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Carnell WIlliams #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carnell WIlliams
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Reed Doughty #37 of the Washington Redskins celebrates his sack of Josh Johnson #11 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Reed Doughty;Josh Johnson
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Cornelius Griffin #96 of the Washington Redskins rouses the crowd against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Cornelius Griffin
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LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 4: Santana Moss #89 of the Washington Redskins runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedExField on October 4, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Buccaneers 16-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Santana Moss
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The Ravens should have been as upset over the opening kickoff.
Patriots special teamer Eric Alexander popped Baltimore return man Chris Carr, which jarred the ball loose. New England safety Brandon McGowan recovered at the Baltimore 12 -- the game was six seconds old and the Ravens had already committed a turnover.
The miscue led to a Patriots field goal. And New England never relinquished the lead.
"On the kickoff,'' said Alexander, "I'm just trying to make a tackle. I wrapped him up and I felt the ball jiggling. We saw that the ball was jarred out from him against San Diego. We thought maybe he carries it a little more loose than other returners. That gave us a great start and a lot of confidence.''
It was back and forth in this game, with Derrick Mason (seven catches and a 20-yard touchdown grab) proving to be a headache for the Patriots secondary and Brady looking more secure with the return of receiver Wes Welker -- Brady threw 10 of his 32 passes Welker's way; Welker caught six.
Nine different New England receivers had catches, with Randy Moss cashing in one of his three grabs for his first touchdown of the year, a 14-yarder late in the third quater. Moments earlier, the Ravens defense did its thing, bringing Brady down and knocking the ball loose and into the end zone for a fumble-recovery touchdown.
The merry-go-round battle showed that the Ravens have work to do in finishing what they start -- it showed that Baltimore's victories over Kansas City, San Diego and Cleveland were a nice start, but to win on the road against an experienced bunch like the Patriots requires more consistency. More focus. More finish.
For the Patriots, this was a game that helped them realize that the potential power of this team is not a mirage. New England's difficult start to the year -- a close win over Buffalo and a thumping at the hands of the Jets -- left the Patriots with questions.
The most pressing: Is New England still truly an elite team?
But a nice dose of pink helped erase any lingering blues.
"All week we heard macho guys don't wear pink,'' Moss said. "Keep rocking that pink.''
"Some guys were very iffy about wearing that and I was one of them,'' rookie Darius Butler said. "I wore some pink wristbands, though. It gave the team something to bond on as we got ready for this tough game. I think it helped us.
"We like the results.''
Pretty in Pink: No Matter How It Looked, Patriots Will Take Key Win originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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