Brady comes through after Patriots almost blow 20-point lead on Ravens

After the Patriots blew most of a 20-point lead with two special-teams flubs, Tom Brady hit a wide-open Chris Hogan with a 79-yard touchdown bomb with 6:18 remaining as New England escaped with a 30-23 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

Brady’s second touchdown pass of the game was also the 450th of his NFL career, making him the fourth player to hit that mark.

New England led 23-3 in the third quarter before rookie Cyrus Jones had a bouncing punt hit off his foot for a fumble and Matthew Slater dropped a kickoff that allowed Joe Flacco to throw a pair of short touchdown passes.

Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker’s 38-yard field goal then made it 23-20 before Brady came through.

Flacco (37-of-52 for 324 yards) took his team to another Tucker field goal (Tucker had one blocked in the first half) with 2:03 left. However, New England’s Patrick Chung recovered the onside kick and the Patriots (11-2) were able to run out the clock.

The Ravens (7-6) dropped a game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.

Brady, 8-1 since returning from his Deflategate suspension, went 25-of-38 for 406 yards, the 76th time Brady has cleared 300 and the ninth time he threw for 400 in a game.

He had three touchdown passes and his second interception of the season.

LeGarrette Blount (72 yards on 18 carries) tied the club record with his 14th rushing touchdown and also went over the 1,000yard rushing mark for the second time in his career. He is the Patriots’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2012. Here’s how the NFL playoff picture looks after Week 14’s games.

AFC

1. New England Patriots (11-2): AFC East leader. They’ll clinch the division and a first-round bye if they win Sunday or if the Miami Dolphins lose Saturday.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-3): AFC West leader. A win combined with a New England loss would move Kansas City up to the top spot. But if the Chiefs lose, they could be overtaken by the Raiders for the division lead.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5): AFC North leader. The Baltimore Ravens are out of the picture after losing to the Patriots but would jump back into the field with a win and a Pittsburgh loss.

4. Houston Texans (7-6): AFC South leader. Despite their perfect division record, they’d relinquish first place if they lose and the Tennessee Titans win.

5. Oakland Raiders (10-3): Wild card No. 1. The Silver & Black can’t do any worse than remaining in this spot but could also get back into position for a bye or even home-field advantage if the Patriots and Chiefs stumble.

6. Denver Broncos (8-5): Wild card No. 2. The strength of victory tiebreaker currently keeps them ahead of Miami, but the Broncos could lose this spot to the Dolphins (8-5), Ravens (7-6) or Titans (7-6) this weekend.

NFC

1. Dallas Cowboys (11-2): NFC East leader. They failed to clinch the division and a first-round bye Sunday night, but remain the favorite to win home-field advantage. A victory over the Bucs on Sunday night combined with a Giants loss would give Dallas the NFC East crown and a bye. If all that happens and Detroit loses, the Cowboys would secure the top seed.

2. Detroit Lions (9-4): NFC North leader. A win Sunday combined with a Green Bay Packers loss clinches Detroit’s first division title since 1993.

3. Seattle Seahawks (8-4-1): NFC West leader. A win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday clinches the division for Seattle. If the Seahawks falter again, they’ll still clinch with an Arizona Cardinals loss on Sunday. 4. Atlanta Falcons (8-5): NFC South leader. Atlanta could drop out of the picture with a loss. However as long as the Falcons have the same record as Tampa Bay, they’ll hold the tiebreaker edge and claim the division.

5. New York Giants (9-4): Wild card No. 1. A loss would drop them to sixth if Tampa Bay beats the Cowboys.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5): Wild card No. 2. They could wind up as high as the No. 2 seed or find themselves on the outside looking in if they lose to Dallas and the Washington Redskins (7-5-1) win. Neither the Minnesota Vikings (7-6) nor Green Bay Packers (7-6) can pass the Bucs or Falcons this week.