Gladiator battle ends on a ( wide) foot note
New England’s much- maligned defence comes up big against Baltimore to punch their Super Bowl ticket
Tom Brady waited out the final tense minutes on the sideline and somehow his fourth- quarter leap into the end zone held up, sending the New England Patriots back to the Super Bowl.
With New England leading by three points with 11 seconds left, Billy Cundiff missed a 32- yard field goal attempt and the Patriots escaped with a 23- 20 win Sunday in the AFC Championship Game.
On his one- yard scoring dive with 11: 29 left, Brady took a huge hit from Ravens’ star linebacker Ray Lewis, then emphatically spiked the ball as he walked away. Earlier, Brady showed his fire by barking at Lewis following a hard tackle on a four- yard run.
Next up as the Patriots chase their fourth Super Bowl trophy in Brady and coach Bill Belichick’s tenure in New England is the New York Giants, who defeated the 49ers 20- 17 in overtime on Sunday in the NFC Championship. The Super Bowl is Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.
In their last trip to the big game, the Patriots had an 18- 0 record when they were stunned by the Giants four years ago. They won the NFL championship for the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. This time, they go to the Super Bowl with a 10- game winning streak.
Brady’s fifth trip to the Super Bowl will equal John Elway’s achievement with Denver.
“We’re going to try to go out and kick some butt in a couple of weeks,” Brady said.
Before Cundiff missed, the Ravens had a chance to go ahead two plays earlier, but wide receiver Lee Evans was stripped of the ball in the end zone by backup cornerback Sterling Moore, who earlier was victimized for a touchdown that gave Baltimore a 17- 16 lead.
Then Cundiff misfired, and the Patriots stormed off their sideline in celebration as the chilled crowd roared.
A three- time NFL champion, Brady didn’t throw for a touchdown for the first time in 36 games, although he did pass for 239 yards.
“Well, I [ stank] pretty bad today, but our defence saved us,” Brady said. “I’m going to try to go out and do a better job in a couple of weeks, but I’m proud of this team, my teammates.”
Brady needed help not only from Cundiff’s botched kick in guiding the Patriots ( 15- 3) to their fifth AFC title in 11 seasons, but from New England’s maligned defence.
“We stepped up,” Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. “We all stepped up big time. Being in this situation is a great moment. You have to cherish this moment.”
The Patriots shut down Ray Rice, the league’s total yardage leader, who was limited to 78 yards. Brandon Spikes made a fourth- quarter interception of Joe Flacco, who played well before that and threw for two touchdowns. And when the Ravens ( 13- 5) were threatening to score a late touchdown to win their first conference title in 11 years, New England clamped down.
“It’s two great football teams, two gladiators, I guess, just kind of going at each other at the end, and I’m proud of our guys,” Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh said. “You know, we’ve got 53 guys, mighty men, as we like to call them — and they fought, and we came up a little bit short, as 53. You know, 53 win and 53 lose.”
With Rice a nonfactor, Baltimore had to rely on Flacco, and he delivered one of his finest performances. Flacco has led the Ravens into the playoffs in all four of his pro seasons, but not to the Super Bowl. He was 22 for 36 for 306 yards and touchdowns of six yards to Dennis Pitta and 29 to rookie Torrey Smith.
The loss hardly could be blamed on Flacco.
Operating against a maligned secondary missing its top cornerback, Kyle Arrington, who left in the second quarter with an eye injury, Flacco gave Baltimore its first lead. His short pass on third down to explosive receiver Smith turned into a 29- yard scamper down the right sideline after Moore completely whiffed on the tackle.
Danny Woodhead’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff set up Baltimore at the Patriots’ 28, but a third- down sack forced Cundiff to kick a 39- yard field goal, making it 20- 16. New England didn’t flinch. Brady took the Patriots 63 yards in 11 plays, and seemed to score on a one- yard run. The call was overruled by replay, though, and on fourth- down, he dived just high enough over the line for the winning points.
“Just got to give all the credit to the players,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the Gillette Stadium crowd during ceremonies on field.
“Those guys fought all year, just like today. It wasn’t all perfect but they fought to the final gun and came out on top.”
Defence was particularly dominant early on — New England’s 31st- ranked defence. The Patriots held Baltimore to minus- four yards on its first three first- down runs and forced the Ravens to go threeandout each time.