Ravens/Pats. What a game

Yours truly told anybody who would listen (few do anymore) that the Ravens getting 7 points against the Patriots was as close to a lock as it gets. Jump on it. Bet the house. The significant other. Besides their college education funds, throw the kids in the pot too.

Actually, I thought the Ravens would win outright. We all know of the mad genius of Bill Bellichick and Tom Brady has certainly become legendary over the years. But if any team was going to knock the Pats off at home -- it was the Ravens. Baltimore's not flashy. They just get down to the nitty-gritty and get the job done, and also have a history of being totally unfazed playing pressure-packed playoff games on the road. They seldom make mistakes and QB Joe Flacco is every bit as unflappable as Tom Brady. To boot, they'd beaten the Patriots 2 out of the last 3 times they met -- including in Foxborough. For that matter, the Ravens have the most road playoff wins in NFL history. Despite being 7 point underdogs, thinking they could march into Patville and methodically grind out another victory wasn't much of a stretch.

And what a game it turned out to be. The Ravens quickly jumped ahead by 14 points. Uh-oh, the Pats were in trouble. Not quite. They would rally to tie the score. Baltimore put two more touchdowns on the board for another 14 point lead. New England would respond with two TDs of their own to even it up again. The Ravens added a field goal to lead 31-28. The Brady Bunch came back with another touchdown to go ahead 35-31, their first lead of the game. With time getting short, the Ravens got the ball back. Could they punch in another touchdown to win the game? On a crucial 4th and 3 from their own territory, the Ravens converted. They still had a shot. Alas, New England would take possession of the ball again, and all that remained was "taking a knee" to run the clock out. Baltimore had already burned two of their three timeouts, and it appeared they were doomed.

But not so fast. After the two minute warning, Brady indeed took a couple knees. The clock was winding down. 90 seconds, 60 seconds, 30 seconds. Tick, tick, tick. Many, including yours truly, likely wondered -- why doesn't Raven head coach John Harbaugh use his final time out? Sure, it's likely futile anyway, but you never know what might happen. Or was he content to let the clock run out and concede defeat?

This is when one of the most brilliant strategies yours truly has ever seen happened. Turned out, Harbaugh had calculated EXACTLY how many seconds remained and found a way to give his team a chance to pull out a last second victory after all. He used his final time-out when New England eventually was faced with fourth down deep in their own territory and their punter would have to kick from near his own goal line. A mere 14 seconds remained on the clock.

This set up all manners of possibilities. The Ravens could go for the punt block. They did, but failed. Perhaps the Baltimore punt return man could break off a miracle play. He didn't. But they were shots and stranger things have happened.

Finally, with time expiring, Joe Flacco heaved a Hail Mary pass into the New England end zone. Had it been caught, the Ravens would have won. It wasn't. But Harbaugh had given his team every conceivable last-ditch chance to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Again, punts have been blocked or returned for touchdowns, and Hail Marys have miraculously found their ways into a receiver's hands.

In the end, the Pats would escape with the 35-31 win and will await the winner of Denver/Indy game.

So yeah, I was wrong thinking the Ravens would win it outright. But ah, the 7 point spread mentioned above.

They should have listened. They could have had another house, doubled the college funds, and how much are are kids worth these days? At least a couple bucks apiece. Most of them. I think.....