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| Other Week 4 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL at NE | BUF at MIA | CIN at CLE | DAL at DEN | DET at CHI | GB at MIN | NYG at KC | NYJ at NO |
| OAK at HOU | SD at PIT | SEA at IND | STL at SF | TB at WAS | TEN at JAX | ||
Week 4 Game Recap: Baltimore Ravens 21, New England Patriots 27
Baltimore Ravens
| QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 27 - 47 - 264 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Flacco showed this week that he can lead the team down the field in a two-minute situation and set them up to win a crucial game. He was off early, and almost threw an interception directly to Vince Wilfork, but as the game went on, he was dealing frozen ropes and almost too comfortable out there. Flacco was working the sideline routes with Derrick Mason at will in the first half, and he was also throwing well on the move. He showed good improvisational skills, with an underhanded toss to Todd Heap to avoid pressure, although a lefty toss got him an intentional grounding penalty. Sometimes his high comfort level kept the alarm from going off in the pocket, but Joe stayed Cool even after an interception that was a miscommunication between him and Mark Clayton. Flacco made all the throws to get the Ravens in a position to win the game, but Clayton dropped a fourth-down throw inside the 10 that would have given Baltimore first and goal with less than a minute left.
| RB Ray Rice, Rush: 11 - 103 - 0, Rec: 5 - 49 - 0 (7 targets) |
Rice had a 100-yard game on only 11 carries. He ran with great power for a smaller back, breaking tackles and using his superior balance to get yards after contact. He also showed a second gear on his long run of 50 yards, and did a lot of damage as a receiver out of the backfield, especially on the would-be game-winning drive. He even spun in the air to make one catch, and flashed an unstoppable stop-start move on a few touches. He's the best offensive weapon on this team.
| RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 5 - 11 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 1 (3 targets) |
McGahee was marginalized in the game plan because the Ravens were trailing, but he salvaged his fantasy day when Pierre Woods fell down trying to cover him in the red zone, and Joe Flacco found him for a TD.
| RB LeRon McClain (1 targets) |
McClain was set in motion and got a target in the red zone, but Gary Guyton got a hand on it. He wasn't in the game too often as the Ravens were playing from behind for most of the contest.
| WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 7 - 88 - 1 (11 targets) |
Mason dominated on sideline routes early in the game and got wide open for his TD catch, but he wasn't a big factor after that catch, as he appeared to hurt the same shoulder that gave him trouble last year. Mason drew an offensive pass interference penalty on one of his sideline catches later in the game. He is still Flacco's #1 target, but the young QB is now doing a much better job of spreading the ball around.
| WR Mark Clayton, Rec: 5 - 45 - 0 (10 targets) |
Clayton was quiet until the final drive of the game, and then the Ravens probably wished he had stayed quiet when he dropped a pass that would have given them first and goal by letting it get to his body and worrying about the oncoming defender. Clayton was targeted on two fades in the end zone, but got open on neither. He is looking very average.
| WR Kelley Washington, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (7 targets) |
Washington was mainly targeted on short possession routes. He did have one downfield target that he juggled, and it was almost intercepted, so he didn't do anything to move up the pecking order or get more high value targets in this game.
| TE Todd Heap, Rec: 4 - 46 - 0 (6 targets) |
Heap continues to be the best target in the middle of the field for Flacco. He made one leaping catch at full extension early that was the longest pass play of the day for the Ravens. He took some punishment to move the chains, and seems to be a trusted target for Flacco.
New England Patriots
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 21 - 32 - 258 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 11 - 1 |
Brady did the best he could against a very tough Ravens D. He faced pressure a lot of the time, and when he didn't he couldn't find anything open downfield. He was very calm in the pocket and moved around very well when he needed to. The TD he surrendered on a fumble came on a play action pass. Brady didn't feel Terrell Suggs coming on his blind side after Suggs owned Matt Light. Most of his throws were perfectly on target, and he improvised on a floater to Randy Moss, letting Moss adjust to the ball and creating an easy TD. Brady almost ran a scramble into the end zone in the first half, and called his own number to get the score on the same drive. His one bad miss on the day was a high throw to Wes Welker on a play that would have allowed the Patriots to milk more time and possibly get a game-clinching field goal in the fourth quarter.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 6 - 21 - 1, Rec: 5 - 35 - 0 (5 targets) |
Morris was getting touches as everything from a fullback to shotgun tailback to wide receiver. He got a lot of snaps in the red zone, including a carry inside the five from the fullback position, and another out of the shotgun that he scored on from 14 yards out with a move in the open field to freeze Dawan Landry. Morris did some damage as a receiver on a screen with some hard running after the catch. He looks as good with the ball in his hands as he has during his time with the Pats.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 7 - 25 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
The Pats didn't go right back to Taylor after his 100 yard game, but he still ran with the same toughness and urgency we've seen all year on his limited touches. He was especially strong on a screen that he turned into a 13-yard gain.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 7 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (1 targets) |
Maroney got the early work, but didn't too anything to distinguish himself in this crowded backfield. He danced a little too much, although his move on a catch and run created at least 5-10 yards, and he had another very long catch and run called back by penalty.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 5 - 22 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Faulk was on the field for over 1/3 of the snaps. He made a tough catch and ground out some yards, but never got free in the open field. He is yielding some of the shotgun snaps to Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris.
| WR Wes Welker, Rec: 6 - 48 - 0 (10 targets) |
Welker was back, and his knee looked fine in and out of his cuts and on his patented quick run after moves. He created about half of his yardage on his own, and he had the same timing and chemistry with Tom Brady that we have grown used to seeing in 2007.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 3 - 50 - 1 (5 targets) |
Moss was quiet for most of the game. He had a good snag over the middle to convert a first down, and a decent gain on a sideline comeback before his TD on a floater that Tom Brady threw up there for Moss to make a play in single coverage - and he did. In his worst moment of the day, Moss did draw an offensive pass interference penalty on an incompletion. Moss didn't get open deep on the snaps that Brady had enough time to find him, but he won't face Ed Reed every week.
| WR Sam Aiken, Rec: 1 - 26 - 0 (5 targets) |
Aiken got some high value targets, including one in the end zone, but he fought the ball on his downfield catch and didn't do anything to suggest that his role is going to grow in this offense.
| WR Julian Edelman, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Edelman didn't get many snaps with Wes Welker back, but he did flash great open field running instincts on a quick target that he turned into a 12-yard gain and a first down.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 2 - 51 - 0 (3 targets) |
Watson got downfield and caught one Brady bullet in stride for the biggest gain of the day by the Pats offense. He also made a sprawling catch that showed off his athleticism later in the game.
| TE Chris Baker |
Baker's only target on the day came on a botched fake FG attempt that might not have even converted the first down.