The Patriots’ First Loss of the Season

By ELLO O’HANLON ‘21

The New England Patriots have had a somewhat easy schedule in their first eight games of this season. Though the Pats have proved their excellence through last year’s Super Bowl win over the Rams and consistent Super Bowl appearances, people have speculated what their results will be this season when they face off against a truly challenging team and compete in a playoff-like game. Well, that long-awaited game arrived Monday night when the Patriots played in Baltimore against the Ravens. Patriots fans, aware of the Pats’ undefeated year at the time and the Ravens’ 2 losses, turned on their TVs to watch the game with confidence. However, roughly three hours later when the ref blew the whistle to end the game, Pats fans, myself included, were shocked by the Patriots 20-37 loss--their first loss since December 2018!

Before the game, the Ravens said that they had an offense and quarterback the Pats had never seen; Lamar Jackson, the Ravens’ 22 year old quarterback, proved his teammates right. The Ravens came out of the gate swinging, with Jackson rushing the ball 3 yards into the endzone for the Ravens’ touchdown with 8 minutes left in the first quarter. Shortly after, with no answer from the Pats, Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker scored a 39 yard field goal, putting the Ravens ahead 10-0 by the end of the quarter.

Just a minute into the second quarter, Ravens’ running back Mark Ingram found a massive hole on the right side of the field, leading to a beautiful 53 yard run that ended when he was finally tackled by the Patriots’ J.C Jackson on the 12 yard line. This run set up Gus Edwards’ 12 yard run touchdown in the next play, widening the Ravens’ lead to 17 points and making Patriots fans break into a collective sweat. Despite the rough start, the second quarter was the Pats’ best quarter of the game. The team got some of their usual fire back and brought the 17 point differential to a mere 4 point differential. Mohamed Sanu received a four yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady to score the Patriots’ first touchdown of the game. Nick Folk, Pats kicker, then made the extra point. Folk then proceeded to nail a 22 yard field goal with 4 minutes left in the quarter and a 19 yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the quarter, bringing the score from 17-0 to 17-13! At this point in the game, the Pats had all the momentum, and things looked promising for New England.

However, 3 minutes into the half, the Ravens made a huge play. Brady faked a handoff and threw to Edelman on the line who, immediately after catching the ball, let it slip out of his hands while being tackled. Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey turned this fumble into a 70 yard recovery touchdown, completely shifting the momentum of the game, and making a Patriots comeback seem that much more unlikely. The Pats weren’t going to bow out, however, and the Pats’ James White rushed 1 yard for a touchdown with 8 minutes left in the quarter, cutting the deficit to four once again.

In the fourth quarter, Ravens tight end Nick Boyle received a 5 yard pass from Lamar Jackson, making the score 30 to 20. The Ravens missed the extra point. The Patriots started going downhill in the fourth quarter. Tom Brady attempted a hail mary pass that was intercepted by Adalius Thomas at the 8 yard line; Thomas then made a 24 yard run that set up the Ravens’ final touchdown drive. The linebackers went with Nick Boyle on his run, allowing him to get within 1 yard of the end zone. The next play, Lamar Jackson got the ball to Ingrim, yet he still ended up 1 yard short of the end zone. On the next play, there was a false start resulting in a 5 yard penalty, leaving the Ravens now 5 ½ yards from the end zone. Ingrim was short on his rush one more time, leaving it 3rd down and goal. Another touchdown would make it a 3 possession game, which would decisively put the Pats out of the game. At this point I still had faith in the Patriots, knowing they had come back from a bigger point differential than this one in the 2017 Super Bowl game against the Falcons. The next play Orlando Brown pulled Lamar Jackson 1 yard into the endzone for the game winning touchdown, making it a 17 point lead for the Ravens. With only 3 minutes left in the game, there was not much the Patriots could do. Though they fought hard for the last 3 minutes, the Ravens handed the Pats a 37-20 loss, their first of the season.

Although the New England Patriots were favored to win Monday’s game against the Ravens, the Ravens came out on top. However, the Patriots have plenty of time to get their mojo back during their busy week next week and will come back stronger than ever when they play the Philadelphia Eagles in 2 weeks.

Mark PangNovember 9, 2019