Patriots: 3 best non-Super Bowl playoff games of the decade
2. 2014 Divisional Round vs Ravens
The Patriots took down the Ravens in a shootout back in January of 2015.
Speaking of kryptonites, Baltimore was Brady’s. In the 2009 Wild Card Game, New England got crushed by Baltimore. Brady looked lost, the defense was helpless, and the box score showed it.
In the 2011 campaign, the two foes met again in the playoffs. Still, Brady looked terrible, but New England escaped with a win, thanks to a Lee Evans drop — or a Sterling Moore pass breakup, whichever you prefer.
In the 2015 matchup, New England fell behind 14-0 in the first half, and many fans found themselves saying, “Here we go again.”
Brady found Rob Gronkowski twice on their next drive, as the duo accounted for 62 yards to move the offense down the field. Tom Brady sparked the scoring for the Patriots with a four-yard scamper into the end zone, followed by a massive spike and a fist pump.
Danny Amendola furthered the Patriots’ momentum. Two drives later, he was on the receiving end of a Brady pass, and Amendola was able to break tackles, and leap into the end zone. The Patriots had tied the game at 14, but the momentum would shift again. They soon found themselves down once again by 14 points.
It was the second half, and the Patriots were trailing 28-14 against a team that always had their number.
However, on their next drive, the Patriots only used four linemen, and were able to confuse Baltimore enough to move the ball down the field. The formation was entirely unfamiliar to an angry John Harbaugh. A sight more commonly seen vision occurred next: a Gronkowski slant into the end zone, which capped off an 80-yard drive. The Brady to Gronk connection cut the lead in half, as the score was now 28-21.
New England got the ball back just 75 seconds later. They had Baltimore on the ropes, and took full advantage. New England entrusted Julian Edelman, the former Kent State quarterback, to throw a 51-yard touchdown pass. Brady tossed a lateral to Edelman, who then found a wide open Danny Amendola. He strutted his way into the end zone to tie the game at 28.
Baltimore once again took the lead, but only by a field goal, and it was time for the 37-year-old quarterback, who was pronounced dead during Week 4 of the same season, to lead a fourth quarter comeback.
Brady was masterful in the game-winning drive. The run game was non-existent, and the only rush of New England’s prior scoring drive was a Brady sneak. New England relied solely on the right arm of Tom Brady. Brady threw one of his best passes of his career to Brandon LaFell for a 23-yard touchdown, which gave New England the lead, and the win.
The ebbs and flows to this game could’ve made you go crazy, and this was one of the most challenging situations to overcome for the Patriots. They had defeated their kryptonite. When New England found themselves down by 14 points, twice, would it surprise anyone if they’d lost the game? No. But Brady had other plans. No Patriot fan will ever forget this game.