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Patriots vs Ravens: Takeaways from New England’s 41-7 Win over Baltimore

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Patriots vs Ravens: Takeaways from New England’s 41-7 Win over Baltimore

My takeaways. Wow, what a feel-great win. Having trouble putting it into words, but this has been my favorite season since 2007. This team has such heart, it’s amazing. And it was so gratifying to see them put a complete game together. They’ll need more of those if they’re to make a Super Bowl-run, but what a ride these 2013 Pats have been.

Patriots are who they are

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Maybe I’m alone, but yesterday’s loss to the Dolphins didn’t hurt that bad. Last week, the Pats had a chance to elevate to an elite team, make a statement in Miami and finish the season 3-0, locking up homefield advantage.

But we were kidding ourselves. They are not that team this year. They are not one of the elite 14-2/13-3 teams, and really, we shouldn’t be surprised given the injuries they’ve had.

They are a fight hard, sometimes make the big plays, sometimes don’t make the big plays, team. There are still plenty of reasons to be proud of this team and feel really good about where they’ll be at heading into the offseason.

And also, are there any “elite” teams in the AFC? There are good teams, but everyone has their flaws. One of the AFC playoff teams will get hot and that’s who will win go to the Super Bowl. It might be the top-seeded Broncos, or it might be the sixth seeded Dolphins or Ravens. That’s how competitive things are this season.

The Patriots are still sitting in the second seed and obviously, they are a better team at home than they are on the road. Even still, and we can’t say this enough, they don’t get blown out. When they lose the opponent has to make a big play late in the game. How can we expect the playoffs to be any different?

There’s a very fine line for the Pats to get to the Super Bowl, and it starts with keeping that #2 seed. But they aren’t dead yet, even the online casinos like http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-ca still like their chances.

It’s Week 15, it’s time to accept what the 2013 Patriots are and aren’t. They are a competitive team that never quits. They are not overly loaded with talent and are prone to major inconsistency. 

Now comes another tough test in Baltimore, where the Pats will likely get the same kind of matched intensity from the Ravens that they got from the Dolphins. Given the 2013 Patriots and the history of close games with the Ravens, there’s little doubt this one will go down to the final play yet again.

So get your heart and head ready for the next five weeks. If they follow the script of this season there will be ups and downs and games that are competitive deep into the fourth quarter and likely hinge on a single play or two.

It should be, uh, fun?

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The time to appreciate the 2013 Patriots is now

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It’s hard to think too much about the latest incredible win without my thoughts drifting to poor Gronk, likely laid up in bed yet again and looking at surgery and a long road to recovery.

Here we go again with the Patriots coverage, as everyone is breaking out their “have the Pats injuries hit the breaking point” articles, that they likely ran when Wilfork, Kelly, Mayo and every other guy went down for any length of time.

Just find and replace with “Gronk” and they’re good to go. But at this point, after they’ve overcome so many major injuries, haven’t we learned that it just doesn’t matter?

Of course the main thought on everyone’s mind: Can the Pats still win the Super Bowl? Sure, but it’s not likely. And it’s certainly a lot less likely than it would’ve been with Gronk. That’s obvious.

Every team gets hit by injuries, some worse than others, and it will be a handy excuse the second the Patriots season ends without confetti in New Jersey.

But the 2013 Patriots drive home a point that I try to remind myself of every season. Just as the saying goes that life is not a destination but a journey, so too is the football season.

Most of us put far too much stock in how the season ends. For 31 teams it’s in disappointment. And often the Pats’ disappointment comes on the biggest playoff stages in front of national audiences. Those losses sting for the entire offseason.

But what I’ve tried to learn, is to appreciate the regular season, and regardless of how this season ends, this ride with the 2013 Pats has been unequalled since the 2007 undefeated run.

It seems like ever since the AFC championship loss, the football gods have been out to get the Patriots. There was the pitiful loss to the Ravens, Gronk’s multiple surgeries, Welker’s departure, Hernandez’s arrest and subsequent release and then the never-ending list of in-season injuries that seem to keep happening weekly.

Many teams would’ve packed it in long before now, but this battered Patriots team just keeps fighting. Even when the game looks completely lost, even when the season looks completely lost, they never quit. And they have stolen more victories this season than in the last five years combined, at least.

Being a Patriots fan in 2013 has been rollercoaster of amazing highs and devastating lows and what a ride it has been.

I don’t know how this season will end for the Pats. Who knows, maybe they’ll get the bounces, put together three full games and win the Super Bowl. It’s not impossible, but more likely is that their injuries to so many key players will catch up to them and they’ll go down swinging on the last play of the game.

It’s clear that whoever finishes off the 2013 Patriots will have to drive the final nail in their coffin and not give them any chance. Because, as this team has shown us, nothing is impossible when they don’t even blink, much less give up, when they’re down in the second half.

The 2013 Pats might not give us a championship, but they’re a lesson to us all in perseverance and the power of the team, even without some of their most vital pieces.

No matter how it ends, it’s been quite the ride and only made me love the fabric of this team even more.