Ravens 31, Patriots 30
BALTIMORE -- Justin Tucker's 27-yard field goal as time expired gave the Baltimore Ravens a 31-30 comeback win over the New England Patriots on Sunday night in front of 71,269 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore trailed by nine with 14 minutes left and was down 30-28 when Joe Flacco got the ball back with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
He led the Ravens down the field, hitting Jacoby Jones for 24 yards to open the drive and then getting a pass-interference call on Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty that moved the ball 27 yards down to the New England 7-yard line.
Tucker, an undrafted rookie out of Texas, booted the kick barely through the right upright, moving the Ravens to 2-1 on the season.
Flacco completed 28 of 39 passes for 382 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, and Torrey Smith six receptions for 127 yards and two scores the day after his younger brother, Tevin, died after a motorcycle accident.
Smith went to Virginia early Sunday morning to be with his family before rejoining the Ravens.
Tom Brady hit 28 of 41 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown for the Patriots (1-2). Wes Welker had 142 receiving yards, and Brandon Lloyd added 108 receiving yards.
In a back-and-forth, penalty-ridden affair which saw nearly 900 yards of total offense and 24 accepted penalties, the Patriots jumped on top 13-0 early but could not hold on.
New England opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on Stephen Gostkowski's 37-yard field goal, which capped off an eight-play, 71-yard drive. The big play on the drive was Welker's 59-yard catch and run, which put the ball on the Baltimore 20-yard line.
On the very next play from scrimmage after the Gostkowski field goal, Flacco was picked off by Patriots safety Steve Gregory, who returned the pick 36 yards down to the Baltimore 6-yard line.
Three plays later, Brandon Bolden punched in a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 10-0 lead, and a 49-yard field goal by Gostkowski made it a 13-0 edge.
The Ravens battled back from a slow offensive start and got on the board on their first drive of the second quarter on a 23-yard touchdown hookup from Flacco to Smith.
Flacco connected with tight end Dennis Pitta on a 20-yard touchdown pass just after the two-minute warning, which gave the Ravens a 14-13 lead. Flacco went 4-for-5 passing for 67 yards on the 92-yard drive.
Brady responded with an 81-yard drive, connecting with Julian Edelman on a 7-yard touchdown pass to allow New England to retake the lead just before the half.
NOTES: Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was inactive for the game because of an ankle injury. ... Former Patriots safety James Ihedigbo was one of the Ravens' captains. Ihedigbo was signed by the Ravens just prior to Week 1.
