50 Ravens - Patriots Takeaways

50) Both teams went three and out on their opening draft, proving that both teams will lose

49) On DT Vince Wilfork's first quarter sack, every Ravens receiver was open, which didn't exactly inspire confidence in QB Joe Flacco's abilities

48) When the Patriots change formations, it's really interesting to Phil Simms, because he's rarely watched football

47) The Patriots went to no-huddle, because it allowed them to get more snaps for Julian Edelman, and as this game showed, it's all about him

46) Bernard Pollard's pick was wiped out by a flag, on the off chance that you didn't think NE was going to get questionable calls

45) Watching Brady get sacked never gets old, or sadly, common

44) Nothing makes analysts happier than when the QB completes a lot of passes to different receivers, since it shows how smart and team-oriented they are, and prevents any of those uppity WRS from getting hero numbers

43) The first three Ravens' possessions all started at the 20 yard line without a return play, because life is just better with constant touchbacks

42) Baltimore had as many first downs in the first 10+ minutes as Houston, New Orleans, Green Bay and Denver combined

41) Lardarius Webb's pick was one of the best catches you'll ever see by a DB

40) Flacco's rollout throw to WR Torrey Smith showed that, yes, the Patriots' secondary is still bad

39) Jim Harbaugh called for a chip shot figgie rather than go for it on fourth and 1, proving that he doesn't have the guts to lose in an unconventional way

38) The Patriots' answering touchdown was done almost entirely with the running game, which would never happen if the Ray Lewis that the media fellates were still alive

37) Ray Rice used his super Smurf powers to convert a red zone first down that was worth four points

36) You could have made some real coin with the idea that the first TD to a TE would go to Dennis Pitta

35) In the first half, Flacco was the best QB on the field, and it wasn't even close

34) The missed connection to Smith on the deep ball late in the second quarter was one of those mistakes you can't make as a road team and win

33) NE kept getting pressure with 3-man rushes, which really should not happen

32) Ed Dickson's failure to convert a catchable 3rd and 2 cost the Ravens at least 3 points, and was one of those yada yada

31) NE took a knee with a minute left and two timeouts, which showed more respect for the Ravens' defense than was warranted

30) Chad Ochocinco was inactive for this game due to personal reasons, as if the professional ones weren't good enough

29) On third and long, Baltimore was still too intimidated by Brady's ability against blitzes to bring extra people

28) When Brady and Lewis talk trash after a play, it's not taunting, because both players are very, very famous

27) Aaron Hernandez exposed S Bernard Pollard on a red-zone first down, recalling the days when he was the #1 TE

26) On third and two from the seven, NE ran Ben Jarvus Gree-Ellis off tackle and settled for the figgie

25) The Ravens' first kickoff runback was so unexpected, it causes a brawl

24) When things get chippy, as they inevitably do in games like this, it's always hard to tell if the announcers are excited or ashamed

23) Lee Evans was clearly saving his numbers for the games that matter

22) It's not helmet to helmet if you hit a TE, even if the TE is white

21) Smith's screen for a touchdown was the Ravens' first lead of the game, and sign that this was going to go the distance in drama

20) Danny Woodhead stopped being plucky and lovable when he coughed up the third quarter kickoff

19) Flacco actually looks fleet of foot against this defense

18) Baltimore isn't good at covering kicks, which isn't a winning sign for their future defense

17) Simms praised Baltimore for disguising a blitz on a play that went for big yards

16) Rob Gronkowski's ankle bent in a way that all kinds of gross

15) Any team that faces the Patriots should employ Pollard just for the hope of gruesome and important injury

14) Baltimore fell asleep on the possibility of a QB sneak for a TD one play after nearly giving up a QB sneak for a TD

13) Given his proficiency at an advanced age, maybe Ricky Williams' opinions on marijuana smoking should be given more credence

12) The fullback position is dying, but no one has told Vonta Leach

11) CBS praised Flacco's poise late in the game as he made handoffs, one play before a crushing INT

10) CB Jimmy Smith's pick on the next play was better than the Webb pick, and as big of a play as you can get

9) The next time the Ravens are on the cusp of tying a playoff game with three minutes left, they might think about blocking Wilfork

8) While Green-Ellis may have never fumbled, going backwards on the snap before the two minute drill wasn't a big help either

7) On the third and four that was had to have, NE went empty backfield and gave Brady time, but S Ed Reed made a perfect play to deny Hernandez, in a quiet moment of perfection

6) P Zoltan Meskow's kick to Webb was pretty awful, but the coverage prevented a big play

5) Pitta failing to get out of bounds should have killed any chance of Baltimore winning this in regulation, but Anquan Boldin had other ideas

4) Perhaps putting Edelman on Boldin in crunch time might not have been the best idea

3) Evans was half a second away from winning this game for Baltimore

2) Moore got away with DPI a play after breaking up the Evans catch

1) Billy Cundiff's tombstone can be written in advance, and given that he works in Baltimore, that might happen quickly