NFL Divisional Round: Brady, Patriots Beat Ravens, Advance to AFC Championship Game

Quarterback Tom Brady fired his third touchdown of the night and gave the 35-31 lead to his New England Patriots over the Baltimore Ravens in the middle of the final quarter of the AFC divisional round match-up.The Patriots’ defence shut down quarterback Joe Flacco and the Ravens the rest of the way to hold on to the lead and advance to the AFC championship round against the winner of the Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts match-up.

Brady finished with 367 passing yards on 33-of-50 completions with 3 touchdowns and an interception while Flacco had 292 passing yards on 28-of-45 passes with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Brady, who passed NFL legend Joe Montana for most playoff touchdown passes with 46, also had a rushing TD in the first quarter.

The game was a close affair all throughout with the Ravens opening with a pair of TD to lead 14-0 before the Patriots responded with a couple of their TD to tie it at 14-14 late in the second quarter. Baltimore wasn’t done in the first half though as they hit another TD and got the 21-14 lead at the break.

Baltimore added yet another TD to start the third for a big 28-14 lead. But once again the Patriots replied with back-to-back TDs to tie it at 28-28 at the end of the third quarter. The Ravens opened the fourth quarter scoring with a field goal and Brady led the Patriots to a TD off 10-play, 74-drive 5-minute drive to give the Patriots the lead for the first time and the victory.

New England had a total of 14 rushing yards on 13 carries for the game but they attacked on the air effectively producing 418 receiving yards on 34 receptions. Rob Gronkowski led the way with 108 yards on 7 catches while Danny Amendola added 81 yards on 5 catches and Julian Edelman had 74 yards on 8 catches. The Patriots will host the winner of the Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts match-up on Sunday.

To contact author of this article, email j.gloria@IBTimes.com.au