Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Sunday, October 17, 2010, 1:00 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Patriots -3
Current Line: Patriots -2.5
Opening Total: 46
Current Total: 45
Money Line: Patriots -140 / Ravens +120
The New England Patriots (3-1) are coming off their bye week and hope to erase painful memories of their home playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens (4-1) last year when they meet again in Foxborough on Sunday. The Patriots (-2.5 on the current NFL football spreads) have won 11 straight regular-season home games but were crushed 33-14 by the Ravens in the last meeting back in January, ending their postseason run. New England will no doubt be thinking about revenge in this spot while breaking in a new wide receiver following the departure of Randy Moss.
The Pats dealt Moss to Minnesota just prior to the bye and then re-acquired Deion Branch from Seattle to take his place earlier in the week. Branch is very familiar with the team’s offense and was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX when he caught 11 passes for from quarterback Tom Brady for 133 yards en route to a 24-21 victory.
Brady endured his first and only home playoff loss against Baltimore and struggled mightily in that game. He completed 23 of 42 passes for 154 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions and was also sacked three times by the Ravens for 22 yards. Brady has yet to throw for more than 258 yards this season and did not need to do much in a 42-14 rout of the Dolphins two weeks ago because his team scored a touchdown every possible way.
Baltimore surprisingly ranks second in the NFL in pass defense, limiting the opposition to 156.6 yards per game. The Ravens had dealt with some key injuries in the defensive backfield before the season started but have rebounded nicely despite picking off only one pass this year.
Offensively, it was Baltimore’s running game that made a huge statement in the playoff win at New England the last time these two teams met. Running back Ray Rice scored on an 83-yard touchdown run on the game’s first offensive play and finished with 159 yards on 22 carries. Rice is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season in a 31-17 win over Denver last week, totaling 133 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. He had not rushed for more than 87 yards in the team’s previous four games.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw for only 34 yards in the last meeting with the Patriots but has a couple more weapons than he did in that game. Flacco has found some chemistry with new wide receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, both of whom will test New England’s young defense.
Baltimore has covered two of the last three meetings with the Patriots and will be playing them for the third time in a little over a year. The OVER is 3-0 in the last three meetings and 4-0 in New England’s games this season.
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