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Inside the matchup: Ravens at Patriots
Take a look at how the teams compare at the most important positions for their game on Sunday. Statistics are regular season only.
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Who has the edge
at this position?
Who has the edge
at this position?
Patriots
Ravens
Tom Brady became the third quarterback to ever reach 5,000 passing yards in a season, and will be in the conversation for the NFL MVP award. Brady opened the year with a 500-yard game, and rallied the Patriots on multiple occasions as they finished 13-3. The Patriots ranked second in the NFL in passing offense.
Joe Flacco ranked in the bottom half of NFL quarterbacks with an 80.9 passer rating. He completed 57.6 percent of his passes and had four games with 300 or more passing yards. Although he was sacked 31 times, he threw 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
By the numbers
| Com. | Att. | Yards | TD | Yards/pass | Rating | Int. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | 401 | 611 | 5,235 | 39 | 9 | 106 | 12 |
By the numbers
| Com. | Att. | Yards | TD | Yards/pass | Rating | Int. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Flacco | 312 | 542 | 3,610 | 20 | 7 | 81 | 12 |
Patriots
Ravens
Bruising sure-handed behemoth Rob Gronkowski set an NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end and gave opponents all they could handle. Aaron Hernandez plays a different game, but is equally dangerous, especially in the open field.
Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta were two of Joe Flacco's favorite targets, as each collected more than 400 receiving yards and combined for eight touchdowns.
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards/rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 1,327 | 17 | 90 | 15 |
| Aaron Hernandez | 910 | 7 | 79 | 12 |
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards/rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Dickson | 528 | 5 | 54 | 10 |
| Dennis Pitta | 405 | 3 | 40 | 10 |
Patriots
Ravens
The Patriots rushed enough to keep defenses honest. They ranked 20th in the NFL using a running back-by-committee approach that saw three players pass 350 yards on the season, but none reached 1,000.
The Ravens rushed for nearly 2,000 yards thanks in large part to Ray Rice, who ran for 1,364 yards. Rice added 12 touchdowns while losing two fumbles. Ricky Williams was a strong backup, too, gaining 444 yards on the ground.
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rushes | Yards/carry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BenJarvus Green-Ellis | 667 | 11 | 181 | 4 |
| Stevan Ridley | 441 | 1 | 87 | 5 |
| Danny Woodhead | 351 | 1 | 77 | 5 |
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rushes | Yards/carry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Rice | 1,364 | 12 | 291 | 5 |
| Ricky Williams | 444 | 2 | 108 | 4 |
Patriots
Ravens
Wes Welker set a franchise record for receiving yards and Deion Branch had his moments in 2011, but Chad Ochocinco was a disappointment with his worst year since his rookie season.
Longtime Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin led the Ravens in 2011 with 887 yards, averaging 15.6 yards per catch. Torrey Smith is a deep ball threat, and he led the team with seven touchdowns and was second to Boldin with 841 yards.
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards/rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wes Welker | 1,569 | 9 | 122 | 13 |
| Deion Branch | 702 | 5 | 51 | 14 |
| Danny Woodhead | 157 | 0 | 18 | 9 |
| Chad Ochocinco | 276 | 1 | 15 | 18 |
By the numbers
| Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards/rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anquan Boldin | 887 | 3 | 57 | 16 |
| Torrey Smith | 841 | 7 | 50 | 17 |
| Vonta Leach | 69 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
Patriots
Ravens
Never has the bend-but-don't-break label been better suited for a defensive unit. The Patriots ranked second-to-last in the league in total defense, but were second-best in takeaways and 15th in points allowed.
Baltimore, always known for its strong defense, ranked third in points and yards allowed. Terrell Suggs had 14 sacks and Lardarius Webb led the team with five interceptions.
By the numbers
| Int. | Tackles | Sacks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerod Mayo | 2 | 95 | 1 |
| Kyle Arrington | 7 | 88 | 0 |
| Devin McCourty | 2 | 87 | 0 |
| Rob Ninkovich | 2 | 74 | 7 |
| Vince Wilfork | 2 | 52 | 4 |
| Kyle Love | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| Mark Anderson | 0 | 29 | 10 |
| Antwaun Molden | 2 | 36 | 0 |
| Sterling Moore | 2 | 7 | 0 |
By the numbers
| Int. | Tackles | Sacks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Lewis | 1 | 95 | 2 |
| Jameel McClain | 1 | 84 | 1 |
| Cary Williams | 0 | 78 | 0 |
| Bernard Pollard | 1 | 75 | 2 |
| Terrell Suggs | 2 | 70 | 14 |
| Lardarius Webb | 5 | 67 | 1 |
| Haloti Ngata | 0 | 64 | 5 |
| Jarret Johnson | 0 | 56 | 3 |
| Ed Reed | 3 | 52 | 1 |
Patriots
Ravens
Stephen Gostkowski has been solid all season, and went 10-for-13 on field goal attempts of 40 yards or longer.
Billy Cundiff made 28 of his 37 attempts this season, but struggled on long kicks. He hit just 1 of 6 from 50 yards and beyond.
By the numbers
| FG | FGA | Long FG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Gostkowski | 28 | 33 | 50 |
By the numbers
| FG | FGA | Long FG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Cundiff | 28 | 37 | 51 |
Patriots
Ravens
Zoltan Mesko played a key role in the field position battle, and 24 of his 57 punts pinned opponents inside their own 20. He was not blocked all season.
Sam Koch averaged 46.5 yard per punt, the same as Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko, and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 21 times. Koch wasn't blocked all season.
By the numbers
| Punts | Long punt | Avg. punt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoltan Mesko | 57 | 65 | 47 |
By the numbers
| Punts | Long punt | Avg. punt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Koch | 73 | 63 | 47 |
Patriots
Ravens
Bill Belichick is 10th on the NFL's career wins list, and has three Super Bowl rings. His choices in recent drafts have provided him with some of the NFL's best young talent, including Rob Gronkowski at tight end and Zoltan Mesko at punter.
John Harbaugh doesn't have near the same playoff pedigree as Bill Belichick, but he has beaten him in the playoffs. In 2009's AFC wild-card round, Harbaugh's Ravens defeated the Patriots, 33-14.
By the numbers
| Wins | Losses | Playoff record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Belichick | 175 | 97 | 16-6 |
By the numbers
| Wins | Losses | Playoff record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Harbaugh | 44 | 20 | 6-3 |
Patriots
Ravens
By the numbers
| Patriots | Patriots' opponents | |
|---|---|---|
| Total first downs | 399 | 370 |
| First down breakdown (rush-pass-penalty) |
107-262-30 | 101-245-24 |
| Third-down conversions | 89/194 | 87/202 |
| Fourth-down conversions | 7/11 | 8/19 |
| Offense plays-avg. yards | 1,082-6.3 | 1,064-6.2 |
| Total rushing yards | 1,764 | 1,874 |
| Rushing plays-avg. yards | 438-4 | 405-4.6 |
| Total passing yards | 5,084 | 4,703 |
| Passing comp-att-int-avg. | 402-612-12-8.6 | 386-619-23-8 |
| Sacks | 40 | 32 |
| Field goals | 28/33 | 20/23 |
| Touchdowns | 61 | 40 |
| TDs rush-pass-returns-defense | 18-39-1-3 | 13-26-0-1 |
| Average time of possession | 28:47 | 31:12 |
| Turnover ratio | Plus-17 | n/a |
By the numbers
| Ravens | Ravens' opponents | |
|---|---|---|
| Total first downs | 312 | 269 |
| First down breakdown (rush-pass-penalty) |
91-181-33 | 79-166-24 |
| Third-down conversions | 97/229 | 71/221 |
| Fourth-down conversions | 4/7 | 10/21 |
| Offense plays-avg. yards | 1,036-5.2 | 1,002-4.6 |
| Total rushing yards | 1,996 | 1,482 |
| Rushing plays-avg. yards | 459-4.3 | 419-3.5 |
| Total passing yards | 3,423 | 3,140 |
| Passing comp-att-int-avg. | 314-544-12-6.7 | 288-535-15-6.4 |
| Sacks | 48 | 33 |
| Field goals | 30/39 | 28/31 |
| Touchdowns | 41 | 26 |
| TDs rush-pass-returns-defense | 15-21-1-4 | 10-11-3-2 |
| Average time of possession | 30:35 | 29:24 |
| Turnover ratio | Plus-2 | n/a |
