My In-Person Account of the Patriots' Victory Against Baltimore
My In-Person Account of the Patriots’ Victory Against Baltimore
What was the game like in the stadium? Who were the star performers? What was the New England presence like in M&T Bank Stadium?
The last time I went to a Patriots game, Tom Brady was still our Quarterback. It was a very similar occasion to this one: a Sunday Night Football game against the Ravens in Baltimore, where the Patriots came in with a better record yet were the betting underdog. Last time, the Ravens took down the Patriots 37-20 with a 70-yard fumble recovery touchdown and a crucial interception sealing the deal. I prayed that this game would be different, and was rewarded with the treat we all saw last night.
The First Half
You would expect the Baltimore faithful to show up in droves for the last home game of the season, especially while their team is in the midst of a battle for the division and playoffs. They filled every seat in the stadium, but a surprising number of Patriots fans filled the lower bowl, and my section seemed 50/50.
When Drake Maye trotted onto the field, the MVP chants were already starting. They would grow louder and louder as the game progressed.
The story of the first half for New England, and really for both sides, was injuries. It seemed that every couple of plays, someone would go down and head into the medical tent. First, it was Diggs after a big catch down the right sideline. He wasn’t out for too long, and thank goodness he wasn’t because he played the biggest role in our win down the stretch.
Each team scored an early touchdown, leveling it at 7-7 in the second quarter. Maye had an interception that had the Ravens fans hollering “This is your MVP?” but outside of that, it was a pretty run-of-the-mill half of football. It looked like the Patriots were going to take the lead heading into halftime, but Drake Maye lost the ball during a sack, and the Ravens ran the last few seconds off the clock. The big news was that both Lamar Jackson and TreVeyon Henderson went down with injuries, and nobody even knew Lamar was injured until Tyler “Snoop” Huntley came in for a third down. They never even showed an injury update on the Jumbotron for him, and I had to look it up on X to see that he had been struck in the back and was questionable.
The Second Half
The second half started on a high note for New England, with a missed Tyler Loop field goal leading to a made Andy Borregales attempt. However, the next ten minutes were disastrous.
The Ravens, or should I say just Derrick Henry, marched straight down the field and ran the ball into the end zone. On the ensuing Patriots possession, New England attempted a fake punt on 4th and 10 in their own territory, an awful decision that led to a short field from which Baltimore scored again. The Ravens were now up 24-13 in the fourth quarter, and it felt like the air had been sucked out of my section.
All the stats were floating around in my head: Drake Maye had never led a fourth-quarter comeback in his NFL career, nor had he thrown for 300 passing yards. He would need to do both to win this game. I felt the same dread I had six years earlier, thinking I would yet again be robbed of seeing my team win a game in person.
Drake Maye didn’t let that happen.
Five straight completions and a short scramble, followed by a beautiful in-the-breadbasket touchdown pass to Kyle Williams later, the Patriots were within a score. My section went wild while MVP chants spanned the stadium. All we needed now was a defensive stop, and we got it. For reasons unknown, Derrick Henry barely saw the field in the fourth quarter, which angered the Ravens fans around me and allowed the Patriots back into the contest.
The next Patriots drive felt like an eternity. It was riddled with great passes by Maye, and the biggest moment came on a 4th and 2 when Diggs cut across the field and took the ball all the way to the 27-yard line. Rhamondre Stevenson did the rest, following blockers all the way into the end zone for the Patriots’ score with only two minutes left on the clock. The crowd went ballistic, MVP chants rang in my ears, and Drake Maye had successfully brought us back from the dead with a career-high 380 passing yards.
But that wasn’t my favorite moment of the game. That would come moments later, when Stefon Diggs, fired by from his fourth-down conversion catch, walked down the sideline hyping up the Patriots fans in the crowd.
We went ballistic, yelling, pointing back at him, and cheering on our defense to get a stop. After a huge K'Lavon Chaisson forced fumble, Maye danced around and kneeled the game out, clinching the victory for the Pats. I remained in the bowl through all of the celebrations, watching the team get interviewed, sign some jerseys, and eventually head to the locker room with heads held high. I realized how lucky I was to see this game in person, a comeback victory that clinched our first playoff berth in five seasons.
As Drake Maye jogged off the field, he completed one more pass after his career high of 31, tossing a towel to a fan. I then exited the bowl and looked at a television that now displayed “Patriots, 12-3”. I said to my dad, “Wow, who could have predicted that record?” I sure couldn’t have, but really, maybe I should have. We got the guys in the offseason to turn the tide, and got the coach who could change the culture. It’s been a fantastic season, and I’m so lucky that I got to witness a part of it.