As I was putting together the team capsules for Baltimore and New England, I was surprised to see that Joe Flacco had put up better passing numbers than Tom Brady in each of the last six meetings between these teams. Seriously.
The Ravens seem to have figured out some kind of feel for how to defend against New England. Brady in his last eight games against this defense has thrown has many interceptions (10) as touchdowns. He’s completed an un-Brady like 61 percent, and averaged a modest 267 passing yards.
(He’s also run for 3 TDs in those games, but to make the numbers fit this narrative, I am not listing those.)
The Patriots have won only one of the last eight games between these teams comfortably. That came at the end of the 2013 season, when the Ravens weren’t very good and got blown out 41-7. But the Ravens are 3-5 against New England in the John Harbaugh era, including a 2-2 record at Foxboro in the postseason.
| BRADY VERSUS BALTIMORE | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Site | Result | Pct | Yds | TD | Int |
| 2009 | N.E. | W 27-21 | 66% | 258 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | N.E.* | L 14-33 | 55% | 154 | 2 | 3 |
| 2010 | N.E. | W 23-20 | 61% | 292 | 1 | 2 |
| 2011 | N.E.* | W 23-20 | 61% | 239 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 | Balt. | L 30-31 | 68% | 335 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | N.E.* | L 13-28 | 54% | 320 | 1 | 2 |
| 2013 | Balt. | W 41-7 | 54% | 172 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | N.E.* | W 35-31 | 66% | 367 | 3 | 1 |
Joe Flacco, on the other hand, tends to play some of his best ball against the Patriots, when the stakes are higher. He’s thrown multiple touchdown passes in six of his eight career games against them – 16 TDs versus 8 interceptions in his eight games against them.
Flacco is 2-2 in the playoffs against them, and one of the losses was pretty unlikely, with Lee Evans having the game-winning touchdown catch knocked out of his hands (and Billy Cundiff then missing a game-tying chip shot).
Flacco isn’t putting up big numbers this year, but with his history against this opponent, you kind of get the feeling he’ll put up above-average passing numbers this week.
| FLACCO VERSUS NEW ENGLAND | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Site | Result | Pct | Yds | TD | Int |
| 2009 | N.E. | L 21-27 | 57% | 264 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 | N.E.* | W 33-14 | 40% | 34 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | N.E. | L 20-23 | 77% | 285 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | N.E.* | L 20-23 | 61% | 306 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 | Balt. | W 31-30 | 72% | 382 | 3 | 1 |
| 2012 | N.E.* | W 28-13 | 58% | 240 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | Balt. | L 7-41 | 58% | 260 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | N.E.* | L 31-35 | 62% | 292 | 4 | 2 |
—Ian Allan