Rice leads Ravens run game to 33-14 win over Pats

Published 8:30 am Monday, January 11, 2010

In a matter of minutes, Tom Brady and his New England Patriots went from being the team of the last decade to looking old, overmatched and, oddly, inept.

Fans sat in frozen silence. Barely into their seats, they saw the shocking truth on the scoreboard.

Five minutes into the game, New England trailed the Baltimore Ravens 14-0. Just one minute later the crowd came to life, booing Brady and his teammates who hadn’t lost a playoff game at Gillette Stadium.

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Until Baltimore’s 33-14 win Sunday in the AFC playoffs.

“I’d have been booing us, too, the way we played,” Brady said. “Playing the way we played today, we weren’t going to beat anybody.”

From the very first play, Ray Rice and the running Ravens were in control.

Rice ran 83 yards for a touchdown, Brady had three of his four turnovers in the first quarter and Baltimore had knocked off the team that had changed into an inconsistent, mistake-prone group this season.

“Their era is not over, they know how to win,” Rice said, “but for the Ravens, to beat the New England Patriots set a precedent. We’ll always remember this win.”