New England looks to come out early, firing on all cylinders, as they've had a handful of slow starts this year. They need to successfully contain Ravens running back Ray Rice. Their defense has to eliminate the big plays. And the home team must limit its mistakes.
“That shows, when we come out strong and don’t come out slow, how dangerous we can be,” tight end Aaron Hernandez told the media this week of New England's Divisional Round win.
Hernandez, along with his other young tight end counterpart Rob Gronkowski, caused headaches (and body aches) for the Broncos. Not only did Hernandez haul in four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown, but he also ran the ball five times for 61 yards.
Gronkowski caught three TDs of his own, including an incredible grab veteran quarterback Tom Brady said was one of the best he’d ever seen. Gronk had 10 catches for over 145 yards.
The defense was just as good, swallowing up Denver's usually-stout rushing attack, and New England won't get a break this week, either. It will have its 2009 dagger in Rice to deal with.
“All year, we’ve been preaching starting fast, four quarters, finishing the game,” Pats linebacker Rob Ninkovich said after the Denver game, reflecting on the defense’s effort. “Really, this was our first four-quarter game.”
Most recently, the Patriots played the Ravens in Week 6 of the 2010 NFL season. The Patriots won that contest, 23-20, at Gillette Stadium, coming off their regular-season bye in impressive fashion.
But the last game between the two teams prior to that Oct. 17 contest was a 33-14 butt-whooping by the Ravens in the 2009 AFC Wildcard Playoffs, which sent the Patriots packing for their first of two straight postseason defeats. That came only months after the Patriots handled the Ravens with relative ease earlier in the 2009 season.
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