FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Ray Rice has a motto for running with the football. “Slow to . . . fast through,” he said yesterday.
For further explanation, please refer to his 83-yard touchdown run 17 seconds into yesterday’s AFC wild-card playoff game, which propelled the Ravens to a dominating 33-14 victory over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
After taking the hand-off from quarterback Joe Flacco on the first play from scrimmage, Rice moved slowly to his left allowing his offensive line to set its blocks and forcing the New England defense to flow toward him.
When a hole opened to his right, Rice was “fast through,” cutting back behind the blocks of center Matt Birk, and guards Ben Grubbs and Marshal Yanda. The former Rutgers star exploded through the secondary and raced down the sideline for a tone-setting score from which the Patriots never fully recovered.
“As soon as I got the cut back, I saw the safety 20 yards deep,” Rice said. “That’s a running back’s dream.”
Ravens defensive lineman Trevor Pryce called it “a psyche killer.” Rice’s run silenced the sellout crowd and energized a Ravens defense that forced four turnovers, including three interceptions by Tom Brady, en route to a surprisingly one-sided victory. The Ravens (10-6) move on to face the Colts (14-2) Saturday in Indianapolis, with the winner advancing to the AFC Championship.
“I wanted to be the guy to start this game off fast, whether it was a 5-yard gain or 83 yards,” said Rice, who rushed for 159 yards on 22 carries and scored twice. “We wanted it to be a fast game and make them have to catch up to us.”
“Ray called it,” said running back Willis McGahee. “He said he was going to bust it open and set the tone.”
The Ravens defense started fast, too, using precision blitzing and physical play to help build an insurmountable 24-0 lead after the first quarter.
Following Rice’s run, the second longest in postseason history, Baltimore’s next 17 points were the result of turnovers and pressure on Brady.
Blitzing linebacker Terrell Suggs earned the first turnover by stripping Brady during a sack and making the recovery at the Patriots 17.
Five plays later, fullback Le’Ron McClain scored on a 1-yard run.
Then the Ravens hurried Brady into two interceptions, one by cornerback Chris Carr and the other by safety Ed Reed. Baltimore made the thefts count with a 1-yard TD blast by Rice and 27-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.
“To get the turnovers and to capitalize on turnovers is the way you win games,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
The Patriots had won 23 straight home games and eight straight postseason games at Gillette Stadium. But they were doused in boos by a frustrated home crowd. It was sweet music to the Ravens.
“We came out and had fun,” said Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. “We understood Brady was their key. If you can get to Brady and rattle him early you have a good chance.”
Playing without the injured Wes Welker, the Patriots offense never really established a rhythm. Brady was a jittery 23 of 42 for 154 yards while being sacked three times. Flacco, blessed with a short field and a big lead, attempted just 10 passes, completing four for 34 yards.
“We made too many mistakes in the game to win and that’s obvious,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “We just didn’t do very well as a team in any area.”
Now the Ravens prepare for Peyton Manning and the Colts, who enjoyed a bye week.
“We know what’s coming up next week playing in Indy,” Lewis said. “We know it’s the best quarterback in the last 20 years, bottom line. Anytime you have that type of reputation you have to go in and play a great game to beat him.”
