Begining of the End for the Patriots Was the Stevan Ridley Injury

The Patriots were hoping to get another shot at winning the Super Bowl this season, but that dream came to an end when the Baltimore Ravens dominated the second half of the AFC Championship game Sunday night en route to a 28-13 win.

Things were looking good for the Patriots in the first half. They knew that it would be tough going up against the tough Ravens defense.

Games like this were one of those times when it really was okay to walk away with field goals rather than touchdowns; the game was expected to be that close. So when the Pats took a 13-7 lead into halftime it was not a big surprise.


However, the second half certainly was.

Baltimore did exactly what it need to do to beat the Patriots--they kept Tom Brady off the field. If he doesn't get a chance to get into rhythm he is just as mortal as the rest of the world. He doesn't need much time to get into rhythm, and at the start of the final quarter he appeared like he might be.

Until this play:



Belichick challenged the call and it was upheld even though it looked pretty clear that Ridley laid the ball on the ground after he got hit and fell. He appeared to be down by contact with the fumble being caused by the ground making it still Patriots ball right around the 45-yard line. Instead the ruling was upheld.

The Patriots never had a shot after that. Baltimore went on to score a touchdown to take a 15-point lead on New England. From that point on it almost appeared as if the Patriots didn't want to win. The next drive ended on downs after chewing up close to three minutes of valuable time and 52 yards. Brady threw an interception on the next drive as well as the final drive (although the game was already out of reach at that point).