BALTIMORE — The undefeated New England Patriots looked mighty vulnerable Monday night, needing a late touchdown drive and some penalties to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 27-24.
New England pulled off its great escape to become the sixth team in NFL history to start a season with 12 victories. For the second straight week, it was a struggle against a losing team, but the incredibly resourceful Patriots got Tom Brady’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds left to win it.
The winning drive in the final minutes covered 73 yards and required two fourth-down conversions, one on a defensive holding penalty six seconds before Gaffney beat Dawan Landry in the left corner of the end zone.
Cornerback Chris McAlister was emphatic about the officiating, particularly the late holding call on rookie safety Jamaine Winborne that kept alive the winning drive.
“It’s hard to go out there and play the Patriots and the refs at the same time,” McAlister said. “They put the crown on top of them, they want them to win. They won.”
Driven to distraction by a Baltimore defense at times reminiscent of the 2000 unit that led the Ravens (4-8) to a Super Bowl victory, Brady came through late — as he always seems to.
“Most of it for three quarters didn’t go in our favor,” Brady said. “On the road, tough environment against a team that has won a lot of games in the last few years. It was tough.”
Baltimore’s Kyle Boller threw for two scores, and the Ravens managed three sacks. But they couldn’t manage to hang on, although a 52-yard completion to Mark Clayton got them to the New England 3 as time ran out.
