Belichick's Greatest Hits No. 5: Masterminding Two Comebacks Against the Ravens With His Galaxy Brain

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It might seem surprising to put a Divisional Round playoff game on this list ahead of even a couple of Super Bowl wins. But that's a comment on how special this one was. A game where Bill Belichick reached shoulder-deep into his Hermoine Granger bag of plays and pulled out every trick he could find. 

In his 24 years here, there was a lot of talk about a lot of rivalries. But none can compare to the one they had with Baltimore. These games were bloodsport, every time out. Prior to this the two teams met in the playoffs three times, all at Gillette. With the Ravens blowing New England out of the building twice, and another when Baltimore shanked a game-tying field goal at the end to give the Patriots a win. But this one soars above all the rest. 

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In boxing terms, this was Hagler-Hearns. Except that it went the distance. The Ravens jumped out to an early 14-point lead. The Patriots counter-punched to tie it. Baltimore then scored on its last possession of the half and its first possession of the 3rd quarter for another 14-point lead. Again, New England responded to tie it. The Ravens took a 3-point lead in the 4th, only to lose it on a Pats touchdown drive that made it 38-34. But with plenty of time left for Baltimore to hit back and win at the bell. Which they failed to do. 

But it wasn't so much what Belichick's team did to keep coming back at their biggest rival. It was the how. This was very much the Ravens that caught fire in the postseason two years earlier to win the Super Bowl. They were Top 8 in points and points allowed in the league. They had a balanced attack, led by Joe Flacco who mighty-morphed into a Power Ranger in the playoffs. They had a 1,200 yard rusher in Justin Forsett and a 1,000 yard receiver in Steve Smith, Sr. And two Pro Bowlers on the other side of the ball. So the Patriots coaching staff had to be ready for any contingency. 

They were. 

Beginning in the 3rd quarter, down once again by two touchdowns following two Pats drives that ended a Brady interception and a punt, it was officially Desperate Measures time. So Belichick employed formations that were perfectly legal, if very obscure. He'd studied them used in college, as well as a time or two in the pros. In the lead up to the game, he checked with the NFL to confirm that it … conformed? Then consulted with the game's officials before kickoff. The die was cast. The pieces were on the board. This was the time to strike. 

The short version is that Shane Vereen lined up in the slot, but reported as ineligible. The official went so far as to point to him and tell Ravens defenders "Don't guard 34!" But they couldn't help themselves. As Vereen raced into the backfield pretending to be looking for a pass he wasn't allowed to get, Baltimore left Michael Hoomanawanui all alone up the seam:

Repeatedly. And the Ravens didn't know what to do any of those times.

John Harbaugh's reaction was to lose, in no uncertain terms, his shit. He ran onto the field, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike. Because he didn't know how else to handle it, apparently. Eventually he did figure it out. Which I'll save until the end of the blog. The drive ended with a touchdown pass from Brady to Rob Gronkowski. But the Pats were far from done with the Penn & Teller material.

Down 28-21, NFL Film's mics picked up OC Josh McDaniels approaching Julian Edelman on the bench to ask if he was ready for a double pass. Specifying that if he decides to call it, does the former Kent State QB need to know in advance. He didn't. At midfield, the call came in:

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The image that will always stay with us, apart from the perfect spiral to a wide open Danny Amendola, is Edelman getting his shoulder loose afterwards, like he just threw a complete 9-inning game. Chef's kiss. 

It's not at all unfair to say the Ravens were shook by all of this. Because two plays later, Flacco got picked by Devin McCourty. It was his first postseason interception in five games and an NFL-record 166 attempts. 

Flacco gathered himself enough to put 3-points on the board to make it a 31-28 game. But Brady answered with a 10-play, 74-yard drive that took 5:04 off the clock and ended on Brady's 23-yard dime at the pylon (see the very end of that video above) to Brandon LaFell, of all people, who finished with 5 catches for 62 yards. Another interception of Flacco by Logan Ryan completed the Rutgers Daily Double and pretty much sealed the deal. 

Afterwards, the Ravens organization was gracious and magnanimous about how Belichick had out smarted them. They tipped their caps, gave him credit where credit was due, and wished the whole organization the very best of good fortune on their future endeavors. 

I kid. They continued to bellyache. Contacted New England's next opponent the Colts, to tell them they believed their was something up with the Patriots gameballs. (This was publicly confirmed by Indy's GM at a press conference.) And, in what by now has become a common theme in this countdown, petitioned the NFL to turn what Belichick did to them into a felony:

With the added bonus of the face Harbaugh came up with his own variations of the formation the following season. You can't make this stuff up. And all things considered, it helped cement this Divisional game's status as one of the best of the Dynasty era. See you tomorrow with more.