The Patriots must have forgot when the game started yesterday as the Ravens thumped them 24-0 in the first quarter and that was way too big of a hole for even Tom Brady to bring them back from.  Tom Brady had probably his worst playoff game of his career as he completed 23 of 42 passes for 154 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs.  Kevin Faulk was busy yesterday as he carried the ball 14 times for 52 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 37 yards (6.2 avg).  Randy Moss led the Patriots in receiving yards yesterday with 48 on 5 grabs (9.6 avg).  But, Julian Edelman was the star of the offense for the Patriots yesterday with 6 catches for 44 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Patriots finished up with only 196 total yards on offense (64 rushing, 132 passing) in this game.

The Patriots got pushed around pretty good by the Ravens’ O-Line yesterday and it really hurt them.  NT Vince Wilfork led the way for the Patriots on D with 13 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  OLB Tully Banta-Cain pitched in with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  The Ravens finished up with 268 total yards on offense (234 rushing, 34 passing) in this game.  What a thud the Patriots’ season ended with at home yesterday as the Ravens punished them in their own house.

The Patriots are 8-0 at home this season and they look to keep the streak alive tomorrow against the Ravens in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.  The Patriots will likely use a lot of short passes and running plays in a attempt to keep the Ravens’ offense off the field.  The Patriots are a very underrated running team as they averaged 120.1 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry this year.  They will likely rotate all of their running backs in this game trying to keep them fresh.  The Ravens will likely double Randy Moss the whole game but that won’t stop Tom Brady from throwing a few passes his way.  I have a feeling that Benjamin Watson, Julian Edelman and Kevin Faulk could be the stars in the passing game for the Patriots tomorrow.

Defensively the Patriots will have to go all out to stop Ray Rice and Willis McGahee.  These are the two most lethal players on the Ravens’ offense so the front seven will have to step up tomorrow if the Patriots are to win this game.  The Patriots should also double cover Derrick Mason forcing Joe Flacco to throw the ball to Mark Clayton when they want to go downfield.  Safeties Brandon Meriweather and Brandon McGowan must stop TE Todd Heap or the Patriots could be in some trouble.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 21, RAVENS 20

32-year old QB Tom Brady missed almost all of the 2009 season but you would never have known that watching him play in 2010.  Brady played in all 16 games for the Patriots this season and he completed 371 of 565 passes (65.7%) for 4,398 yards with 28 TD passes and 13 INTs (96.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 29 times for 44 yards (1.5 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Brady has now played in 129 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,672 of 4,218 passes (63.3%) for 30,844 yards with 225 TD passes and only 99 INTs (93.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 305 times for 577 yards (1.9 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his career.  Brady is the top reason the Patriots are back in the playoffs as he leads by example.

24-year old undrafted rookie QB Brian Hoyer was the back-up for the Patriots in 2009.  He played in 5 games for the Patriots in which he completed 19 of 27 passes (70.4%) for 142 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (82.6 QB Rating).  Hoyer also carried the ball 10 times for 25 yards (2.5 ypc) with a TD run.  The Patriots will likely bring in either a cheap veteran QB or draft one late to compete with Hoyer for the back-up job in 2010.

The Patriots have lost Pro Bowl WR Wes Welker for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee that he injured against the Texans yesterday.  Welker played in 14 games this season for the Patriots and he caught 123 passes for 1,348 yards (11.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards (7.2 ypc) this year.  Rookie Julian Edelman will likely have to step up for the Patriots in Welker’s role of the tough guy over the middle.  Edelman has played in 11 games this season for the Patriots and he has caught 37 passes for 359 yards (9.7 avg) with a TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) this season.  This is a huge blow to the Patriots’ offense as Welker is Tom Brady’s security blanket in the passing game.

The Texans scored the last 21 points in this game putting the Patriots away.  The Patriots could never really decide whether or not they wanted to win this game or not as they kept switching QBs during the game.  Tom Brady was so-so when he played as he completed 17 of 26 passes for 186 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Brian Hoyer also got some P.T. in this game as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 71 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards.  Fred Taylor led the way on the ground for the Patriots yesterday with 33 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs but he also lost a fumble in the end zone which resulted in a TD for the Texans.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis pitched in with 22 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.5 ypc) in this game.  Julian Edelman led the way in the passing game for the Patriots yesterday with 10 grabs for 103 yards (10.3 avg).  Randy Moss also had a decent game with 5 catches for 75 yards (15.0 avg) yesterday.  Wes Welker caught 1 pass for 12 yards in this game but he tore his ACL when making a cut ending his season and that will really hurt the Patriots.  The Patriots finished up with 317 total yards on offense (74 rushing, 243 passing) in this game.

Safeties James Sanders (11 tackles) and Brandon Meriweather (10 tackles) were really busy for the Patriots yesterday on D.  DE Derrick Burgess also had a solid game for the Patriots yesterday with 9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 3 QB hits.  CB Darius Butler only had 2 tackles and he defensed 1 pass but he also intercepted a pass that he returned 91 yards for a TD.  The Texans finished up with 439 total yards on offense (144 rushing, 295 passing) in this game.  The Patriots finished the season as the AFC East Champs with a 10-6 record and they will play the Ravens next week in the playoffs.