The Baltimore Ravens came this close last night to doing what no team has been able to this season - beat the New England Patriots. In the end, Patriot magic prevailed over Ravens grit - or was it Ravens bone-headedness and bad luck that actually prevailed?

The Ravens, 20-point underdogs going into the game, had scratched out a 24-20 lead by late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots offensive line had been pushed around all game, allowing the Ravens pass-rush to get to Tom Brady. This, and the Baltimore winds, had conspired to mostly ground the vaunted Pats air attack. On offense, the Ravens had pounded away at New England with Willis McGahee, and gotten some timely play-making from Kyle Boller. Yet, the Pats still had a chance.

With owner Bob Kraft literally pressed to the glass up in the box, Tom Brady led the last-ditch offensive charge. It was anything but a beautiful Montana- or Elway-like drive however. In fact it was ugly. The Ravens actually seemed to stop the Patriots on 4th down three separate times, but fate kept intervening. A time-out was called by the Ravens coaches just before what would've been a drive-stifling defensive play. The Patriots committed a false start, negating another Ravens stoning. Then the worst of all: The Ravens were called for defensive holding, giving the Pats a first-down when it looked like they were through. Finally, Brady was able to make it happen without assistance from the Ravens or the refs or whomever, hitting Jabar Gaffney for an 8 yard TD. Even that wasn't easy though - the booth reviewed it, but finally determined that Gaffney had gotten both feet in while maintaining possession.

The Ravens' frustration at not closing the deal was exemplified by linebacker Bart Scott, who got hit with a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the Gaffney touchdown, and had to be held back by teammates to keep him from going after one of the refs. After the game, Ravens players took the usual line when such things happen - the officials were against them. Baltimore corner Chris McAlister said:

It's hard to go out there and play the Patriots and the refs at the same time. They put the crown on top of them, they want them to win. They won.

It certainly appeared, on that last drive, that someone was looking out for Tom Brady and the Pats. Whether that was the NFL, through their officiating operatives on the field, or the Almighty or whatever is all up to opinion. What's certain is that the Patriots are now 12-0, and need only 4 more wins to become the first team ever to run the table in a 16-game season. There was a time earlier this year where such a result seemed inevitable, but after back-to-back lackluster performances against Philly and Baltimore, the Patriots' aura of invincibility has diminished.

The Eagles showed how to attack the Pats' defense - by working against their middle, especially their slow, aging inside linebackers. And now the Ravens have provided a blueprint for slowing their offense - get physical, and knock Tom Brady to the ground. Patriots safety Rodney Harrison admits his team looked marshmallowy and eminently beatable against Baltimore:

I felt that this was the first time all year that we got bullied. There are times this is a mano-a-mano battle, and they were winning it. Tonight's game showed we have a lot of problems, and we've got to make corrections before we play Pittsburgh.

Bill Belichick is perceived as the master of making corrections - but can he turn around the whole attitude of a team that may have gotten too cocky after rolling up huge numbers against opponents for several weeks running? And what about that Patriots offensive line? They've protected Tom Brady well for most of the season, but last night they were dreadful, and had Brady barking at them for it. The well-oiled Patriots machine looks more like a sputtering jalopy when Brady is pressured. He's a great QB, but he's no Romo or Favre when it comes to making plays on the run. He needs protection, and if he doesn't get it, not only will there be no 16-0 season for the Pats, there will also be no Super Bowl.