New England had its way during a 38-24 win. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer blamed himself for overloading the playbook. This one would be on his players, he said.
They held up their end emphatically.
Flacco threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason in the third quarter, but spent most of the game dodging an unrelenting blitz that threw the passing game out of whack. He was 0 for 4 in the first quarter, the first time he went an entire quarter without a completion since his rookie season in 2008.
He was only 5 of 17 for 23 yards in the first half, when Baltimore managed 77 yards. He finished 17 of 39 for 154 yards with four interceptions, including Adam ''Pacman'' Jones' first interception since he was with Dallas in 2008. Jones sat out last season, when no team would sign him.
Game stats
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