Foxboro (AFP) — Baltimore ran riot from the first play on
Sunday to end New England's streak of home dominance in the NFL
playoffs, while Arizona took to the air in a record-setting victory
over Green Bay.
Baltimore's Ray Rice exploded up the middle for
an 83-yard touchdown on the opening play to set the tone for the
Ravens, who downed the Patriots 33-14 to book a second-round clash with
Indianapolis.
"One thing we said as an offense is we want to
start games fast," Rice said. "I wanted to be the guy today to start
fast, whether it was a five-yard run or an 83-yard run. I wanted to be
the guy to say this will be a fast-tempo game. We want the other team
to play catch-up to us."
In Arizona, the Cardinals also started
fast, then had hang on in the face of a Green Bay rally before
triumphing 51-45 in overtime in the highest-scoring playoff game in
league history.
Despite the offensive onslaught, it was defender
Karlos Dansby's 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown in overtime that
gave Arizona the victory.
Michael Adams stripped Green Bay
quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the ball, which bounced off the foot of
the Packers' signal-caller and into the hands of Dansby.
He raced for the score that sealed a game that had been a passing duel between playoff newcomer Rodgers and veteran Kurt Warner.
"He made a sack, the ball went in the air, I just made a play on the ball," Dansby said.
Warner, who improved his playoff record to 9-3, completed 29 of 33
passes for 379 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Warner threw two touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald, two to Early Doucet and one to Steve Breaston.
Rodgers was 28 of 42 for 422 yards and four touchdowns.
"It's
clearly one of the toughest losses I've been a part of," Green Bay
coach Mike McCarthy said. "I'm very proud of our football team and
fight. This is a hard game to swallow."
The previous high for
combined points in a postseason game was 95 in Philadelphia's 58-37 win
over Detroit on December 30, 1995.
"That's probably one of the
best games ever played in the playoffs," said Arizona coach Ken
Whisenhunt, whose Cardinals next face New Orleans.
The Patriots certainly weren't bragging about the quality of their play in Foxboro.
Superstar
quarterback Tom Brady turned the ball over three times on the first
four possessions, including a fumble on the fourth play of the game
that Baltimore turned into a touchdown for a 14-0 lead after less than
five minutes.
Brady also matched a playoff career-worst with
three interceptions as he lost a postseason contest at Gillette Stadium
for the first time after winning seven of them.
The Patriots had won their last 11 home playoff games at Gillette and at Foxboro Stadium, since their last defeat in 1978.
The
Patriots, who won three Super Bowl titles from 2002-2005, were a
perfect 8-0 at home in the regular season, but were hearing jeers from
their home fans as they fell 24-0 adrift in the first quarter.
"I'd
have been booing us, too, the way we played," Brady said. "Playing the
way we played today, we weren't going to beat anybody."
Brady,
the NFL Comeback Player of the Year after his return from a serious
knee injury, was 23 of 42 for 154 yards. Wide receiver Randy Moss
caught just five passes for 48 yards.
"All of us that
participated in the game are accountable for our performance," Patriots
coach Bill Belichick said, "and I don't think anybody felt very good
about it, players, coaches, anybody."
The Patriots defense
couldn't stop the Ravens runners. With 10:32 left, Baltimore's Willis
McGahee ran three yards for a 33-14 lead.
The trio of Rice,
McGahee and Le'Ron McClain gained 236 yards on the ground, Rice leading
the way with 159. Rice ran for two touchdowns and McGahee and McClain
one each.
The Ravens, who lost the AFC championship game to
eventual Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh last season, will go to
Indianapolis next weekend seeking to avenge a 17-15 regular season loss
to the Colts on November 22.
In Saturday's first-round games, the
New York Jets beat Cincinnati 24-14 and Dallas beat Philadelphia 34-14.
Dallas will play Minnesota next week in the second round, when the Jets
face San Diego.