By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Patriots open at home against the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of their week four game.
Last time the teams squared off Tom Brady looked like he was returning to form after a shaky start to the season, aided by the return of his favorite target, Wes Welker, who missed the previous two games with a knee injury.
This time a battered Brady, playing with three broken ribs, will have to face the Ravens defense without Welker, who tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial collateral ligament.
The blow is devastating to the Patriots pass-happy offense. Welker led the team in receiving seven times this season, more than any other player. His 123 catches this season were the most in the NFL and set a franchise record, breaking the one he set himself in 2007.
Brady relies heavily on Welker. Without him, Brady’s completion percentage this season drops from 68% to 56% and his quarterback rating drops from 102.9 to a measly 68.9.
The opposing defense will now be able to double Randy Moss, which does not bode well for the receiver who already had been rumored to taking [...]

By: JessLander, YawkeyTalkies Editor.
So, in case you turned off your TV because you assumed the Patriots had it in the bag yesterday, they failed to close, again. Right when we thought they had made up for fumbling on the line for a Houston touchdown with a fourteen-point lead, the Pats defense let the Texans stomp into their territory for three touchdowns and the win (the game-winner coming off of an interception). The final score was 34-27.
Luckily though, the Patriots weren’t the Giants (lost 44-7), the Eagles (lost 24-0, dropping to a Wildcard 6th seed), the Colts (lost 30-7 to the BILLS), or the Bengals (lost 37-0 allowing the Jets in the playoffs) . They also weren’t one of the five AFC teams that had their playoff hopes dashed yesterday. I’m sure the Patriots are also okay enough losing to Houston since they still have a spot in the playoffs and Houston, well doesn’t. The glass can always be half full.
The bigger scare of the day was actually in the first quarter when Wes Welker left the game with an injury. Reports now say that Welker tore both his MCL and ACL in his knee, and is most likely out for [...]

By Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent

 
Maybe the Patriots aren’t in as much trouble as everyone thought.
Maybe Tom Brady really is on his way back to form.
Patriots fans can be excited today. After much discussion about how the Patriots were out of form, how Tom Brady didn’t look like the pre-knee injury Brady, and how maybe the Patriots wouldn’t be ok (even with a 2-1 record), New England took it to an undefeated Baltimore Ravens team that looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender the first three weeks, beating them 27-21.
Sure, it took a drop on fourth down by Mark Clayton to ensure the Patriots would escape with a victory. However, it took a true rise in performance from the Patriots to even be in that situation, after looking very shaky in the initial games of this young season.
Brady, who had looked uncomfortable in the pocket recently, had a huge task ahead of him going against an intense Ravens defense, lead by Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs. Brady, true to his old character though, stepped up to the challenge and performed admirably.
Brady went 21-32 passing, for 258 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball five times for 11 [...]