Shane Vereen

The pass from quarterback Joe Flacco sailed over the outstretched hands of running back Ray Rice on fourth down, the Ravens' final short-yardage failure Sunday. During a 24-23 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Ravens converted none of their six...

Kevin Cowherd Patriots 30, Ravens 21 The Ravens go into this game with enormous confidence. But Tom Brady to Wes Welker is a tough combination to beat, especially at Gillette Stadium. And now the Pats actually have a running game with Stevan Ridley...

Over the course of an NFL season, a lot of things get talked about. Some factors are overblown, some aren’t addressed enough. Sunday’s 41-28 win over the Texans by the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs gave us ample reason...

You want story lines for Sunday's AFC championship game? Oh, do we have storylines. Here are just a few: Are the Ravens really this team of destiny we keep hearing about? Can they avenge last year's 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots in this...

To a man, the Ravens said that they didn't care who their opponent would be Sunday in the AFC championship game. Perhaps, they were too exhausted and emotionally drained from having played a four-hour, 16-minute game to give it much thought. Perhaps,...

Having grown up in Annapolis, Bill Belichick remembers watching quarterback Johnny Unitas, one of the NFL's pioneers of the pass, drive the Baltimore Colts up and down the field with their version of the two-minute drill. At the time, no one did it...

About Baltimore Sun staff picks: Each week, Sun columnists and NFL reporters will pick games (not against the spread) Sunday's games 49ers at Falcons Ravens at Patriots Kevin Cowherd Last week: 2-2 Overall: 177-86-1 49ers 27, Falcons 21:...

After allowing more than 180 rushing yards in three straight games, including a franchise-worst 227 yards in a Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the last place the Ravens defenders wanted to be during their bye week was a dark film room. "I was just...

RAVENS PASSING GAME: Joe Flacco brings a hot hand and some past successes against the New England Patriots into his third AFC championship game. In his past three games against New England, Flacco has completed 70 percent of his passes and thrown for...

The Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - New England Patriots - INSIDE SLANT Quarterback Tom Brady and the New England offense have been the story for the Patriots for the better part of the last decade. That will obviously continue in 2013 despite the...

The Sports Xchange Vereen to get chances in Patriots RB rotation FOXBOROUGH, Mass -- New England running back Stevan Ridley knows something about taking advantage of an opportunity that presents itself. A year ago the former third-round pick turned a...

Brendon Ayanbadejo put his foot in his mouth Sunday ... or whatever the modern-day equivalent is when someone types something without thinking it through and then sends it out for the world to see via Twitter. In the case of the Baltimore special...