Bill Belichick opens his post game press conference following the Patriots' OT win over the Ravens.
Man. that was a good win for our football team today. I'm really proud of those kids. They played hard. [They were] 10 points down in the fourth quarter, rallied, fought through it in overtime. It was really just a heck of a job by our players. You've got to give them all the credit in the world. I know a lot of people doubted that they could do it and our second half [problems] and all of that, but you come back from behind [against] a team like Baltimore and win it at the end...we just had a lot of big plays out there. You can just talk about everybody. They all contributed. It was a real team effort against a real good football team. Baltimore has got a good club. They do a lot of things well. Fortunately, we were able to do one or two things a little better than they did today. I'm really proud of our team. We've got a big challenge ahead of us going out to San Diego, but we're going to enjoy this one for a while and then get back to work.
Deion Branch responds to a question about if it felt like old times with he and Tom Brady and the game on the line in overtime.
Yes, sir. I think the biggest thing is Coach Belichick put us through so many situation things in practice, that we worked on this so much. It's just all about us going out and executing. It's nothing that we're not aware of. We go through those - like at the end of the game with 1:15. Coach called some pretty good pays, we just didn't execute them. During the week, we can go out there and do that. It's all about executing. We didn't do that to end the game, but I think in overtime, once we settled down, coach figured out which plays he wanted to call. And the front line did a great job blocking and Tom did his thing.
Vince Wilfork talked about how the defense stepped up late in the game.
"Oh yeah. We stepped up when we needed to step up. All year on third down, we've had problems in that area. Then, something went off and we basically turned it around. It's third down and we get off the field. Once we get off the field, we're a totally different defense. You know what? Nobody's getting off the field now? Now everybody understands how important third down is. Something that small, you know? We never gave up. I don't care what the clock said, we always believed that we were going to win that ball game. How? We didn't know. But one thing I do know, we stood up for one another out there. We played for one another. That's a team. I can go play for anybody if they are willing to do what we did today. They stood up and they stood hard and you know what? We came out with a W. [That is] a very good team in Baltimore, don't get me wrong. Like I said, they played their butts off and they maybe made a few more plays than we did, but that ball game could have gone either way. We both were slugging it out, back and forth, back and forth, so I'm happy to be on the W side this time."
TEAM TALK
- Game Notes: Patriots vs. Ravens. Team and player milestones reached and records set after the win on Sunday.
- Erik Scalavino reports Branch’s return highlights come-from-behind, team effort in overtime victory.
- Post Game quotes: Patriots and Ravens.
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Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (9.10 min.), Tom Brady (3.24 min. video), Deion Branch (9.35 min. video) and Stephen Gostkowski (5.39 min.) Plus transcripts.
- Patriots Today - Breaking down OT victory. (4.26 min. video)
- Locker Room Uncut - Reaction after OT win.
LOCAL LINKS
- Shalise Manza Young says for the second straight game, the Patriots showed doubters that they belong in the conversation of the AFC’s top teams.
- Ian Rapoport notes the new winning attitude for the Patriots showcased itself in a gritty, come-from-behind OT win instead of a 2nd half collapse.
- Mark Farinella says yesterday's OT win was a big game for the little guys.
- Karen Guregian reports the script couldn't have been written much better for Branch's return, as he was 9 for 98 and a touchdown.
- Michael Vega focuses on Deion Branch's return to the Patriots and the ovation he received from the hometown crowd at Gillette.
- Kirk MInihane sees Dieon Branch right back where he belongs.
- Ron Borges writes that in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Pats defense became impenetrable.
- Monique Walker notes the hard-hitting persistent performance by a never-give-up young defense.
- Tom E. Curran reports the Patriots proved they are not last years team.
- Mark Farinella concludes the first game of the Patriots' transformation into their former selves was a smashing success.
- Art Martone says Brady and Branch passed the chemistry test.
- Mike Reiss offers his first impressions following the Patriots' 23-20 OT victory over the Ravens.
- Chris Gasper notes the margin between the Patriots and Ravens yesterday was 3 points and one Hall of Fame-bound quarterback.
- Bob Ryan calls this one a good old-fashioned win where the Patriots gutted it out in the end.
- Mike Reiss and Mike Rodak give their three up and three down for the Patriots.
- Mary Paoletti gives the Patriots 'D' an 'A' versus the Ravens.
- Christopher Price offers his ten things we learned Sunday: Against Ravens, the Patriots were tough enough.
- Michael Felger offers his seven key plays in the Patriots' victory.
- Matt Pepin points out how the wind played a role in the outcome of Sunday's Ravens-Patriots game.
- Gary Marbry breaks down the overtime win with stats and facts.
- Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by Patriots skill-position players on offense. Deion Branch played 54 total snaps in debut.
- Mike Reiss looks at the players who show up on three or four of the team's big special teams' units.
- Mike Reiss looks at the positional groupings that the Patriots utilized against the Ravens.
- Mike Reiss breaks down the sack total and looks at how well Brady has been protected.
- Matt Pepin reports Joe Flacco thought he had the game won but the Patriots defense started playing well and that made the difference.
- WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady Q&A, Vince Wilfork and Boomer Esiason highlights.
- Tom E. Curran notes Tom Brady thinks the Ravens "talk a lot for beating us once in nine years."
- Christopher L. Gasper and Shalise Manza Young offer their take on the Patriots' 23-20 victory over the Ravens yesterday. (3.06 min. video)
NATIONAL NEWS
- NFL Game Center: Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots. Recap, analysis, stats & plays, and that nifty highlight video.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Minus Moss, Brady still wears down Ravens.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Rapid Reaction: Patriots 23, Ravens 20.
- Kerry J. Byrne (Cold Hard Football Facts) Old school: Patriots turn back the clock.
- Clifton Brown (Sporting News) Just like old times for Patriots' Deion Branch.
- Dave Goldberg (NFL Fanhouse) He's no Randy Moss, but Deion Branch exactly what Patriots needed Sunday.
- Aaron Wilson (Nat'l Football Post) Patriots make good use of Deion Branch, Danny Woodhead.
- Clifton Brown (Sporting News) Jets castoff Woodhead is ecstatic with new role.
- ESPN Stats and Information Inside the numbers: Pats' passing game.
- Peter King (SI) MMQB: It's time for the NFL to get serious after weekend of vicious hits.
- Don Banks (SI) Inside the NFL: That old Patriots magic, another QB quandary in Philly and more.
- Dan Shaugnessy (SI) New-look Patriots feeling like their old championship selves again.
- James Walker (ESPN) Wrap-up: Patriots 23, Ravens 20 OT.
- Mike Pereira (Fox Sports) Helmet-to-helmet hits mar Week 6.
- Andrew Perloff (SI) Quick-hitting insights from the slate of 1 p.m. games.
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Week 6 post game notes: early kickoffs .
- Online OT (Fox Sports) Week 6 highlights (video)
VIEW FROM BALTIMORE
- Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun) Ravens lost game, and their nerve, too.
- Jamison Hensley (Baltimore Sun) Ravens cave in fourth quarter as Patriots win 23-20 in OT.
- Ryan Mink (BaltimoreRavens.com) Defense uncharacteristically relinquished lead.
- Mike Duffy (BaltimoreRavens.com) Game recap - Ravens vs. Patriots.
- Kevin Van Valkenburg (Baltimore Sun) Five things we learned in the Ravens' 23-20 loss.