The New England Patriots preserved their perfect record by a whisker on Monday as Tom Brady piloted yet another late-game scoring drive in a thrilling 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
With 44 seconds left to play, Brady threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney as the Patriots became just the sixth team in National Football League history to start a season with a 12-0 record.
The last team to do so was the 2005 Indianapolis Colts.
The Patriots took over at their own 27-yard line with 3:30 left in the game and drove 73 yards for the winning touchdown.
It was the 21st game-winning drive led by Brady since 2001 -- an NFL high -- and came on a night when Brady became just the fourth quarterback in league history to throw 40 touchdowns in a season.
But the Patriots were pushed to the brink by an intense Ravens team.
The Ravens appeared to have the game won when they stopped Brady on a 4th-and-goal with 1:48 to play. But Baltimore coaching staff called a timeout from the sideline just before the snap and the play was negated.
"We didn't feel like we were in the right configuration," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "We felt we needed a better [defensive] call."
After Brady kept the drive going with a fourth-down scramble, the Ravens again appeared to have locked up the game when Brady's fourth-down pass in the end zone was incomplete.
But Ravens cornerback Jamaine Winborne was called for defensive holding in the end zone, giving the Patriots first-and-goal at the 8-yard line.
With 50 seconds left, Brady connected with Gaffney in the left corner of the end zone.
"I saw Jab [Gaffney] out of the corner of my eye and just laid it up there," Brady said. "I told him it was the best catch of his career. It was a hell of a time to do it."
Despite two penalties that gave them terrible field position on the ensuing kickoff, Baltimore still came close to a stunning victory as Kyle Boller found Mark Clayton with a Hail Mary pass just two yards short of a touchdown.
The score was 10-10 at halftime, and the Ravens took the second-half kickoff and drove 73 yards in eight plays -- Willis McGahee scoring from 17 yards to make it 17-10.
Brady completed all four of his passing attempts on the ensuing possession, and connected with Randy Moss from three yards to make it 17-17.
That was Brady's 40th touchdown pass of the season, a milestone previously reached only by Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.
Baltimore responded, however, with Daniel Wilcox's one-yard touchdown reception making it 24-17 35 seconds into the final quarter.
But Baltimore's next drive ended when Boller was intercepted at the one-yard line by New England's James Sanders, who returned the ball 42 yards.
That led to a 38-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski that pulled New England within 24-20.
"It came down to third downs, fourth downs," said Brady, who finished just 18-of-38 for 257 yards, two touchdowns and interception. "We executed when we needed to."
McGahee rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown for Baltimore, who entered the game as 20-point underdogs and suffered their sixth straight defeat.
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