In my inaugural year of following the NFL (first year of fantasy football), I witnessed the greatest game of my lifetime, and it has not been topped to this day after 8+ years.
December 3, 2007 was a bitterly cold Monday night. The undefeated New England Patriots (11-0) rode into Baltimore to square off against the Ravens (4-7). Although the teams were headed in different directions, on this night they would produce a terrifically competitive clash for the ages.
The emotional intensity in Baltimore was insane. There is, of course, the thrill that comes from giving an undefeated team their first loss. What is more, that past week Sean Taylor (RIP), a player on the Washington Redskins, was killed by an intruder in his home. Since many players on the Ravens also went to the same alma mater (UMiami) and played with Taylor, his number (21) was face painted on their faces, and you could feel that they were dedicating this game “for Sean.” The atmosphere was electric.
This was during my freshman year of high school, so I was trying to fall asleep at the time. At night, I usually tuned into to the radio to listen to sports (this was before I had any laptop or cell phone to keep track). But for this game, I just had to sneak downstairs to the TV after halftime and risk getting caught, because the game was so good.
As for the game itself, I don’t know if there’s a point in me narrating all the notable plays, as you can just watch the highlight video.
The final score was a 27-24 Patriots win. Mark Clayton of the Ravens caught a desperation pass as time expired, but was tackled just 2 yards short of the end zone. The Patriots took the lead when Tom Brady connected with Jabar Gaffney on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left, following a couple of calls that went against Baltimore. The Ravens appeared to have stopped the Patriots on fourth-and-1 with 1:48 left in the game, but a timeout called by the Ravens coaching staff gave the Patriots new life. Baltimore appeared to have the Patriots stopped again on the next play, but a false-start penalty gave New England a fourth-and-6 that it converted.
In short, there were lead changes, questionable penalties, and a thrilling finish. The Ravens gave the Patriots their biggest test until the infamous Super Bowl vs. the Giants.
But on that cold December night (my favorite X-mas song btw), a legendary game was played, one which I will always remember.
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