The Patriots aren’t done quite yet after a rain-soaked upset of the Ravens

“Just finding ways to win,” quarterback Cam Newton said, “and that’s pretty much been it.”

“I don’t necessarily say it’s a turning point,” Newton said in a postgame video news conference. “We just want to keep getting better each and every week. And I think we’ve been showing that, finding different ways to win…. As this season keeps going, we just want to keep transcending upwardly in a way that our team is getting better week by week.”

Newton ran for a touchdown, and running back Rex Burkhead had two touchdown catches for New England. One of Burkhead’s touchdown catches came on a pass from Newton. The other came on a gadget-play throw by wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, a high school quarterback who was moved to wide receiver while at North Carolina State.

“Once a quarterback, always a quarterback,” Newton said. “I’m pretty sure Julian Edelman [the injured Patriots wideout who was a college quarterback] is somewhere smiling… but nervous at the same time, if you know what I mean.”

Tailback Damien Harris ran for 121 yards, and the Patriots went without a turnover in the increasingly sloppy conditions.

“It was a tough, physical game,” Coach Bill Belichick said. “I’m proud of the way our guys played. We ran the ball pretty competitively. We stopped the run competitively. We took advantage of our scoring opportunities. We just played a good, solid 60-minute football game, which is what it takes in this league. I’m proud of the way the guys competed…. What we did this week was keep making steady progress. We’re definitely headed in the right direction.”

The Ravens dropped to 6-3 and fell three games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Their hopes of another division title are slipping away and last season’s offensive dominance remains elusive.

“We’re ticked off…. Nobody [likes] losing,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “I know none of you guys would like losing, especially when we know we’ve got a lot of talent on our team. We’ve just got to regroup.”

Wide receiver Willie Snead caught two touchdown passes from Jackson, one on a short forward flip on what amounted to an end-around. Kicker Justin Tucker added a field goal. But Jackson threw a pass intercepted by Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson late in the first half, and the Ravens had a costly fourth-down failure in the third quarter in which they failed to complete a direct snap to tailback Mark Ingram.

Another errant snap by center Matt Skura marred a fourth-quarter drive for the Ravens, leading to a punt. The Ravens got the ball back at their 17-yard line with a little more than a minute remaining but made little progress on their last-gasp drive. Jackson threw a fourth-down incompletion with two seconds left to seal the outcome.

The Ravens also lost tight end Nick Boyle to a season-ending knee injury. It made for a miserable night all around for them.

“By the fourth quarter, it was a heavy downpour,” Snead said. “It did mess with some of our snaps…. But the rain is uncontrollable. We’ve got to do better in those situations. It’s just a couple things didn’t go our way, unfortunately. The weather played a big part. But we’ve just got to overcome those things. We’ve got to do better.”

Coach John Harbaugh attributed the snap issues to the conditions.

“That’s not an excuse,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, we still have to make the snaps. They made their snaps. But I think that’s the main reason.”

Said Jackson: “The conditions, the weather wasn’t on our side. Every time we were up, the rain just started pouring down even harder. But, you know, it’s part of football. Things happen. The weather is not always going to be perfect. We’ve still got to find a way to pull through, pull out a victory. And we just didn’t tonight.”

November 15, 2020 at 11:04 PM EST

Bad snap leads to Ravens punt

By Mark Maske

The Ravens had possession of the ball with a chance to drive to a go-ahead touchdown but were undone by another errant snap by center Matt Skura. Lamar Jackson had to fall on the loose football after Skura’s low shotgun snap. That 16-yard loss led to a Ravens punt. (Patriots 23, Ravens 17 with 4:20 left in the 4th quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 10:36 PM EST

Ravens cut into Pats’ lead with second Jackson-to-Snead touchdown

By Mark Maske

The Ravens made it a one-score game entering the fourth quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to wide receiver Willie Snead IV.

Along the way, they converted on fourth and one from the New England 48-yard line. (Patriots 23, Ravens 17 with 8 seconds left in the 3rd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 10:20 PM EST

Pats get field goal after Newton misses Meyers in end zone

By Mark Maske

The Patriots turned the Ravens’ fourth-down gaffe into a 20-yard field goal by kicker Nick Folk. Cam Newton had Jakobi Meyers wide open in the end zone on third and goal from the 2-yard line. But Newton’s low throw arrived at Meyers on one hop for an incompletion and a missed opportunity. That keeps the Ravens in the game, but they’d better start playing much better. (Patriots 23, Ravens 10 with 6:24 left in the 3rd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 10:14 PM EST

Ravens fail on fourth down

By Mark Maske

Things went from bad to worse for the Ravens, who failed on a fourth-and-one try thanks to a mishandled snap in wildcat formation. The Ravens were attempting a direct snap to tailback Mark Ingram. But the snap was not completed. Ingram fell on the loose football, and the Patriots took possession at the Baltimore 37-yard line.

Do you really need to snap the ball to someone other than Lamar Jackson on fourth and one? (Patriots 20, Ravens 10 with 9:40 left in the 3rd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 10:04 PM EST

Newton’s touchdown gets Patriots off to quick start in second half

By Mark Maske

The Patriots are off to a terrific start in the second half as Cam Newton scored a four-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper.

The Patriots moved 75 yards in only four plays. Tailback Damien Harris had runs of 16 and 25 yards. He’s over 100 rushing yards on the night. Newton had a 26-yard completion to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and the Ravens added a personal foul. (Patriots 20, Ravens 10 with 13:17 left in the 3rd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 9:57 PM EST

Patriots lead Ravens at half as Lamar Jackson throws late interception

By Mark Maske

The Patriots have raised their level of play and lead the Ravens 13-10 following a crisp and entertaining first half played in difficult conditions on a rainy Sunday night in Foxborough, Mass.

Running back Rex Burkhead had two touchdown catches on passes thrown by two Patriots. The first came on a swing pass from quarterback Cam Newton. The second came on a trick play on a pass thrown by wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, a former high school quarterback who was moved to wide receiver while in college at North Carolina State.

The Ravens outgained the Patriots 212 total yards to 163 in the half but managed only one touchdown and one field goal. Wide receiver Willie Snead IV had the touchdown on a flip pass by quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Jackson threw an interception to cornerback J.C. Jackson in the final seconds of the first half with the Ravens trying to maneuver into position for a tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. Jackson challenged Jackson with a deep throw. But Jackson responded with his league-leading sixth interception of the season. He has interceptions in five straight games. (Patriots 13, Ravens 10 at halftime)

November 15, 2020 at 9:34 PM EST

Patriots get touchdown on trick play as Jakobi Meyers passes to Rex Burkhead

By Mark Maske

The Patriots grabbed the lead with a gadget-play touchdown on a pass from wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to running back Rex Burkhead.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw a lateral to his left to Meyers, who was converted from quarterback to wide receiver in college. Meyers lofted a pass across the field to Burkhead, who made a tumbling catch in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.

Kicker Nick Folk missed the extra point. (Patriots 13, Ravens 10 with 1:02 left in the 2nd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 9:22 PM EST

Tucker’s field goal moves Ravens back in front

By Mark Maske

The Ravens retook the lead with a 24-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker. Lamar Jackson threw low to tight end Mark Andrews in the end zone for a third-down incompletion to set up Tucker’s kick. The Ravens’ drive was aided by a lowering-the-helmet personal foul called on the Patriots, the second such penalty assessed in the first half by this officiating crew. (Ravens 10, Patriots 7 with 5:32 left in the 2nd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 9:09 PM EST

Patriots pull even on Newton-to-Burkhead touchdown

By Mark Maske

The Patriots promptly responded to the Ravens’ touchdown with one of their own. Running back Rex Burkhead caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton.

Burkhead got a block by wide receiver N’Keal Harry as he slipped out of the backfield to Newton’s right, caught Newton’s swing pass and just reached the end zone. The Patriots moved 75 yards in seven plays and were aided by a lowering-the-helmet personal foul on the Ravens on a 19-yard completion to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Newton also had a 20-yard completion to tight end Ryan Izzo. (Ravens 7, Patriots 7 with 11:46 left in the 2nd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 9:00 PM EST

Willie Snead’s touchdown caps long, run-heavy drive to put Ravens ahead

By Mark Maske

The Ravens have the lead in Foxborough on a six-yard touchdown by wide receiver Willie Snead IV on the opening play of the second quarter. The play technically was a touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson. But it essentially was an end-around with a short forward flip by Jackson.

The Ravens moved 94 yards on 13 plays. They stuck to the run, with nine rushing attempts on a drive that took just more than eight minutes off the clock. (Ravens 7, Patriots 0 with 14:54 left in the 2nd quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 8:44 PM EST

Patriots convert on fourth down but end up punting

By Mark Maske

The defenses are in charge so far on a rainy evening in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots converted on fourth and one with a quarterback sneak by Cam Newton on their opening drive and reached the Baltimore 34-yard line. But Newton was sacked on third down and the Patriots punted. That came after the Ravens punted on their opening possession and committed a personal foul with a hit on Patriots returner Gunner Olszewski as he made a fair catch. (Ravens 0, Patriots 0 with 7:58 left in the 1st quarter)

November 15, 2020 at 7:31 PM EST

What to watch for during Sunday’s Ravens-Patriots matchup

By Mark Maske

The Patriots continue to try to repair their broken season while the Ravens jockey for AFC playoff position when the two teams meet on “Sunday Night Football” in Foxborough, Mass.

The Ravens served as one of the Patriots’ more unflinching AFC rivals during New England’s two-decade NFL dynasty. The John Harbaugh-coached versions of the Ravens, in particular, were consistently unafraid of the Patriots, as the two teams had a series of high-profile games and sometimes traded public barbs over gamesmanship and their relative knowledge of the intricacies of the NFL rule book.

These are different times for the Patriots, with quarterback Tom Brady now in Tampa and the team’s record at 3-5 halfway through its season. Quarterback Cam Newton has had his ups and downs as Brady’s successor. The Patriots barely avoided the ultimate indignity Monday night of losing to the New York Jets. They trailed, 27-17, in the fourth quarter but scored the game’s final 13 points and won on a field goal by kicker Nick Folk as time expired.

The Ravens are coming off a victory last Sunday at Indianapolis and have a record of 6-2 as they attempt to keep pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Third-year quarterback Lamar Jackson has not been as dominant as he was last season, when he was the league’s MVP. But if he and the Ravens can find a way to have some postseason success, all will be forgiven.

The Ravens have a few injury issues on defense. Defensive end Calais Campbell will miss the game because of a calf injury and cornerback Jimmy Smith is listed as doubtful because of an ankle injury.