Cam Newton tossed a touchdown pass and ran for another Sunday night and Rex Burkhead also scored a pair of touchdowns, in leading the New England Patriots to their second straight win after four consecutive losses by knocking off the Baltimore Ravens 23-17 at a rainy and windy Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.
New England (4-5) held Baltimore (6-3) to under 20 points, and that is the first time they’ve been held under that number in 32 games. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson gave them the early lead when he hit Willie Snead for a six yard score in the first quarter. Newton tied it when he found Burkhead for a seven yard passing score to even the score in the second. Justin Tucker gave the lead back to the visitors with a 24 yard field goal, but some trickery by the Patriots put them into the lead for good. On a toss from Newton, wide receiver Jakobi Myers threw for a score when he hit Burkhead for 24 yards who made a great diving catch. Baltimore had their last scoring drive stopped when JC Jackson had an interception at the New England six yard line. The hosts led 13-10 at the break.
New England took the third quarter kickoff and drove down the field, culminating with a Newton four yard keeper to extend the lead to 20-10. Nick Folk would make it 23-10 later in the quarter with a field goal from 20 yards, while Jackson would throw his second TD to Snead with 14 seconds left from 18 yards that would finish the scoring on the night as the teams went scoreless in the final quarter.
Newton finished 13-18 passing for 118 yards and a touchdown, while also adding 11 carries for 21 yards a score. Damien Harris had a big game on the ground as the Patriots rushed for 173 yards on the night. Harris had 22 carries for a career high 122 yards. Myers had five catches for 59 yards and the touchdown throw, while Burkhead caught four for 35 yards with two of those finding the endzone. Terez Hall had eight tackles, Kyle Duggar seven, and Chase Winovich six to lead the defense. Jackson set a franchise record becoming the first Patriot to ever have an interception in five straight games. For Baltimore in the loss, Jackson accounted for 304 yards of offense throwing for 249 and a pair of touchdowns and also rushing 11 times for 55 yards. Snead had five catches for 64 yards and the two scores, while Mark Andrews snagged seven catches for 61 yards. Marlon Humphrey and Patrick Queen had five tackles each in the defeat. The Ravens lost tight end Nick Boyle for the season after suffering a severe leg injury in the game. New England tries to even their record at 5-5 and win their third straight game when they visit the Houston Texans next Sunday at 1 p.m.
