Saturday night’s win by the Patriots over the Ravens included an offensive innovation that got under the skin of Ravens coach John Harbaugh. To say the least.
The Patriots used four offensive linemen and made one of the otherwise eligible receivers ineligible, with the apparent goal of confusing the Ravens regarding who would be running a pass route, and who would be staying in to block.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was asked about the controversy by reporters after the win.
“I don’t know,” Brady said. “Who knows? Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out. We obviously knew what we were doing and we made some pretty important plays. It was a real good weapon for us. Maybe we’ll have something in store next week.”
But what about Harbaugh’s claim that it was deceptive, and that the league would look at it?
“They’ll look at it then,” Brady said. “I don’t know what’s deceiving about that. [They] should figure it out.”
Right or wrong, legal or illegal, deceptive or in plain sight, it worked. And that’s all that matters at this point. The Patriots found a way to move their postseason home record against the Ravens to 2-2, as the Patriots continue to achieve far more than anyone thought they would when they started the 2014 season at 2-2.