Ravens Lose AFC Championship in Heartbreaking Fashion

The 2011 Baltimore Ravens season came down to a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left in the 4th quarter of the AFC Championship Game. The Ravens trailed the New England Patriots 23-20, and the field goal would tie the game and almost certainly force overtime.

Billy Cundiff, a pro-bowl kicker only a season ago, trotted out and proceeded to shank the kick wide left.

And thus, the 2011 season ended in Foxborough, with a 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, who will now play the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Realistically, is the missed kick the reason the Ravens lost? No, but it's a large contributing factor. And it will surely go down in Baltimore sports infamy.

In our AFC Championship preview earlier this week, we predicted the Patriots would score 24 points, (halfway between their average ppg and the Ravens defense average ppg allowed) they scored 23. It takes a very good defensive performance to hold the Patriots offense to only 23 points, and that's exactly what the Ravens gave. Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb each notched interceptions, and two more were called back by penalty. They sacked Tom Brady only once, but held him without a touchdown pass for the first time in 36 games. Brady later said "Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us." It was as good a defensive showing as anyone can have against Brady and the Patriots offense.

As for the Ravens offense, Joe Flacco turned in one of his best performances, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Anquan Boldin had over 100 yards receiving on 6 catches. But the team had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns too often. Finally, after getting the ball back with under two minutes on the clock, Flacco led the Ravens down the field, and after a near touchdown to Lee Evans, the team had to settle for a field goal try for the third time in the game. It was an ultra-high pressure kick, and Cundiff couldn't deliver. "It's a kick I've kicked probably a thousand times in my career, I went out there and didn't convert. That's the way things go." Cundiff said.

And so, the most talented Ravens team in recent memory, the team that overtook Pittsburgh to win the AFC North, that finally earned a playoff bye and a home playoff game, is left to ask what could have been.