Nov 29, 2004 3 min read

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – The New England Patriots showed the stingiest team in the NFL that they also can dominate on defense. They shut down Baltimore 24-3 Sunday, scoring on a fumble recovery and holding the Ravens to 124 yards. On three series when the Ravens stopped New England from scoring touchdowns, Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals, stretching his streak to 21 straight successful kicks.

Corey Dillon rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

The Patriots (10-1) took a 21-point lead against a team playing without sidelined running back Jamal Lewis by scoring two touchdowns in the first minute of the fourth quarter with heavy rain falling.

All the Ravens (7-4) could manage was a 22-yard field goal by Matt Stover 2 seconds before halftime.

New England won its fourth straight game despite having its top three cornerbacks sidelined – Ty Law, Tyrone Poole and Asante Samuel – while Baltimore’s winning streak ended at three.

The Patriots set an NFL record by scoring first in their 16th straight regular-season game, breaking a tie for the mark set by Miami in 1978. But the Ravens managed to stop another streak in the first quarter – 16 consecutive quarters in which the Patriots scored.

Baltimore had given up a league-low 14 points a game in its first 10 games and allowed just one offensive touchdown Sunday on a 1-yard run by Dillon with 3 seconds gone in the fourth quarter. Dillon ran for a 2-point conversion.

Then Baltimore’s Kyle Boller got a taste of what his defense usually inflicts on opposing quarterbacks when he was sacked on consecutive plays. The last one jarred the ball loose and it rolled toward the end zone. Chester Taylor, playing in place of Lewis, slid on the muddy field and hit it into the end zone, where Jarvis Green recovered for a touchdown.

Before those touchdowns, Vinatieri had given the Patriots a 9-3 lead with field goals of 28, 40 and 48 yards. His only miss of the season came on Oct. 10, a 47-yarder against Miami.

The Patriots took a 3-0 lead on the second play of the second quarter on the 28-yarder. The Ravens tied it on the next to last play of the half on Stover’s field goal.

Baltimore may not have scored those points had the Patriots played well on the previous possession. Dillon ran out of bounds on a 3-yard gain with 56 seconds left, stopping the clock when Baltimore had one timeout.

The Patriots punted, but two penalties gave the Ravens the ball at the New England 16. Six plays later, Stover connected.

One week earlier, the Ravens scored all their points in the second half in a 30-10 win over Dallas. But New England’s defense is far superior and forced Baltimore to punt on its first two series of the second half while Vinatieri kicked two field goals on the Patriots’ opening possessions.