Foxborough, Mass. -- Now, it's time to get excited about the Ravens and the playoffs.

We've seen flashes of a good football team but never for an extended period of time. But then came Sunday and a 33-14 trouncing of the New England Patriots in an AFC wild-card game.

There were a lot of positives, almost enough to make you drink the purple Kool-Aid. Almost. The Ravens beat a team that is nearly impossible to beat at home, and they beat a coach who is one of the best in NFL history.

But the best thing to happen to the Ravens was that they won against a quality quarterback with a talented passing attack. They hadn't done that since early in the season, and there was no way they were going anywhere this postseason if they couldn't.

Sunday, the Ravens trampled one of the league's best in Tom Brady, holding him to 23 completions on 42 attempts for 154 yards and three interceptions. By the second quarter, Brady was short-hopping passes for fear of being hit.

Next up are the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning.

"Those guys on the back end were spot on," said Ravens defensive end/outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. "And when that happens, we're a tough football team to beat."

But it wasn't just coverage. It started up front because the Ravens kept tremendous pressure on Brady. Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison took a lot of criticism early in the season, but he has made pretty good moves in the past two games.

A week ago, he moved his big tackles down on both Oakland guards to nullify the Raiders' running game, and Sunday he consistently blitzed his inside linebackers to get to Brady. When the Ravens didn't get sacks, they certainly knocked Brady to the ground, especially Ray Lewis.

"We just thought it was more effective if we came up the middle because he is so good at stepping aside when the pressure comes from the outside," Mattison said.

This was by far the Ravens' best effort in the secondary against a quality opponent. The Patriots hit some underneath stuff on crossing routes to Julian Edelman, but for the most part, cornerback Chris Carr shut that down. Cornerback Domonique Foxworth matched up with Patriots receiver Randy Moss, who had five catches for 48 yards but appeared uninterested in the game.

Safeties Ed Reed and Dawan Landry cut off everything across the middle, a problem area for the Ravens this season, and they wiped out New England's bread-and-butter play, the screen. The tackling on the back end was exceptional.

"I just think Greg Mattison and his staff - to start off - put a great game plan together," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "It was just a real precise game plan.The pressure was real precise."

Sustained focus

Another good sign for the Ravens was once they got the big lead at the end of the first quarter, they didn't let up. A lot of teams lose focus and allow teams to get back into the game.

The Ravens just kept mashing and mashing the Patriots. The big lead fit right into the game plan because they wanted to control the clock and run the ball. It was an easy day for Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and a long one for Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

"When your defense plays like ours did today [Sunday], they basically call the plays for you," said Cameron, whose offense rushed 52 times for 234 yards.

Wilfork said: "They came in, and they wanted it more than us. What can you say about it? Move on."

Suggs steps up

Suggs' sack early on Brady resulted in a fumble recovered by Suggs. It led to the Ravens' second touchdown in the first quarter.

Suggs played well, and even though he had just one sack, he had several quarterback hurries and was exceptionally quick off the snap count.

"When the quarterback gets in a rhythm, they want to hike the ball around the same time, especially their offense," Suggs said. It's based on timing, and once he got in that rhythm, I just want to get off, so I was just looking at [center Dan] Koppen the whole time."

Fewer flags

Ever since the flag-filled fiasco in Pittsburgh three weeks ago, the Ravens have gotten penalties under control.

The Ravens had three for 15 yards.

Instant flub

It's terrible when officials can't make the call without instant replay, and even worse when they blow it with the aid of instant replay.

Ravens running back Willis McGahee clearly had the ball over the goal line on his two-point conversion run in the fourth period.

Was that Welker?

Edelman is no Wes Welker, but he does the best impersonation I've seen. Edelman had six catches for 44 yards, two for touchdowns.

His work underneath coverage was just as effective as Welker's, and he showed tremendous grit in trying to get yards after the catch.

Smashing blocks

Never thought I would say this, but tight end Todd Heap has turned into a pretty good blocker. He has made some nice reach blocks to allow Rice to get outside, and when he blocks down, Heap actually smashes people.

Just a few years ago, you couldn't use "Heap" and "block" in the same sen- tence.

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