That one hurt. The Ravens didn’t lose because of the officiating — although the refs’ creative spotting certainly didn’t help — they lost because they couldn’t make enough big plays.

Offense: B-
After the Ravens successful opening drive, the offensive line had trouble keeping the Patriots from getting to Joe Flacco, and things sputtered for the rest of the half. Surprisingly, the Ravens didn’t run the ball more often. For the most part, when they did, it worked, but they only rushed the ball 17 times over the course of the game. Derrick Mason was amazing on that opening drive, catching six passes, one for a touchdown. But then he and the rest of the receivers disappeared for a while. Following Jared Gaither’s injury, with Michael Oher at left tackle and Marshall Yanda at right tackle, the pass protection improved in the second half. Flacco looked poised on that last drive, although it was not meant to be.

Mark Clayton: F-
He’s paid to do one thing. And although he did five catches for 45 yards, that doesn’t make up for his monumental fourth-down drop.

Ravens receiver Mark Clayton can't hang on to the ball and gets hit by New England Patriots safety Brandon McGowan, left, and cornerback Darius Butler.

Defense: B-
The defense hung tough, holding the Patriots to a field goal following a Chris Carr fumble on the opening kickoff. But they broke several times — rather than bending — later in the game. It seemed like the secondary could have problems covering 6-foot-5 Randy Moss (and he did score a touchdown), but it was Wes Welker and Ben Watson who gave the Ravens fits. Terrell Suggs had a strong game — and a debatable roughing-the-passer penalty. But Dawan Landry struggled. The Ravens sacked Tom Brady three times, but it seemed like more often than not that he had a too much time to throw.

Special Teams: C
Sam Koch continues to be a beast. And Carr continues to be trouble.

Next week, the Ravens welcome the Bengals to Baltimore. --- RONALD T. ZIZMOR.