AFC Championship, 2011: New England 23 Baltimore 20

Game information
With New England clinging to a 23–20 lead near the end of the game, Patriots safety Sterling Moore broke up consecutive passes in and near his own end zone, forcing Baltimore to attempt a 32-yard field goal to send it into overtime. But Billy Cundiff's kick was wide left, earning New England their seventh Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

After the game started with four punts, New England receiver Julian Edelman's 10-yard return gave his team good field position on their 39-yard line. The Patriots then drove to the Baltimore 11-yard line, aided by an illegal contact penalty on Lardarius Webb that wiped out an interception, and scored with Stephen Gostkowski's 29-yard field goal. New England quickly forced a punt, but Webb eventually intercepted a pass – for his third interception in two games – from Tom Brady on his own 30-yard line. On the next play, Joe Flacco's 42-yard completion to Torrey Smith moved the ball to the Patriots 28. However, New England's defense managed to halt the drive at the 3-yard line, where Cundiff kicked a field goal to tie the game.

In the second quarter, New England drove 75 yards to score the first touchdown of the game. The key player on the drive was running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who rushed five times for 33 yards and finished it off with a 7-yard touchdown run. Baltimore struck right back with an 80-yard scoring drive, with Flacco hitting Anquan Boldin for 37 yards and Lee Evans for 20 before finding tight end Dennis Pitta in the end zone to tie the game back up at 10. But New England retook the lead on their next drive, with Brady completing five of seven passes for 60 yards on the way to Gostkowski's second field goal, making the score 13–10 at the end of the half.

New England started off the second half with another long scoring drive, moving the ball 74 yards to the Ravens 6-yard line. But on third and two, Green-Ellis was tackled for no gain, so Gostkowski kicked his third field goal to give them a six-point lead. Later in the quarter, Baltimore took their first lead of the game, 17–16, on Flacco's 29-yard touchdown pass to Smith. Then Ravens receiver LaQuan Williams – a college teammate of Smith at the University of Maryland – forced a fumble from kick returner Danny Woodhead that Emanuel Cook recovered for Baltimore at the Pats 28-yard line, setting up Cundiff's second field goal to make the score 20–16.

Woodhead returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the 37-yard line, and the Patriots offense took the ball to the end zone from there, featuring a 23-yard reception by tight end Rob Gronkowski. On fourth down on the Ravens 1-yard line, Brady took the snap and dove over a pile of players for a touchdown, giving New England a 23–20 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes picked off a pass from Flacco and returned it 19 yards to midfield. Brady tried to capitalize on the next play with a deep pass to the end zone, but Bernard Pollard deflected the ball and Jimmy Smith made a diving interception just before it hit the ground. Then he got back up and returned the ball to the Ravens 39-yard line. Baltimore subsequently drove to the Patriots 30-yard line, but on third and three, Vince Wilfork dropped Ray Rice for a 3-yard loss. Rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal, Baltimore decided to go for it on fourth down, but Flacco's pass was incomplete and the team turned the ball over.

The Ravens defense forced a punt with 1:44 left, giving them one last chance to tie or win the game. Three receptions by Boldin for 41 yards helped move the ball to the Patriots 13-yard line. But Moore made two critical pass deflections to keep them out of the end zone. First, Evans appeared to haul in a touchdown pass, but Moore knocked the ball out of his arms just before he held it long enough for a reception. Then on third down, he broke up a pass intended for Pitta at the 2-yard line. Cundiff then came onto the field to try a 32-yard field goal attempt which would have sent the game into overtime for the first time in an AFC Championship Game in 25 years (this didn't occur until the 2018 AFC Championship). However his kick was wide left, enabling New England to run out the rest of the clock.

Flacco threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Boldin caught eight passes for 101 yards. Brady won his 16th postseason game as the Patriots quarterback, tying the NFL record held by Joe Montana. He also joined John Elway as one of the only quarterbacks ever to play in five Super Bowls.

The missed kick – and the fact that the football's laces were not out, as customary during placekicks – drew comparisons to the fictional kicker Ray Finkle from the 1994 film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, who missed a similar short-range last-second kick in their version of Super Bowl XVII. The memory of Myra Kraft inspired the Patriots and some fans credited her intervention for the miss. Robert Kraft said "We had an angel looking out for us."

This was the second postseason meeting between the Ravens and Patriots. Baltimore won the only prior meeting 33–14 in the 2009 AFC Wild Card playoffs.

Reactions
None of the Ravens players blamed the loss entirely on Cundiff.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs told ESPN that there was a miscommunication on the sideline prior to the missed field goal. He blamed it on the scoreboard, which he said inaccurately stated there was a first down. In fact, the Ravens were one yard shy.

Punter Sam Koch said the play felt rushed. Cundiff himself said he was late getting on the field.

Cundiff pointed the finger at himself alone following the game, but stated that these moments do not define a player, and that he had intended to move on with his career. He said that he had made kicks like that 1000 times before, and that there was no excuse. He said it is a lesson he would learn from. He said he hoped to make amends during the next season. Despite his statement, Cundiff was cut by the Ravens before the start of the 2012 season in favor of rookie kicker Justin Tucker.

Ravens fans reacted to the loss with shock and were described as "heartbroken".

University of Kansas basketball fans mocked Cundiff during a game that took place the following day. This included holding up white cardboard letters that spelled out C-U-N-D-I-F-F, and tilting them to the shooter's left, during the game whenever an opponent shot a free throw.

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