FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- On a day when the Ravens could have laid claim to being the best team in the NFL, they let the opportunity - and the ball - slip through their grasp.
Wide receiver Mark Clayton's dropped fourth-down pass at the New England 8-yard line ended the Ravens' last-minute comeback bid in a 27-21 loss to the Patriots and finished off a mistake-filled game for the NFL's second-ranked offense.
"It was a perfect ball. I dropped it," Clayton said after the Ravens came up 14 yards short of the end zone. "I just wasn't able to come up with it, and it cost us the game.
"It hurts tremendously because you want to win the game and you want the ball in a critical situation. To not be able to come up with it is tough."
The Ravens' first regular-season loss since Dec. 14, 2008, dropped them into a tie atop the AFC North with the Cincinnati Bengals (3-1), who come to M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The Ravens (3-1) might have become the class of the NFL if their offense had continued its early-season run against the Patriots (3-1), a franchise that has defined success this decade.
But Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw his first interception in the red zone this season. The Ravens couldn't gain a yard to keep their second-to-last drive alive, getting stopped on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. And their receivers failed to catch the ball on the final drive.
Needing a touchdown to win, the Ravens had three dropped passes in the red zone during the last 70 seconds of the game. On first down, Clayton ran a fade route and got one hand on the ball in the end zone. After a 6-yard catch by Kelley Washington, Derrick Mason couldn't pull in a third-down pass that sailed a little behind him. Then, on fourth down, Clayton watched the ball bounce off his chest.
If Clayton had made the catch, the Ravens would have had first down at the New England 8-yard line with 28 seconds to go.
"We made some great catches in that very drive, and we didn't come up with some catches," coach John Harbaugh said. "Those are all tough catches. Protection's got to be there. Throw's got to be there. It all goes together. You can't single [out] one thing."
The Ravens dealt with emotional issues throughout the game. Offensive tackle Jared Gaither was carted off the field in the second quarter, but team officials said he had feeling in his extremities, and X-rays were negative.
