The Patriots somehow did it. Tom Brady and Co. rallied to reach their fourth-straight AFC title game, beating the Ravens 35-31 in a wild divisional round game. Here are 10 things to know about it. 

In the end, January Joe looked like December Joe

There's no denying how well Joe Flacco has played in the postseason, particularly when juxtaposed against Joe Flacco, regular-season quarterback. But on Saturday in Foxborough -- where he was previously 2-1 in the playoffs (and very easily could have been 3-0) -- he threw two interceptions, the last all but cementing a comeback win for the Patriots.

Of course, Flacco also threw four touchdowns, and looked every bit the unflappable quarterback we've come to expect in the postseason. But unlike the Steelers, whose secondary has been a liability for most of the season, the Patriots defensive backs -- including Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Devin McCourty and a revitalized Patrick Chung -- are much more formidable.

McCourty intercepted Flacco with 4:12 to go in the third quarter, and Duron Harmon did it again with 1:46 left and the Patriots clinging to a 35-31 lead (More on that below).

The storyline going into the game was about Flacco's 13 postseason touchdowns against no interceptions, which we were still talking about early in the second quarter after a short pass to running back Fitzgerald Toussaint gave Flacco 180 consecutive postseason passes without an interception (that bettered Joe Montana on the all-time).  When it was over, we were talking about the other guy... 

Tom Brady didn't wilt

It looked like more of the same for the Patriots after the Ravens jumped out to an first-quarter 14-0 lead. Baltimore has always been a tough playoff matchup for New England and Saturday's AFC Divisional matchup was living up to the pregame hype. But unlike previous get-togethers, Brady didn't get rattled and, ultimately, didn't fold. In fact, he did just the opposite, particularly in the second half when he threw two touchdowns, including the closest thing we've seen to a perfect pass:

That came with 5:21 left in the game and gave the Patriots a 35-31 lead. The throw was so good that LaFell didn't appear to see it, but it hit him in the hands and he had no choice but to catch it. (In related news: Andrew Luck needs to work on this with T.Y. Hilton.)

Brady finished 33 of 50 for 367 yards, with three touchdowns and a late first-half interception. It's no surprise that he was throwing the ball all over the yard; there was a good chance Belichick was going to put the game in his hands when they didn't activate running back Jonas Gray for the game. (Also not helping: Shane Vereen's fumble that was overturned with 9:18 to go in the game, effectively ending his evening.)

A healthy Gronk is a dangerous Gronk

In previous years, Rob Gronkowski has literally limped into the postseason. This time, he was healthy, and the Ravens had no answer for him. He had seven catches for 108 yards, including a score, and when he wasn't wreaking havoc in the middle of the field, he was opening things up for the seldom-used Michael Hoomanawanui (4 catches, 43 yards).

Gronk's third-quarter touchdown cut the Ravens' lead to 28-21:

Patriots have to be favorites to get back to the Super Bowl

Whether it's Denver or Indianapolis coming to Foxborough next week, the Patriots are the AFC's best remaining team. The defense was resilient against a good Ravens offense, and Brady finally exorcised his playoff demons against Baltimore's D. Meanwhile, in Denver, we don't know which Peyton Manning will show up, and the Colts have exactly one playmaker: Andrew Luck.

There's also this: New England's defense might be the best group since those Super Bowl-winning teams, which means less pressure on Brady to be perfect on every snap.

It wasn't all smooth sailing

Yes, the Patriots won, but things looked bleak when they trailed 14-0 early in the game. So bleak, in fact, that Brady appeared to lose his ever-loving mind ... but somehow avoided a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Which prompted Bills defensive back Aaron Williams to tweet this (though, realistically, this applies to just about anybody else in the league ):

Also, the Great Gazoo would like a word:

Darrelle Revis had a tough night (at least early)

There were some questionable calls against Revis -- both a pass interference flag and defensive holding -- but he also looked old and slow at points in the evening, including the Ravens' second touchdown, which came against the older (and, presumably, slower) Steve Smith Sr.

And that led to this:

And this...

About that suspect PI call against Revis

After Brady threw a late first-half interception, the Ravens moved into scoring position after Revis was flagged for pass interference on this:

A week after officials picked up an obvious pass interference in the Lions-Cowboys game, they called that. Not surprisingly, Revis disagreed with the flag after the game.

And Revis, who the Pats will have to pay $20 million to keep around in 2015, seemed unconcerned about how he played against Smith.

And yet this wasn't pass interference

So, yeah, no one knows the rules.

Hey, Julian Edelman was a college QB

Danny Amendola's 51-yard reception was a turning point on Saturday. (Getty Images)
Danny Amendola's 51-yard reception from Edelman was a turning point. (Getty Images)

No idea how Edelman isn't throwing passes all the time, but the timing couldn't have been better for the Patriots. This 51-yard hook-up to Danny Amendola late in the third quarter tied the score, 28-28:

Fun fact: That's the longest pass from a player other than a quarterback in playoff history. (In case you're wondering, Antwaan Randle El's Super Bowl touchdown pass to Hines Ward was a 43-yarder.)

Fun Fact, part II:

Hey, Denver or Indianapolis newspapers, don't antagonize Tom Brady...

... Not because he's above it, but because it makes Lou Merloni angry.

NFL coaches can learn something form John Harbaugh

The Ravens finished the night 1 of 9 on third downs, which is terrible by any measure. But they were 3 of 3 on fourth down, including a 4th-and-6 deep pass down the sidelines that ended in -- wait for it -- defensive pass interference against Brandon Browner. It would set up a Flacco-to-Justin Forsett touchdown pass one play later that gave the Ravens a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Clearly, those fourth-down successes weren't enough, but the Ravens were in control for much of the game because of their aggressiveness. Meanwhile, the Lions and Jim Caldwell are sitting at home because of their timidity.

Even Bill Belichick mismanages the clock

There was 1:39 left on the clock when Harmon went down in the Pats' end zone after intercepting Flacco. The Ravens had one timeout remaining as Brady took a knee on three straight plays. So with 15 seconds left, Harbaugh used that timeout, forcing the Pats to punt from their own 16 to the ever-dangerous Jacoby Jones.

As Brady came to the sidelines, he was seen asking, "Why didn't we run a play?"

It's a fair question. Not necessarily a pass play, but even a toss sweep, or a draw play would have taken more time off the clock. It didn't happen, the Pats had to punt, and lucky for them, Jacoby ran laterally for about five seconds, leaving just four ticks on the clock when Flacco heaved a Hail Mary into the end zone that, after several tense moments, finally fell harmlessly to the ground.

Belichick ties Tom Landry

Here's the final line in CBSSports.com's Ravens-Patriots GameTracker: "Brady's 19th career postseason win, extends his NFL record. Bill Belichick 20th career postseason win, ties Tom Landry for most by head coach in NFL history. Robert Kraft's 22nd career postseason win, ties Eddie DeBartolo for 4th-most all-time by an owner."

Not a bad day at the office.