Wilfork: ‘This team never gives up’

By Chad Finn

January 22, 2012

2 minutes to read

By Chad Finn, Globe Staff

By practically any measure, Vince Wilfork has had an excellent NFL career. In his eight seasons, he’s made four Pro Bowls, been named second-team All-Pro four times, and won a Super Bowl as a rookie with the 2004 Patriots.

But it’s hard to remember any single game in which the defensive tackle was as dominant as he was tonight.

Wilfork had six tackles (three solo), a sack, three tackles for a loss in the Patriots’ 23-20 victory over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. But the numbers don’t do his performance justice, especially this one: one quarterback hit.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco might dispute that one.

Wilfork’s two biggest plays came back to back on the Ravens’ second-to-last possession. With the Ravens trailing, 23-20, and facing third and 3 at the Patriots 30, Wilfork plowed through the Ravens’ line and hauled down running back Ray Rice for a 3-yard loss.

On fourth and 6, the Ravens went for it, with Flacco in the shotgun following a Baltimore timeout. But nearly as soon as the snap reached his hands, Wilfork was bearing down on him, and his pass intended for Dennis Pitta fell to the turf. It was a pivotal sequence, and one that symbolized Wilfork’s performance all afternoon.

Wilfork said playing with extraordinary intensity was something he and his teammates had discussed.

“[The key to the victory was] playing physical,” Wilfork said. “We knew the Ravens coming in, they were going to play physical. We knew that. We had to match their intensity and I think we did a great job of that tonight. Our main thing was coming out and not giving up any big plays and playing for 60 minutes. We did that.”

The Patriots did give up a couple of big plays in the passing game — Anquan Boldin (six catches, 101 yards) had a 37-yard reception, and Torrey Smith had a 42-yarder that would have been a sure touchdown had Flacco made a better throw. But Wilfork and the Patriots did a fine job with their No. 1 defensive priority — containing multi-threat running back Ray Rice (67 rushing yards, one reception for 11 yards).

“We’re hungry and we’re very passionate about what we do and we get it,” said Wilfork, who also buried Ricky Williams for a 5-yard loss. “That’s the good thing about this team. The team never gives up. I don’t care what the score may look like, this team never gives up. And that is a characteristic of a championship team.”