Baltimore's great start

AMERICAN FOOTBALL NFL:THE BALTIMORE Ravens rode three early touchdowns to crush New England 33-14 in the AFC wildcard game yesterday, the Patriots' first home play-off loss in more than 20 years.

The Ravens never trailed after a dramatic 83-yard touchdown run by running back Ray Rice 17 seconds into the game.

Rice, a second-year pro, rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns to anchor Joe Flacco’s ground-focused offense.

The Patriots started ice-cold on a bright winter day with game-time temperatures of -7 0C.

Dynamic New England quarterback Tom Brady fumbled once and threw two interceptions in the first quarter, each time leaving Baltimore in a strong scoring position. The Ravens’ 24 first-quarter points haul matched an NFL play-off record.

Baltimore next face the New York Jets in the AFC divisional round.

Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and the NFL’s top-ranked defence carried the Jets to a 24-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC wild card game on Saturday.

Sanchez enjoyed a brilliant play-off debut, completing 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown to become just the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 to start and win a play-off game.

“He (Sanchez) has been getting better and getting better and tonight, what a performance by him,” Jets rookie head coach Rex Ryan said. “You see that swagger and that confidence he has, he’s ready to go after them.”

The Dallas Cowboys ended 13 years of play-off frustration with a crushing, 34-14 wild-card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

The red-hot Cowboys, who will play at the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC divisional play-off game next Sunday, had not won a postseason contest since 1996.

Tony Romo passed for two touchdowns and running back Felix Jones rambled 73 yards for a score as the Cowboys won their fourth consecutive game. They also shut out the Eagles 24-0 last Sunday in the regular season.