Billy Cundiff wishes he could have a do over.

The Baltimore Ravens kicker missed a 32-yard field goal attempt that would have forced overtime as the New England Patriots escaped with a 23-20 victory in the AFC Championship game to advance to Super Bowl XLVI.

What pains the Ravens most is the fact that their shaky quarterback, Joe Flacco, outplayed Tom Brady, and did everything he could to try to get Baltimore passed New England. Flacco, who was 22-for-36, threw for more yards than the Patriots’ Hall of Fame quarterback and set a franchise playoff record with 306 yards to Brady’s 239. He threw two touchdown passes, to Brady’s none. He was intercepted once, Brady twice. And, he prevailed in passing rating, 95.4 percent to 57.5 percent. The Ravens had been 31-3 when Flacco had a rating of at least 95. But a dropped touchdown pass and Cundiff’s wide-left field goal in their final drive ended Baltimore’s Super Bowl rematch with the New York Giants.

For the first time in 36 games Brady did not pass for a touchdown, but his 1-yard TD quarterback sneak with 11:29 left proved to be the winning play. He took the Patriots 63 yards in 11 plays, and seemed to score on a 1-yard run. The call was overruled by replay, though, and on fourth down, Brady dived just enough over the line for the winning points. He was hit hard by Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis on the play and afterward emphatically spiked the ball in celebration of the score. According to ESPN Stats & Information, despite his poor performance on Sunday, Brady continues to move through the postseason record books, including matching Joe Montana for the most playoff wins with 16. He also surpassed Peyton Manning and Montana in career postseason completions and now only trails Brett Favre. Super Bowl XLVI will be Brady’s fifth trip to the big show equaling John Elway’s achievement with the Denver Broncos.

Before Cundiff missed, the Ravens had a chance to go ahead two plays earlier. In Brady-like fashion, Flacco took the Ravens from their 21-yard line to the Patriots 14 with a 1:44 left at Gillette Stadium. But two plays then determined the outcome. Wide receiver Lee Evans had beat New England cornerback Sterling Moore in the right corner of the end zone. Flacco’s pass appeared to be caught by Evans, but Moore managed to get a hand in the play and stripped the ball away. After another Ravens incompletion, Cundiff came on to try a 32-yard field goal that would have tied the game. He had missed only twice from inside 40 yards all season and had not missed in the fourth quarter. But he pulled this one left.

New England’s much-maligned defense came through on Sunday. The Patriots shut down Ravens star running back Ray Rice, who is the NFL’s total yardage leader, holding him to just 78 yards- his second lowest yardage of the season. Brandon Spikes intercepted Flacco in the fourth-quarter and when Baltimore threatened to score late to win their first conference title in 11 years, Moore prevented the touchdown. The Patriots held Baltimore to minus-4 yards on its first three first-down runs and forced the Ravens to go three-and-out each time. New England All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski left the game with what appeared to be a badly sprained left-ankle, but later returned. He finished with five receptions for 87 yards. Aaron Hernandez finished with seven catches for 66 yards.

Flacco entered the game having led the Ravens to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. No other quarterback had done that since the 1970 merger. He had won five postseason games in those four years. It appeared that he might have added a sixth victory, but history has a funny way of working itself out, as the Ravens fell short.

The Patriots and the Giants will both chase their fourth Super Bowl trophy in their rematch in a couple of weeks. In their last trip to the big game, the Patriots had an 18-0 record when they were stunned by the Giants four years ago. This time, they head into the championship with a 10-game winning streak. If New England wins it will be the fourth title in the Brady- Bill Belichick era. The Patriots are 3-point favorites in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (Photo)