Last modified: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 12:24 AM EST New England head coach Bill Belichick talks with safety James Sanders (right) during Monday night's win over Baltimore. (Staff photo by KEITH NORDSTROM) Pats learn from close call BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF BALTIMORE - Love was in the air Monday night at M&T Bank Stadium, at least briefly. How else would you explain Brian Billick's kiss-blowing exchange with Rodney Harrison at a moment of meltdown for Billick's Ravens? The veteran Baltimore coach, known as one of the league's more talkative self-promoters, didn't stick around long after his team's 27-24 loss to the Patriots to explain why, as James Sanders was returning an interception of a Kyle Boller pass to the very doorstep of the Patriots' end zone, he blew kisses to Harrison, the Patriots' veteran safety. Perhaps it's just part of the by-play of professional athletes and coaches to want to jab at each other through words or gestures in the heat of battle. Whatever it was, Harrison didn't seem to take it too seriously afterward. "I was excited," Harrison said, referring to the interception by Sanders, "and I looked over and (Billick) was doing that. It was kind of strange. But he's a tremendous coach and he does a great job. We were just having some fun." It probably didn't look like fun to the Ravens today as they viewed game films of their monumental meltdown in a game in which they could have finally ended the Patriots' unbeaten run. Nor would the Patriots expect to be overjoyed about a game in which they were basically kicked around and backed up on their heels for 59 minutes and 16 seconds. Even after Jabar Gaffney's 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Patriots ahead with 44 seconds left, they needed to benefit from two 15-yard penalties against the Ravens' Bart Scott on the touchdown play for barking at the officials and then throwing one of their penalty flags into the stands to keep the Ravens from easily getting into field goal range at the end. Forced to go for the Hail Mary, Boller almost succeeded, finding Mark Clayton just inside the Patriots' 3 before Eric Alexander wrapped him up and dropped him to end the game. "I felt that this was the first time all year that we got bullied," Harrison said. "We can't allow teams to run the ball and pound it like that. There are times when this is a 'mano-on-mano' battle, and they were winning it. "Tonight's game showed we have a lot of problems, and we're going to look at film and make corrections before we play Pittsburgh," he said. "You've got to learn from winning," added Adalius Thomas, the former Baltimore linebacker. "It's better to learn from winning than to learn from losing. There was a lot of bad football today, but we won and that's the bottom line." Clearly, the Ravens still have a few things to learn about keeping their cool under pressure. A poorly-timed timeout call by Billick and a holding penalty against Jamaine Winborne on the Patriots' last possession were lack-of-composure failings, and Scott's two personal fouls were clearly the sign of a team that had allowed itself to become cocky with the lead in its hands and couldn't handle the pressure to maintain it. In fact, Patriots' receiver Randy Moss said, the Ravens were veritable Chatty Cathys on the field all night long. "There was just so much trash-talking, from guys who really hadn't done anything in the league," Moss said. "So, basically, me being a 10-year vet and seeing those other guys out there talking smack … it was a good thing for the offense that Jabar Gaffney came up with a key catch for six. "We shut them up and that was a good thing," he said. "I'm not a trash-talker. I talk with my play, not with my mouth." It will be a short week for the Patriots, who will put their 12-0 record on the line at 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium against the 9-3 Pittsburgh Steelers. Some believe that may be the best chance the rest of the NFL has for stopping the Patriots' run to an undefeated regular season. But after another skin-of-their-teeth victory, their second in two weeks, the Patriots aren't crowing about their perfection. "We have to execute better, run better routes, throw better passes, make better catches and block better," said Brady, whose 76.3 passer rating was his lowest of the season, and just his third under 100.0 this season. "We know every team is going to bring their 'A' game when they play us," Harrison said. "I don't know if it's going to help us, playing close games … I like it a lot better when we win by 30 points, I know that." MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com