THE INTENSITY SPOKE to how important the two teams thought this game to be, even so early in the season. From the seats to the sidelines to the line of scrimmage, everyone at M&T Stadium seemed well aware that Sunday night's battle between Baltimore and New England could have significant implications a few months later, when it comes to slotting the conference playoffs.

It was evident in the chippiness, the fighting, the fierce physicality. And if the Patriots do indeed wind up in a position where things such as seeding actually come to matter, the ability to counterpunch like they did against the Ravens — more importantly between the whistles than after them — figures to be a critical asset.

Ultimately they didn't get the chance to punch back, as the Ravens landed the final blow by going 80 yards in the last two minutes to pull out a come-from-behind, 31-30 victory. But considering this was in Baltimore, against another AFC power, their response leading up to that point was encouraging enough.

The Patriots defense dominated the game early, forcing the Ravens into a three-and-out after a brutal opening series gave the home team good field position, getting a Steve Gregory interception that led to a score, and prompting another punt after a decent kick return by Baltimore. Stephen Gostkowski field goals of 37 and 49 yards sandwiched Brandon Bolden's 2-yard touchdown run to give New England a 13-0 lead after the opening quarter.

The Ravens responded effectively, capping an 82-yard drive with a 25-yard scoring pass from Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith, then covering 92 yards on a series that ended with a 20-yard Flacco-to-Dennis Pitta strike.

That put the Patriots behind, 14-13, with less than two minutes to go before halftime.

But they refused to go to the locker room without landing the last blow. Or let the Ravens translate those two long drives to control of the contest.

First, Tom Brady directed a drive that covered 81 yards in 99 seconds, and beat the first-half buzzer with a 7-yard touchdown toss to Julian Edelman. Then, even after the Ravens used the opening series of the third quarter to reach the end zone on Ray Rice's 7-yard run, New England answered again.

By increasing the tempo the Pats were able to dictate Baltimore's personnel, and Danny Woodhead's sixth touch of a 12-play possession took him into the end zone on a 3-yard jaunt.

And that's when New England's defense got tough — promisingly, smartly, resiliently tough — once again.

Staked to a 27-21 lead, they initially allowed a 38-yard pass to Smith, but subsequently forced Baltimore backward into their own territory, and gave the ball back to their offense. Brady used that opportunity to produce a chip-shot field goal, and then the defense delivered again — this time blowing up the Ravens' attempt at a fourth-down conversion when safety Patrick Chung came unblocked off the edge.

The Ravens took one final shot late in the fourth quarter, when they took advantage of a phantom foul for illegal contact and turned a failed third-down try into a touchdown drive that made it 30-28 when Flacco found Smith from 5 yards away with 4:01 to go.

That put the Patriots offense in a position where it was their turn to respond. And they did. Aided by a couple of penalties — including a questionable contact infraction that negated a Lardarius Webb interception — they moved the ball to midfield by the two-minute warning.

Ultimately the Patriots surrendered more than 100 yards rushing to Rice, more than 100 yards receiving to Smith, and more than 300 yards passing to Flacco. But the defense made enough of a difference when it had the chance. And Brady's offense answered with the necessary scores whenever Baltimore seemingly had a chance to take control of the game.

The Patriots knew they were headed for a fight. They certainly got one.

They just couldn't land the knockout blow.

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In their first game without Aaron Hernandez after the tight end sprained his ankle in last week's loss to the still-unbeaten Cardinals, a big question facing the Patriots offense was how it would make up for his missing production.

Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd took care of that just fine.

Amid much speculation over the supposed reduction of his role, Welker made eight catches for 142 yards, while Lloyd was a weapon who made a major difference in stretching the field horizontally. He made nine grabs for 108 yards, most of them along the sidelines.

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With Hernandez out, the two players signed this week to help replace him, Deion Branch and Kellen Winslow Jr., were both dressed for New England. Both made catches, too, with Branch contributing to New England's scoring drive at the end of the first half.

Beyond Hernandez, defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick and substitute offensive lineman Nick McDonald were the most noteworthy players deactivated the Pats, joined by rookies Alfonzo Dennard, Jake Bequette and second-year running back Shane Vereen.

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Even the most passionate of Patriots fans had to be happy for Smith when the Ravens receiver caught a second-quarter touchdown — less than 24 hours after learning that his brother had died in a motorcycle accident.

Smith left the team hotel at 2 a.m. Sunday after receiving the news, and as word spread around football circles dozens of NFL players took to Twitter to express their sympathies prior to the start of Sunday's action. That included Pats cornerback Devin McCourty — “Hearing the news about torrey smith's brother is really disheartening. Thoughts are with the smith family” — while Smith himself shared pictures and thoughts through his own handle.

“I can't believe my little brother is gone...be thankful for your loved ones and tell them you love them...this is the hardest thing ever,” he tweeted.

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Dave D'Onofrio covers the Patriots for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is ddonof13@gmail.com.