BALTIMORE - New England Patriots wide receiver Jabar Gaffney is the fourth, fifth or sixth option, depending on which day it is.

But with Patriots on the 8-yard line with 44 seconds remaining in the game and trailing, 24-21, Gaffney, who didn't have a reception up to that point, was thrust into the go-to role.

Lined up on the left side, Gaffney ran all the way to the back of the end zone before taking a sharp left turn. The ball was delivered on a platter by quarterback Tom Brady.

"It's a play we worked on," said Gaffney, who entered the game with 21 catches, sixth most on the team. "Basically, I was supposed to get to the back of the end zone. They don't always cover the back. I did and Tom got me the ball."

The touchdown was Gaffney's third of the season and his second in as many weeks. It was his 11th career touchdown catch and his fourth since joining the Patriots in 2006.

"I caught Jab with the corner of my eye," said Brady. "I just threw it and he made a great catch."

Banner day for Brady

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes against Baltimore to raise his season total to 41, tying the fourth-highest single-season total in NFL history .

Brady reached the 40-touchdown mark when he hit Randy Moss for a 3-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to tie the game at 17.

Brady joins Peyton Manning (49 touchdown passes in 2004), Dan Marino (48 in 1984; 44 in 1986) and Kurt Warner (41 in 1999) in the 40-TD club.

Brady's 41 touchdown passes have eclipsed the Patriots' old single-season mark of 31, set by Vito "Babe" Parilli in 1964.

Three yards to glory

On the final play of the game, Baltimore completed a Hail Mary pass, but Eric Alexander brought down Baltimore's Mark Clayton at the 3-yard line as time expired to preserve New England's comeback win.

What the referees didn't call on the play was Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel being hugged, grabbed and shoved by Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason.

"I couldn't believe it," said Samuel. "I didn't know who it was, but they were all over me. The ref said he didn't see it. I don't know how he could have missed it."

Moss ties personal record

Randy Moss caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the third quarter, tying his single-season career high with his 17th touchdown reception of the season. Moss also caught 17 touchdown passes for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 and 2003. Moss' 17 touchdown receptions are a Patriots record, topping Stanley Morgan's 12 touchdown catches in 1979.

He also equalled Curtis Martin's 17 touchdowns in 1996. That season, Martin scored 14 rushing touchdowns and also had three touchdown receptions.

On a 6-yard catch in the second quarter, Moss passed the 1,100-yard receiving mark for the season, becoming the fifth player in Patriots history to reach that mark. Following that catch, Moss had 1,101 yards on 72 catches. Moss joins Stanley Morgan (1,491 yards in 1986), Troy Brown (1,199 in 2001), Ben Coates (1,174 in 1994) and Terry Glenn (1,147 in 1999 and 1,132 in 1996).

Moss has exceeded the 1,100-yard receiving mark seven times in his 10 years in the NFL, but this was the first time since gaining a career-high 1,632 receiving yards in 2003 with Minnesota.

Moss also caught the 750th pass of his career, a 3-yard touchdown reception from Brady in the third quarter. Moss became the 25th player in NFL history to achieve the 750-catch milestone.

Maroney gets a pass for receiving

While Laurence Maroney has been a disappointment for most of the season - he entered last night with only 467 rushing yards - he had two big catches last night for big first downs.

Maroney caught two passes for 79 yards, setting a new single-game career high for receiving yards. He snared a 43-yard pass in the fourth quarter and a 36-yard pass in the third quarter. Maroney topped his previous career high of 61 receiving yards, achieved on Sept. 24, 2006 against Denver.

Maroney rushed for only 44 yards on 13 carries last night, which is almost exactly what he has averaged over the six games since his only 100-yard game against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 23.

Strong start

New England scored on its opening possession for the 11th time in 12 games this season when Stephen Gostkowski hit a 21-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead. On their 12 game-opening possessions this season, the Patriots have scored eight touchdowns and three field goals and have punted once.

Quick hits

Tom Brady ran for a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-6 with 1:48 remaining to extend New England's game-winning drive.

Heath Evans' 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was New England's 16th rushing touchdown of the season. The Patriots have scored a rushing touchdown in 10 of 12 games this season.

Junior Seau stuffed Musa Smith for a 2-yard loss on third down late in the second quarter, forcing a Baltimore punt on the next play.

Kevin Faulk stripped Baltimore's Ed Reed of the football, forcing him to fumble following his long interception return in the second quarter. Benjamin Watson pounced on the loose ball to give the Patriots possession at their own 28-yard line.

The 53-yard reception by Baltimore's Devard Darling was the second longest play allowed by New England this season, trailing only a 73-yard touchdown catch by Indianapolis' Joseph Addai on Nov. 4.

Did you know that ....

Tom Brady wasn't the only "steal" from the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 186th overall pick, 13 picks before Brady was chosen.

Benjamin Watson's parents, Diana and Ken, both graduated from the University of Maryland and both were student-athletes. Diana was a synchronized swimmer and Ken was a linebacker.

Ravens center Mike Flynn played at the University of Maine after growing up in Springfield, Mass.

Ravens cornerback Corey Ivy was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 1999.

Brady and Drew Bledsoe both reached the 25,000-yard plateau in their seventh season as a starter for the Patriots.

By the numbers

4 - Quarterbacks who have thrown for 40 TDs in a season after Tom Brady's third quarter TD pass to Randy Moss.

4 - Patriots teams that have won 12 or more games in the regular season.

7 - Consecutive games in which a Ravens back has scored a touchdown.

15 - Consecutive regular-season wins for the Patriots, three short of a club record (10-5-03 to 10-24-04).

27 - Career fourth-quarter comebacks for Tom Brady.