FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- The Patriots never imagined they would be in such a mess when they were 4-0. Now they're struggling to avoid last place and must beat Baltimore in their final game for a shot at doing that.

The Ravens didn't have much of a chance to finish with a winning record when they were 2-5. But all they have to do to achieve that is beat a New England club in disarray.

Neither team in Sunday's matchup can make the playoffs. Yet Brian Billick is winding up his first year as Ravens coach on a roll. Pete Carroll is ending what's probably his last year as Patriots coach wondering what went wrong.

"I had no precognition that it was going to happen," Carroll said. "I'm extremely disappointed that this is what it's come to."

The final, symbolic frustration would be if the Patriots, who have lost six of their last seven, finish behind the Jets in the AFC East. New England beat New York 30-28 in the opener in which Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde suffered a season-ending injury.

But coach Bill Parcells, Carroll's predecessor with the Patriots, led them back to a 7-8 record and a tiebreaker advantage over New England. The only way the Patriots (7-8) can avoid the cellar is by winning while the Jets lose or tie against Seattle.

"That's a sick place to finish," Carroll said. "We won't be the beneficiary of a good feeling going into the offseason regardless of how this game turns out."

Even if the Patriots win, Carroll may be out of a job after three years of his five-year contract. If he is, his last week as coach might be remembered for his suspension of wide receiver Terry Glenn for not showing up to be checked by team medical personnel for a case of the flu. Glenn challenged the decision by asking for an arbitration hearing.

"Pete walked into an extremely difficult situation when he came here," said quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who is in the worst slump of his career. "He came to a team that was coming off a Super Bowl season, was following one of the biggest personalities in all of sports.

"I think he knew it was going to be a difficult situation," Bledsoe added. "I don't know if he knew exactly how difficult it was going to be."

Sunday's game figures to be very tough.

The Ravens (8-7) have won their last four games with Tony Banks throwing 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions. They'll attack Bledsoe, who has been sacked 53 times, with a defense ranked third in the NFL and tied for fourth with 47 sacks.

Baltimore's turnaround, however, can be traced to its improved offense.

"Right now, the biggest thing is that we're playing together as a team," said linebacker Ray Lewis, the NFL's leading tackler. "The whole team is clicking on all aspects of the game."

The winning streak began with a 41-14 rout of Tennessee. In their last two games, the Ravens have beaten New Orleans 31-8 and Cincinnati 22-0.

"We've been playing some pretty good defense all year long and that's been kind of the anchor," Billick said, "but, clearly, from midseason on, offensively we finally kind of got into a groove."

The Ravens averaged 13.5 points in their first seven games and 28.2 in their last eight. The Patriots have gone in the opposite direction, from 23.9 points per game in their first eight to 12.6 in their last seven. Their running game is weak and receivers have struggled to get open.

"The whole thing has been devastating, disappointing and unfathomable," Bledsoe said.

But Lewis, taking nothing for granted, said, "`They can have a bad offensive week for 16 weeks and come on the last week and play excellent."

The Patriots' primary motivation is to finish 8-8 and avoid their first losing season since 1995. But they've scored just four touchdowns in their last five games.

"It's been a disappointing second half," said left tackle Bruce Armstrong, a 13-year veteran. "There's not a lot of good you can say about it except get it over with."

Next season is a mystery. So is the coming week when Carroll's fate should become known. He's already thought about it

"There's no question that that occurs," he said, "but my competitive approach knows better to not let that be something I dwell on. What's important is I do a great job this week."

BALTIMORE Season schedule and results

NEW ENGLAND Season schedule and results

September 12 @St. Louis L 10-27 September 19 Pittsburgh L 20-23 September 26 Cleveland W 17-10 October 3 @Atlanta W 19-13 October 10 @Tennessee L 11-14 October 21 Kansas City L 8-35 October 31 Buffalo L 10-13 November 7 @Cleveland W 41-9 November 14 @Jacksonville L 3-6 November 21 @Cincinnati W 34-31 November 28 Jacksonville L 23-30 December 5 Tennessee W 41-14 December 12 @Pittsburgh W 31-24 December 19 New Orleans W 31-8 December 26 Cincinnati W 22-0 January 2 @New England 1:00pm ET

September 12 @NY Jets W 30-28 September 19 Indianapolis W 31-28 September 26 NY Giants W 16-14 October 3 @Cleveland W 19-7 October 10 @Kansas City L 14-16 October 17 Miami L 30-31 October 24 Denver W 24-23 October 31 @Arizona W 27-3 November 15 NY Jets L 17-24 November 21 @Miami L 17-27 November 28 @Buffalo L 7-17 December 5 Dallas W 13-6 December 12 @Indianapolis L 15-20 December 19 @Philadelphia L 9-24 December 26 Buffalo L 10-13 January 2 Baltimore 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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