Ravens' Harbaugh: Patriots used deceptive, illegal formations

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after his team's season-ending loss to the New England Patriots on Saturday that his opponents should have been penalized for running illegal plays. 

Harbaugh's beef is with the unique offensive formations the Patriots used in the game's third quarter. Ostensibly to slow down the Ravens' pass rush, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick lined up only four offensive lineman along the line of scrimmage and used another player as an ineligible receiver.

Harbaugh told reporters the formations were "deceptive" and did not allow the Ravens to make the necessary substitutions and identify the eligible receivers, adding he believes the Patriots should have been penalized.

"It's not something that anybody has ever done before," Harbaugh said, according to NFL.com. "They're an illegal type of a thing and I'm sure that (the league will) make some adjustments and things like that."

Harbaugh said he had to take a penalty to get the officials to talk to him and give his team the chance to identify the eligible receivers, but stopped short of calling what the Patriots did cheap or dirty.