Baltimore Ravens |
Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 2:15 PM MDT |
New England Patriots |
||
AVG. YDS (RNK) |
TEAM CATEGORY |
AVG. YDS (RNK) |
||
13th | Pass Off. | 9th | ||
8th | Rush Off. | 18th | ||
10th | Pass Def. | 16th | ||
29th | Rush Def. | 24th | ||
11-6 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA | 12-4 | ||
3rd AFC North | Spread: Patriots by 7 | 1st AFC East | ||
Around SB Nation: Game Preview • Film Room • Ravens Soul • 3 Keys • The Hype • Patriots D |
On paper, this game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens should be a foregone conclusion. As long as the Patriots have Tom Brady, they will continue to be one of the top two seeds in the AFC every year. However, they do have a couple of playoff nemesis' out there and one of them happens to be these Joe Flacco-led Ravens.
If there is a team ripe for upset it is these Patriots. By all accounts, they are the worst ranked 12-4 team in the NFL this year when it comes to their offensive and defensive rankings. Wholly average, yet with Brady and Belichick they find ways to win.
The Ravens on the other hand should have been better than their record, but that is how the cookie crumbled. Steve Smith Sr. has tremendous amounts of respect for Darrelle Revis, but couldn't help himself with an insult towards Aqib Talib in the same breath.
"I expect it to be a chess match [with Revis]", said Smith Sr., "Going against the other guy [Talib] is more like checkers."
This quote would make for some good bulletin board material provided both the Ravens and Denver Broncos find a way to meet next week in the AFC Championship Game.
Prediction: Ravens 31, Patriots 28.
What is your prediction, Broncos Country?
SB Nation blogs: Baltimore Beatdown and Pats Pulpit