After hanging on this afternoon for a very shaky 20-13 win over the Houston Texans, the Baltimore Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship next Sunday (3 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots.
I was rooting for the Texans to win mostly because I didn't see a way that the Pats could lose to T.J. Yates but I have to admit that deep down, a New England-Baltimore matchup is much more appetizing. Let's be honest: so far pretty much everything has gone the Patriots's way regarding the playoffs so it's about time that they face a worthy opponent.
They were bound to play a good team eventually, you cannot luck into a Super Bowl title no matter what year it is.
When I look at Baltimore (13-4), I see a team that still features a fearsome defense led by the ageless linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, defensive lineman Haloti Ngata and defensive end Terrell Suggs. The Ravens also have Ray Rice, one of the best all-around running backs in the NFL and Anquan Boldin, who is a quality receiver albeit not quite what he used to be.
In my mind, the main thing that holds the Ravens back is quarterback Joe Flacco. Watching the game today reminded me how much Flacco is basically a poor man's Drew Bledsoe. He's tall and has a big arm but it also takes him hours to make decisions and he has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket. I will say in his defense that his offensive line doesn't seem great but today, that just might have been a function of the Texans's excellent defense.
Rice will absolutely run over the Patriots's defense, Boldin will make some plays and Baltimore's defense will make Tom Brady and New England's offense work for however many points they get. The key for the Patriots is that they will need to make Flacco beat them. If that's the case, I like their chances since he's bound to throw a few passes up for grabs. Or if it's like today, his receivers will drop a bunch of catchable balls.
If Houston wasn't down to their third string, rookie quarterback, I am pretty sure they would have won. However, that doesn't matter. The Ravens are moving on and the Patriots will meet the same team that embarrassed them two years ago in the playoffs. It's an intriguing matchup from the sense of New England's outstanding offense against Baltimore's excellent defense.
As is usually the case in the playoffs (see Green Bay-New York tonight), it will most likely come down to who commits fewer penalties and mental mistakes. The winner of Baltimore vs. New England gets the winner of the NFC Championship: New York at San Francisco on February 5 in Indianapolis (worst Super Bowl site ever?).
The Ravens love to talk so it should be a fun and entertaining week of buildup leading into Sunday's meeting. I can't say that the Texans would have provided nearly as much fodder for talk radio, social media, etc.
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