Sarcastiholic

2010 NFL Season - Divisional Round - Ravens at Colts

The second game of the weekend features the rushing game of the Baltimore Ravens versus the passing game of the Indianapolis Colts.

The Ravens enter the game with the 5th ranked rushing attack in the NFL. Based upon the lack of a passing game that they have demonstrated over the last part of the season, the Ravens are going to need every bit of it. Luckily for the Ravens, the Colts are going in the offseason with the 24th ranked rushing defense. Seems like a match made in heaven for the Baltimore Ravens.

But teams have tried to control the clock against the Colts by featuring a steady run game and keeping Peyton Manning off the field. So far, it really hasn’t worked. Give Manning any window to score and he seems to do it. The Colts have come back from behind to win seven games this season.

The Ravens can’t afford to rely on controlling the clock with the run game. They are going to have to score in their passing game, and for that they will need an injured Joe Flacco to throw the ball more than the 10 attempts he had in the game against New England. A solid running attack should help to keep the pass rush in check and force the Colts to play their safeties up which should allow for Joe Flacco to have some success.

They are going to need a complete game on offense if they are going to have a chance against the Colts. The passing game might just be the key to a win unless the Ravens’ secondary can come up with some big plays. But even turnovers might not be enough as the Colts don’t make the habit of allowing points off of turnovers. They may give you the ball, but they usually don’t give you six when it happens and that was the key to the Ravens’ win in Foxboro last weekend.

Turnovers and field position allowed them to gain a big lead early in the game. But the Ravens’ were only able to score 9 points after the scoring bonanza of the first quarter. That kind of repeat performance probably won’t get it done against the Colts’ offense this week. But an open passing game would.

The Colts have really not played a full game in about a month. Peyton Manning’s playoff record coming off a bye week is 0 – 3. That doesn’t give me much confidence in the Colts’ ability to muster a complete game in this round of the playoffs.

The Ravens have been in playoff mode for the last month. They’re hungry. The Colts have been lax.

All of the regular season statistics point to the Colts as the clear winners of this game.

So, naturally, I’m taking the Ravens as the upset.

Tags: AFC, Baltimore Ravens, I Hate Those Damn Manning Kids, Indianapolis Colts, Joe Flacco, NFL, Peyton Manning

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at 8:44 AM and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.