Patriots vs. Ravens: AFC Championship Preview and Prediction

By: Rich Bergeron

Sunday's NFL nightcap features what promises to be an epic game between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens in a cold and stormy Foxboro, Massachusetts. The game kicks off at 6:30 PM EST and will be aired on CBS. It is also a rematch of a week 3 battle that came down to the wire. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco threw for 382 yards in that game, and the Ravens won by a single point thanks to a Justin Tucker field goal that barely soared inside the right upright as time expired. The last time the Patriots met the Ravens in the playoffs, it was their field goal that won the game. This year's contest might be just as close, but don't count on it.

Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis has the most to play for in this game, and it will be up to him and his defense to decide if the team moves onto the Super Bowl. The Patriots have always been better on offense this season than they have been on defense, but that hasn't really mattered late in the season. They won 7 of their last 8 regular season games, only falling to the San Francisco 49ers by a slim 7-point margin in week 15. The Pats led the league in points scored and total yards while coming in at ninth in average points scored against and rushing yardage against. Their pass defense was much worse, ranking 29th in the league with an average of 271.4 passing yards allowed during the regular season. The Ravens were much better than the Patriots on defense throughout the year, though their offense only cracked the top 10 in one category: average points scored (24.9).