Last week, defensive great Ray Lewis said goodbye to Baltimore in style with 13 tackles in his final home game at M&T Bank Stadium when the Ravens pounded the Colts 24-9 to advance to the AFC Divisional Round.
That was the easy part.
The hard part comes on Saturday, when Lewis and the AFC North Champion Ravens, in what could yet be the legendary linebacker's final NFL game, collide with another all-time great, the rejuvenated Peyton Manning and the top seeded AFC West Champs, the Denver Broncos (13-3) 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
In Week 15, Denver beat up on Baltimore with a 31-17 route. Will the Ravens turn the tables this time, or will Manning continue his stellar comeback season with a Broncos march to the AFC Championship?
Latinos Post breaks down the match-ups to watch for this game:
Offense
Joe Flacco was as good as anyone could be on Sunday against the Colts, throwing 282 yards, two touchdowns and completing 12 of 23 passes for a 125.6 QB rating on the day.
Baltimore's Wide reciever Anquan Boldin outshone everyone on the Ravens in their Wild Card victory over the Colts, catching five passes for 145 yards and a dramatic touchdown that helped Baltimore seal the deal and their date with Denver. He's a deep threat in the field, and if Denver doesn't shut him down, there could be trouble.
Ray Rice and tight end Dennis Pitta were fairly quiet, though Pitta did contribute with a touchdown. But to beat Denver, they're going to have to step up in order to give Flacco support. Running back Bernard Pierce had a decent game for Baltimore with 103 yards and 13 carries, but whether he can have a big running game against Denver's tough defense is debatable.
For the strong-looking Broncos, Manning, the best quarterback to put on a Denver jersey since the great John Elway, has been phenomenal in his return from career-threatening neck surgery, passing for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns this season in what many are calling an MVP-like year for the quarterback legend. The last time he played the Ravens, he torched them with 17 of 28 complete passes en route to 204 yards with a touchdown.
He'll need his offensive line to keep the tough Ravens defense-and a sure-to-be-motivated Lewis-at bay, but it shouldn't come as a surprise if he ends up having a spectacular day.
But Manning will have his help in the form of his favorite target wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who caught 94 passes for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Running back Knowshon Moreno ran hard against the Ravens last time for 115 yards and a touchdown, so he could play a big factor as well.
Defense
The Ravens allowed 152 rushing yards against them in the last week, something that they can ill-afford to be an added threat when up against the already-dangerous Manning. Linebacker Lewis will be gunning for Manning with everything he's got in his last showdown with the legendary quarterback.
Defensively, the Broncos are as tough as they get, third in the league in both fewest opposing passing yards (199.6) and fewest opposing rushing yards (91.1). Linebacker Von Miller was particularly tough against the Ravens with three tackles in December.
If the Broncos' ferocious pass rush gets at Flacco, Baltimore's season and Lewis' career will end in Denver. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh has said as much.
"Defensively, it starts with their pass rush," Harbaugh said this week. "They just get a tremendous pass rush."
Which puts the honus on Baltimore's offensive line to give Flacco enough protection in the pocket for him to try and make something happen. But against a defense that led the AFC in sacks with 52 and a raucous home stadium crowd pulling for the Broncos, that will be easier said than done.
Game schedule
Game time starts at 4:30 p.m EST on FOX. For more game info, visit the NFL's official web site.
Live Score
Live score is available by clicking on this link.