After their respective wins this past weekend in the divisional round, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens have a rematch in the AFC Championship. It is the third time in the last two seasons that the squads will face each other and the second in this round of the NFL post-season. This is the first part in a series leading up to the battle for the AFC's Super Bowl berth.
During the playoffs in January of 2012, the Patriots and Ravens had the opposite opponents in their respective first round games. New England topped Denver 45-10, and Baltimore beat Houston 20-13. The scores were fairly alike in this year's version, but the purple team exited round 2 of this year's playoffs with a bit more flair.
Joe Flacco threw a 70-yard game-tying touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones late in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos over the weekend. An interception set up the game-winning field goal for Justin Tucker near the beginning of the second overtime period.
Tom Brady and the Patriots beat the Houston Texans with relative ease for the second time this season to get New England back to the AFC Title game.
The Previous Match-Up
Back in September, the Ravens won 31-30 due to more late Tucker heroics. The Patriots scored the game's first 13 points and led after one, two and three quarters, but Baltimore scored the final 10 points of the game, including a Tucker field goal as time expired.
The Ravens' victory came in front of a home crowd at M&T Bank Stadium, a luxury the team will not have this coming weekend. The Patriots-- just like last season-- will host Baltimore in the battle for a ticket to New Orleans.
The Ravens' running game was twice as good in yards per carry than the Patriots' was (4.7 vs. 2.3). Joe Flacco and Tom Brady had an equal number of completions (28), though Flacco threw for 63 more yards (382-319). Flacco added three touchdown passes and one interception, while Brady registered just one TD pass.
The Pats' running game was so limited that Stevan Ridley was the team's leading rusher, gaining 37 yards on the ground. New England had only one of its star tight ends available to play, just like it will for the upcoming game. Rob Gronkowski had a pair of catches in Week 3, while Aaron Hernandez was out with an injury. Now Gronk has another arm issue, but Hernandez in back in the lineup, fresh off of a six-reception, 85-yard performance against Houston.
It was an especially emotional game for Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith back in September. Smith found out shortly before the game that his brother, Tevin Chris Jones, died in a motorcycle accident. The wideout registered six receptions, 127 yards and 2 TD's in a tribute to his sibling. Smith had 2 TD's and 98 receiving yards on just three catches this past weekend versus Denver.
Check back later this week for more insight, a look back to Week 3, some head-to-head fun facts and more.