Time- 4:35 pm
Channel- NBC
Location: Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts
The Divisional Round of the 2014 NFL Playoffs will start off with the six seeded Baltimore Ravens traveling to Foxborourgh to take on the top seeded New England Patriots. The Patriots will play their first game in essentially a month after resting many starters against poor opponents down the stretch. The Ravens are coming off a win against their long time rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. This will be the fourth time the Patriots and Ravens face off in the playoffs and the Ravens have won two out of the three games. Folks you have heard all the talk, this will be a GREAT GAME!!
The Ravens finished the regular season 10-6 and last week defeated an 11-5, division champion Pittsburgh Steelers team by a final score of 30-17. Offseason addition Steve Smith and breakout star Justin Forsett have helped carry the Ravens to this stage. Quarterback Joe Flacco has had success against past Patriots teams but Flacco knows that this team is new and reinvigorated. Flacco has new weapons but the team's inconsistent performance makes this team a hard team to pick to win. The Ravens will have a tough task against a quality New England Patriots team.
"The Patriots are BACK!!" Better yet, they never left! One 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs caused much controversy and people questioned if Brady and Belichick would be able to win anymore. The better question now is who is going to stop them? The return of running back LeGarrette Blount, the addition of wide receiver Brandon Lafell and the comeback of superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski helped the Patriots reclaim the top overall seed. The Pats will have a tough matchup against the Ravens as they have struggled against the Ravens in the past but Tom Brady is right "You can't bring players out of retirement." Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and not even recently released, Ray Rice will be running out of the tunnel in Foxborough. This will be a great game and an instant classic.
Key Players
Patriots: Tom Brady, Quarterback- The All-Pro, MVP, 3 time Super Bowl Champion quarterback is ready to get another shot at his fourth Super Bowl Championship. Brady had a tremendous regular season with 33 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions. Brady had a rough start to the season but came back and took home the top seed in the AFC. Expect Brady to be the usual Tom Brady and have a great game. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time will perform like that and he will have to for his team to win.
Ravens: Steve Smith Sr, Wide Receiver- The 14 year veteran will get another opportunity to play against the playoffs after his Carolina Panthers lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl 38. After leaving the Panthers to play with the Ravens, the fiery 5'9 wide receiver had a great 2014 campaign in his first season in purple and black. Smith had 6 touchdowns and 1,065 years receiving this year. He will be matched up against either Darrelle Revis or Brandon Browner. This will be a great matchup to watch and should decide the game.
Predictions
The Patriots will look to make an early statement against the Ravens as the popular pick throughout the media is that the Ravens will pull off the upset. The Ravens are a good team and they know how to win in Foxborough. With that being said the Patriots are ready and will Belichick and Brady at the helm expect a Patriots win. The final score will be Patriots 31- Ravens 24.
Feel free to talk to me about the game during the game on Twitter @wstobin2 and @bblueshirts
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