After defeating the Houston Texans 20-13 last Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens are set to travel to Gillette stadium in Foxborough to play the New England Patriots on Sunday, January 22nd at 3:00pm. The Patriots are coming off of a 45-10 win over the Denver Broncos last Saturday in the divisional round of the playoffs. The winner will earn a trip to the Superbowl to represent the AFC.After the win over Houston, Terrell Suggs of the Ravens called the upcoming game against the Patriots, “The Battle of Suggs vs. Uggs.” The game is shaping up to be a battle between the Ravens shutdown defense and the Patriots high scoring offense. “Maybe I’ll send him a pair,” Brady joked in response to Suggs comments, “soften him up.”The Ravens success this season has been largely due to their defense that allows less than 290 yards of offense a game as well as only a little over 16 points per game. In the regular season, the Ravens recorded a league high, 21 forced fumbles and 48 sacks. On the contrary, the Patriots offense averages over 32 points per game after producing 428 yards of offense. The Patriots throw for an average of 318 yards a game in addition to the 110 yards that they gain on the ground.
However the game will also be decided on the performance of the Ravens offense against the Patriots defense. Since the 2000 season, 9 teams have won playoff games without producing more than 250 yards of offense in the game; the Ravens have done it 5 times. This year the Ravens have averaged 339 yards of total offense per game which resulted in them scoring an average of 24 points per game. The Patriots allow an average of 411 yards per game which ranked 31st in the NFL during the regular season. However, they only allow 21.4 points per game.
Sam’s Cold Hard Pick: Ravens
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Giants vs. 49ers
The Giants and 49ers are set to meet in San Francisco on Sunday, January 22nd to play for the right to represent the NFC in the Superbowl 46. The Giants are coming off of a 37-20 win over Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs. The 49ers are coming off of a 36-32 win over the New Orleans Saints.
At the beginning of the season, Jim Harbaugh inherited a 6-10 team before coaching them to a 13-3 season which led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in nine season. The 49ers league leading defense only allows 14.3 points per game while their offense puts up 23.8 points per game. The 49ers defense allows 308 yards a game, only 77 of which are surrendered on the ground. The 49ers offense gains 311 yards of offense per game led behind Frank Gore and their physical running attack.
The 2007 Superbowl MVP, Eli Manning, leads the Giants into battle after having a career best regular season in addition to putting up above average numbers in the first two round of the playoffs. The Giants allowed and scored 25 points per game in the regular season but still managed to hold onto a 9-7 record to get them into the playoffs. Defensively, the Giants allow their opponents to gain 376 offensive yards per game. The Giants offense, however, gains 385 yards per game on average.
Both teams entered the season with similar standards from spectators;to finish the season without making the playoffs. Now, both of these teams are fighting for a chance to go to the Superbowl and potentially hoist the Lombardi trophy.
Sam’s Cold Hard Pick: 49ers