(Photo Credit: NFLRush.com)
The Wild-Card round is over, but the Broncos are set to play their first game of the 2012-13 Playoffs. The Broncos earned the first-round bye, so they got to sit at home and wait for their first opponent. They will welcome in the Ray Lewis led Baltimore Ravens, who come into Mile High off a wild-card win against the Colts.
The Broncos and Ravens are going to seem pretty familiar with each other as they faced one another in Week 15 of the regular season. The Broncos won that match-up in Baltimore 34-17, and it wasn’t even that close. The Ravens were down 34-10, but got another touchdown in garbage time in the last 4 minutes of the game. The biggest story of the first match-up between these two teams was the fact that the Broncos were able to stop Ray Rice and forced Joe Flacco to throw for 40 times, for which he only completed 20 of those passes. The Broncos defense really had one of their best games of the season, only allowing the Ravens to convert on 1 of their 12 3rd downs. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that Ray Rice only ran for 38 yards and the Ravens had a lot of 3rd down and long. The Ravens went 3 and out 6 times, and only went 5 or more plays on 4 drives throughout the game, two of which ended in turnovers. The Broncos had the perfect gameplan defensively, which was to put the game in Joe Flacco’s hands by stopping the run and forcing the pass, to which Flacco had a pretty bad day, with a QBR of 0.4, and throwing for a 98-yard interception return for a TD by Chris Harris. To which the term, “Flaccoing” was created. See picture below.
If the Broncos are to win again, this time in Denver… The Broncos are going to need much of the same from what we saw in the Week 15 match-up. Basically, if you contain Ray Rice, you contain the Ravens offense. As soon as the Broncos get their lead, Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Derek Wolfe, and the rest of the Broncos defense will really be able to rush 7 and get to Flacco and that middle of the Ravens offense where Ray Rice likes to run. Ray Rice is their offensive catalyst, and the Ravens team goes as he goes. If you stop Ray Rice, you halt their chance of winning the game. In 5 of the Ravens 6 losses, guess what. Ray Rice was held to under 100 yards rushing. One of those being the game against the Broncos where he only had 38 yards. So, my key to the game for the Broncos to win their divisional home game is quite simple. Keep Ray Rice in check. Of course the Broncos don’t want to turn the ball over and give the opposition extra possessions, but that’s key in every NFL game, especially the playoffs. This game is a big statement game. Not only for the Broncos and their fans, but for Peyton Manning. Let me take this time to remind everyone once again, that Peyton Manning was out for the entire 2011-2012 season due to four neck surgeries. Don’t think for one minute that Peyton isn’t thinking Super Bowl victory. He wants to prove that he’s still an elite quarterback, and that he can still hang with the big boys. Did I mention that he was born in New Orleans? The first step for the Broncos to get to the Super Bowl begins here with these Baltimore Ravens. Sure, they are still riding the emotional wave of Ray Lewis’ last season in a Ravens uniform, and that probably won them the game last week against the Colts. Granted if they weren’t facing the Broncos, I’d most certainly be rooting for them playing for their franchise player. Ray Lewis is a great person, and one of the best middle linebackers ever to play the game, especially in my lifetime. But the road for the Ravens ends here.
I really look for the Mile High crowd to prove to be too much, and the Broncos should be able to keep Ray Rice and the Ravens in check for another victory. The Ravens will probably score another garbage time touchdown or two, which factors in my final score that looks a little familiar.
GAME PREDICTION: Broncos 34, Ravens 17
This win will send the Broncos to the AFC Championship in what will likely be another rematch against Lady-Brady and the New England Patriots. Something that the Broncos and their fans are drooling about. We’re out for Brady Blood.
My other Picks of the Divisional Round are as follows (Winners in Caps):
PACKERS at 49ers
SEAHAWKS at Falcons
Texans at PATRIOTS
Anthony Rodriguez
Anthony is the Founder, Administrator, Editor and Publisher of Lightning Rod Sports. Originally from California, Anthony has been raised in the Rocky Mountains and Denver area for most of his life. Anthony works with the Emmy-winning student-run T.V. newscast at MSU Denver, The Met Report, as the Assistant General Manager, formerly the Sports Producer, as well as Lead Anchor and Production Assistant. He is currently the Play-by-Play Announcer, Color Commentator, and Production Assistant for the Metro State Broadcast Network, and calls games for Metro State soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as a “Voice of the Roadrunners.” In addition to that work with the Metro State Broadcast Network, Anthony also hosts the monthly 30-minute magazine show called "The Roadrunner Review" which airs on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. He hosts the bi-weekly "KMet Sports Show" on KMET Radio at MyMetMedia.com/KMETSportsShow. He is also the Founder, Administrator, Editor, and Columnist for his own Denver Sports website, LightningRodSports.com. Anthony is also part of the Social Media team at Examiner.com, and has worked with the Altitude Radio Network for the Avalanche and Nuggets. Anthony is a former Producer for Mile High Sports Radio, as well as a former Sports-Talk show host on the LightningRod Radio Network.
