AFC Divisional Round preview

Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots - Saturday, 8pm

The Case For Denver:

After ousting the AFC Champion of 2 out of the past 3 seasons last Sunday, Denver's confidence is mile-high. The Broncos' overtime win against Pittsburgh ended Denver's three-game skid heading into the playoffs and set them up with a date against the Patriots in Foxboro.

This is a rematch of teams who faced off in week 15, which resulted in a 41-23 victory for the Pats in Denver. Tim Tebow had a decent day, running for 93 yards and two TDs, while throwing for 194 yards. The Broncos were even leading 16-7 in the 2^nd quarter until New England went off for 27 straight points and carried an eighteen-point lead into the 4^th.

Lance Ball was one of four Broncos to have a +25 yard rush against the Patriots in week 15.

Denver's ground attack will be key in their playoff rematch on Saturday. If the Broncos can produce big runs like they did against the Pats in week 15 while not turning the ball over, it just may be enough to limit the amount of time Tom Brady has on the field. The Broncos had 4 players with rushes of 25 yards or more and a total of 252 yards on the ground against New England's vulnerable defence, but gave up the ball three times on four fumbles.

Denver cannot turn the ball over repeatedly and expect to beat New England, who is hungry for their first playoff victory since an AFC Championship win over San Diego in 2008. The Broncos will need their defence to limit the Patriots' air attack and force turnovers if they want to have a chance on Saturday.

The Case For New England:

With all the attention on Tim Tebow and his rise to NFL stardom, New England is seemingly flying under the radar as much as a number one seed can. That's a good thing for New England, as the media buzz surrounding the Broncos has people forgetting that the mighty Patriots haven't won a playoff game since their near-perfect 2008 season.

Another thing most people aren't focussing on is the deficits New England has faced in it's last two games leading up to the playoffs. In their week 16 game against Miami, New England was down 17 points before coming back to win by 3. In week 17, Buffalo was up 21-0 in the 1^st quarter before giving up 49 unanswered points to the Pats.

New England should be concerned about these big, early deficits even more so against Denver, as they have a defence that could make it difficult for Brady and Co. to put up big points quickly. Another worry for the Patriots is that they did not beat a team with a record better than .500 this season. That being said, they only played two above-.500 teams, losing back-to-back games to Pittsburgh and the Giants. They did, however, go 7-0 this year against teams that finished exactly .500, their week 15 victory over the Broncos included.

The Patriots will win Saturday if they can exploit the Broncos' defence, who gave up 400 yards against Pittsburgh last weekend. If a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger can put up that kind of yardage without his starting running back, Brady should be able to produce even more. If he does, it should be enough to limit Denver's ground attack and outscore the inconsistent Bronco offence.

Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens - Sunday, 1pm

The Case For Houston:

After a victory in their first-ever franchise playoff appearance, the Texans will travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday. Houston will have to rely on another good game from Arian Foster, who scored two touchdowns and gained 153 of the Texans' 188 rushing yards against the Bengals. Only problem is Foster was held to under 50 yards against the Ravens earlier this year.

If Foster can find room against the always tough Raven D, it should take some of the pressure off rookie QB T.J. Yates. The most important stat from Yates' decent showing against Cincinnati was that fact that he threw no interceptions. He did throw for 159 yards and one TD to Andre Johnson which aren't great numbers, but his role was merely to not make costly errors and let Foster do his thing.

The Texans' need another no-turnover performance against the Ravens if they are to make it to the Conference championship. They also need their defence to play great, as they did against the Bengals. Rookie DE J.J. Watt led the charge with a sack and an amazing pick six, as Houston limited Cincinnati to 300 yards, 10 points, forced three interceptions from Andy Dalton while sacking him four times.

The Texans will need to improve on their dominating win over the Bengals as they face an even tougher AFC North opponent in Baltimore. They will also need to beat the Ravens at their own game; solid, playmaking defence combined with an effective ground attack and good game management from the QB position.

The Case For Baltimore:

Baltimore is coming off a bye week that should have helped rest their two ailing defensive stars – Ray Lewis and Ed Reed – and are primed to face the Texans in the Ravens' first home playoff game since 2007. The Ravens should be eager to erase the memories of that game where they lost 15-6 to the eventual Super Bowls champs, the Indianapolis Colts.

Offensively, the Ravens are designed to run the ball with the explosive Ray Rice while keeping the defence honest by stretching the field with their fearsome WR duo in Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith. Joe Flacco has led Baltimore to its' second straight 12 win season, although his personal stats fell off slightly from last year. Flacoo threw five less TDs, two more interceptions, and his completion percentage is down 5 points from last year.

Ray Rice's career year has made up for Joe Flacco's regression from last season.

This slight regression on Flacco's part was offset by Ray Rice's career year. Rice had a total of 2,068 yards from scrimmage this season to go along with 15 TDs. He is the catalyst on offence for the Ravens, and his performance on Sunday will be the key to victory for Baltimore.

A strong running game is the perfect compliment to a great defence, and that is exactly what the Ravens have. The Ravens' D allowed 16.6 points per game, 3^rd best in the league, while holding opponents to a 32% 3^rd down success rate, 2^nd in the league. Baltimore was also 3^rd in the league in sacks with 48. One key for the Ravens against the Texans will be to shut down the passing game. If they can get to Yates early and often, the Ravens should be able to negate Houston's air attack and hone in on their ground game.

With the rookie Yates set to play his ever playoff road game, the Ravens should be able to take advantage and blitz him enough to make him wish he was still taking snaps in North Carolina. With Yates out of his element in front of a hungry, raucous playoff crowd, the Ravens should be able to force enough mistakes to halt the Texans offence and let Ray Rice run them into the AFC Championship.