The divisional round of the 2013 NFL playoffs kicks off Saturday, Jan. 12 as the Baltimore Ravens take on the top-seeded Denver Broncos in Denver at 4 p.m. EST on CBS.
A rematch of a Week 15 game that saw Denver topple Baltimore in a 34-17 loss, the Ravens enter Saturday's contest as the clear underdogs against a Broncos team that just continues to look better and better every week. If the Ravens want to preserve any hope of beating the Broncos, who have won 11 straight games and pack one of the best offenses in football, the team has to take star Denver quarterback Peyton Manning - the AFC's top-ranked QB - out of the equation and control the clock and the ball on offense, with steady doses of running back Ray Rice, one of the best rushers in the NFL.
Baltimore's defense is a tremendous piece of that puzzle. Led by legendary linebacker Ray Lewis, the Ravens have one of the fiercest line attacks in football with safety Ed Reed, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and linebacker Terrell Suggs. Baltimore's secondary is another story. The team's top cornerback Lardarius Webb is out for the season and the secondary remains weak on cover cornerbacks. One of the oldest, and most haggard units in the league, the Ravens' secondary is easily the chink in its defensive armor.
But good news for Baltimore fans: expect Lewis to have yet another career performance. Set to retire after this season, Lewis knows this game could be his last ever in the NFL and the low expectations people have of the team beating the Broncos. If the team's last game against the Colts is any indication of the fire welling inside him, with knowledge he could be gone any moment, Lewis is extra hungry to prove himself. He recorded 13 tackles against the Colts, and that was his first game back in almost three months.
For its part, Baltimore is letting all the underdog talk just invigorate the team even more. Wide Receiver Anquan Boldin says he can't wait to upset everyone's expectations Saturday.
"I wanted Denver," said Anquan Boldin, who set a franchise record with 145 yards receiving against Indianapolis. "Because they beat us. We'll make it different."
"I love our team," Lewis said recently, "and I'm really looking forward to going out there and playing [Denver] next week."
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