On Saturday night, the Colts and the Ravens will battle at Lucas Oil Stadium for a berth in the AFC Championship game. In my opinion, this is the most intriguing matchup in the divisonal round. The Indianapolis Colts got off to a lightning 14-0 start, but then QUIT in their final two games against the Jets and Bills. It is really easy to say that resting people is a safe bet, as evidenced by Wes Welker's devastating injury in New England's last regular season game. However, the Colts earned the right to rest during the Wild Card round. The Colts haven't played a full game with all their starters in since December 17. There is bound to be some rust on some of the Colts players. The one thing they do have going for them is Peyton Manning, who is always ready to play and is never rusty.
The Ravens come into this playoff game with nothing to lose. They embarrassed the Patriots in Foxboro, and look to ride the rushing tandem of Willis McGahee and Ray Rice to victory in Indianapolis. The Ravens' two-headed rushing attack has put less pressure on young Joe Flacco, and has really helped ease the stress that a second year quarterback would usually have going into the playoffs.
Bottom Line: The homefield advantage of Lucas Oil Stadium will win out in the end, and the loud crowd will be sure to create some false start penalties as Peyton Manning and the Colts will prevail in a 31-21 victory.
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