*New England over Baltimore by 14

The gauntlet is too much for the Ravens to upset Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in successive weeks. Maybe if the Baltimore defense was still in its prime it could happen, but the Ravens are too crippled up and going against one of the finest ver- satile offenses of its generation. So there’s no Rob Gronkowski and maybe no Danny Woodhead for New England. That’s not a big deal for Tom Brady. He still has other top receiving targets, including Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez, along with other good running backs. The Patriots’ offense is very deep. It can run effec- tively with Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen and Brady, of course, can pass it around. Ridley was the seventh-leading rusher in the NFL with 1,263 yards. This was 120 yards more than what the more heralded Ray Rice picked up on the ground. The Ravens should have forced New England into overtime, if not won, in last year’s AFC title matchup, but Lee Evans dropped a touchdown pass and Billy Cundiff missed a field goal at the end allowing the Patriots to escape with a 23-30 home win. The Ravens got a token of revenge in Week 3 when they nipped the Patriots, 31-30, at M&T Stadium failing to cover, though, as short chalk. New England has gotten much better since then and the Ravens have regressed. The Patriots have won 10 of their last 11. Their average win margin during their past nine victories is 21.3 points. Since that first meeting against New England, Baltimore has lost several key defensive players, while others are far from 100 per- cent. The Ravens are 2-4 in their last six games. Kudos to them for upsetting Denver on the road last week in double overtime. That’s only one game, though, and the victory raises questions about how much the Ravens have left in the tank playing in their third road game in four weeks and if their special teams coverage units are vulnerable after giving up two return touchdowns. Joe Flacco played well against Denver. Flacco does not have a good road history, however. Neither do the Ravens who are just 8-10 SU in their past 18 road matchups. Flacco had a 15-to- 5 touchdown-to-interception ratio at home while averaging 8.3 yards per pass attempt. Those numbers shrunk to 7-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the road and 5.9 yards per pass attempt. The Ravens lost this season on the road to the Eagles and Texans by 30. The Patriots were 2-0 versus Houston beating the Texans by a combined 41 points. Baltimore had the third-worst offense on the road. The Ravens averaged 17.6 points in regulation during their eight regular-season away games. That’s not going to cut it against a New England offense that ranked first in points at 34.8 per game and No. 1 in total yards at 427.9. The Patriots have scored at least 34 points in seven of their last 10 games. The Ravens haven’t been able to slow down a playoff offense all season except the Colts surrendering 30 points to the Patriots, 43 to the Texans, 31 to the Redskins, 34 and 35 to the Broncos. Ray Lewis might not admit it, but his team’s defense is far from elite. So, the Ravens are going to have to keep up with the Patriots offensively. Baltimore’s offensive line played well last week, especially tackles Bryant McKinnie and Michael Oher. New England’s defense, fortified by an excellent rookie class, has improved. The Patriots ranked in the top 10 in run defense and in fewest points allowed holding foes to an average of 20.7 per game. The Ravens have done well reaching the AFC championship game for the second consecutive season, the first time they’ve achieved that in franchise history. But that’s as far as a battered defense and mediocre road offense can carry them against a great offense and solid defense. NEW ENGLAND 34-20. 

Keep it up America—we got em right where we want them