It’s tough to rank the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend, as both of them are great match-ups and have great storylines behind them. With that being said though, the rematch from last year between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game is definitely one excellent story. Not only are were we not expecting the Ravens to be in this game, some actually picked the young Indianapolis Colts to upset them in the wild card round, due to the fact that the Ravens have suffered quite a few injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Ray Lewis came out with an announcement that he was retiring after this season, and after that point this team has looked motivated to win. The Patriots are elite though, and I mean that. This team can point points on the board quickly and in so many different ways. Seeing Ray Lewis against Tom Brady is a lot of fun, but seeing it in the AFC Championship game is even more entertaining. Kickoff for this game is Sunday at 6:30pm EST in New England.

The Ravens offense has been big, and Joe Flacco is making some seriously huge throws. Can’t give all of the credit just to Flacco though, as it has been a combination of Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin stepping up and making plays down field for Flacco. Obviously we have to credit Ray Rice as well, as he is one of the best running backs in the NFL and is just incredibly consistent. All of the offense in the world won’t matter much though unless this Ravens defense can get after Tom Brady and make his life tough, which no one has really shown that they can do very often this season.

The Patriots passing game with Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, and pretty much anyone else you put on the field is ridiculously good. Tom Brady makes everyone better, and even though they lost Rob Gronkowski for the rest of the season to an injury, I’m sure we’ll see Brady just move the ball around even more. The real question for the Patriots has been their pass defense, and they’ll need to shut down Joe Flacco and contain Ray Rice to hold off the surging Ravens in New England on Sunday. Expect the passing game to keep going after the Ravens secondary throughout the game this weekend.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

• Baltimore Ravens: +8
• New England Patriots: -8

Free Prediction and Pick

The way that the Baltimore Ravens have played lately really makes you want this Cinderella story to continue to roll along, but unfortunately they may have ran into a battle that they can’t win. The Ravens have the talent, but with the injuries to their secondary going into New England and stopping Tom Brady is going to be a tough task for them. I do think that this game is going to be much closer than some people think, and I see it being around a one touchdown win for the Patriots. With that being said I’m going to roll with the Baltimore Ravens in a close bet, and take them with the +8 on the road.

• Prediction: New England Patriots- 31 Baltimore Ravens- 24
• Pick: Baltimore Ravens +8