Here it comes, the AFC Championship

Naturally, I had a very long Board meeting the day of the divisional game featuring the Ravens and the Titans. And naturally, this Board meeting was in northern Virginia somewhere so I was a long way from home. Luckily, I got out early enough to make it to the Baltimore radio broadcast area so that I could at least hear the game until I got home when I could sit down and watch it.

The game was INTENSE. It was smashmouth football at its finest. Lots of very hard hitting, lots of emotions shown on the field, and lots of strategy involved. I was very stressed watching the game because honestly, the Ravens were playing terribly overall. Even the defense looked *so* tired... they were missing tackles and getting pushed around on the front line because the Titans could run the ball almost on demand. Statistically, the Titans far outplayed the Ravens, except in the turnover category (more on this in a couple of paragraphs). For all intents and purposes, the Ravens should have lost. But Lady Luck and the Officiating Gods smiled down upon the Ravens, giving them the win in a hostile stadium against a team that traditionally hates the Ravens on the field.

But that's just it... the Officiating Gods owed the Ravens for the terrible call during the regular season game versus the Titans (blow to the head) that continued the Titans' winning drive. And so, the Officiating Gods have repaid their debt to the Ravens on that front by not blowing the whistle when the play clock had expired during the Ravens' winning drive. It was a terrible call in a tied game in the 4th quarter that did sway the outcome of the game. But it was in the Ravens favor, and for that, I thank the Officiating Gods for restoring the cosmic balance. ;-)

Meanwhile, although the Ravens defense is opportunistic and do everything they can to help themselves create turnovers, I believe they needed a little bit of Lady Luck to create those 3 turnovers in the Red Zone to keep the Titans from scoring points. Those 3 drives were guaranteed points via field goals, and somehow, the Ravens kept the Titans from even doing that. Better lucky than good.

I'm just glad that game is over. The Ravens escaped that game, and now they have an extra day to rest and prepare for the AFC Championship game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If we thought the Titans-Ravens have a rivalry, it pales in comparison to the Steelers-Ravens rivalry. This game will be even more brutal, with the Ravens wanting to payback the Steelers for the two very close losses during the regular season, and the Steelers wanting to beat the Ravens for a statistically difficult 3rd time. This game will feature the two best defenses in the NFL, and emotions will run very high.

As it turns out, the Officiating Gods also owe the Ravens for a terrible call during the Pittsburgh game in December. The officials ruled a Steelers catch on the half yard line, but it was within two minutes so the Officiating Booth called for a review. After reviewing the play, the head official overturned the call on the field, calling the play a touchdown and just like that, the Ravens lost to the Steelers. That call was discussed for the next week, with sports talking heads citing that there needs to be indisputable evidence to overturn a call, and that was not in this case here. That said, do I think that the Steelers would have gone for it on 4th and inches and made it? Yes, there is a distinct possibility of that. But that call took away any chance of the Ravens making a goal line stand and winning that game instead. Will the Officiating Gods smile upon the Ravens again this weekend, and right this wrong? Gods, like Lady Luck, are finicky, too. I have a feeling the Ravens will have to earn favor from the Officiating Gods during the game and even then, there is no guarentee.

By the same token, I'm pretty sure Lady Luck won't be around for the game versus the Steelers this Sunday. And during the games where the Ravens seemed to have no luck whatsoever, they have lost. I'm hoping the Ravens haven't used up all of their "luck capital" such that they have none to cash in during this next game.

Here's to hoping that the Steelers, on one day less rest (nevermind the extra week they got during their bye week), are a little more tired than the Ravens and that the weather is reasonable (i.e. not snowing or raining or really windy... I expect it to be ridiculously cold). It's going to be a ridiculously stressful game.

What's our name!!

RAVENS!!