Thursday, May 17th, 2012
The Baltimore Ravens off their road win to qualify for the playoffs at Oakland, will once against hit the highway when they face the New England Patriots in an AFC Wildcard playoff game on Sunday afternoon. This NFL pro football game will kick off in New England at 1PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by CBS.
The LVSC NFL odds makers have set the opening point spread in this game and the New England Patriots were opened as a 6 ½ point favorite with the over under coming in at 42.
The early money from the NFL betting public has come in on the road underdog Baltimore Ravens, as the New England Patriots are currently a 3-½ point favorite. The total has seen early movement towards the over, as the over under is currently lined at 43 for the NFL betting public to wager into.
NFL money line gamblers can make a play on the favored New England Patriots at –190 with the underdog Baltimore Ravens bringing back +160 to pull off the upset victory without the need for getting the points on their side.
Both New England and Baltimore faced off this year in a regular season game on October 4th with the New England Patriots pulling out a 27-21 home victory as a 2-point favorite. Baltimore was hampered by mistakes all game long which included 9 penalties for 85 yards and a critical dropped pass by wide receiver Mark Clayton late in the game.
The Patriots were a perfect 8-0 at home this season averaging 31 points and allowing their opponents an average of just under 13 points.
Tom Brady enters this game with some injury concerns. Media reports indicate that the 10-year veteran quarterback is playing through three broken ribs and a broken finger on his throwing hand. He hit on 17 of 26 in week 17 against the Texans with no touchdowns and no picks. He will be without wide receiver Wes Welker who is out with a torn ACL. The Patriots played without Welker earlier in the season and Brady was less effective. On the season Brady has hit on 65.7% of his passes this season with 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
The Patriots have not gotten much out of their running game. Starting running back Laurence Maroney did not play last week with a knee injury. He has averaged just 3.9 yards a carry on the season. Veteran running back Fred Taylor has seen 18 carries the past two games. He is averaging 4.3 yards a carry on the year.
Defensively the Patriots allow an average of 17.8 points a game this season. They have played much better defense in front of the home folks allowing just 279 yards per game. Their pass defense has been good on the home turf allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete only 54% of their passes.
The Baltimore Ravens survived their trip to Oakland last week to squeak out a 21-13 victory to finish at 9-7 and the 6th seed in the AFC. The Ravens ran all over the poor Raiders rush defense for 240 yards. But Joe Flacco could only pass for 90 yards in victory.
The second year pro quarterback has had an up and down season. His road performances have been not been very impressive. He could hit on only 57% of his passes at Oakland, 52% at Pittsburgh, 41% at Green Bay and 56% at Cincinnati. The Ravens have lost 5 of their past 7 road games. This was due in part to Joe Flacco’s play at quarterback as well as mistakes. The team is 32nd and last in the league in offensive penalties averaging 68.4 penalty yards per game.
The Ravens are 5th in the league in rushing averaging 137 yards on the ground per game and an impressive 4.7 yards per rush attempt. Second year running back Ray Rice has been outstanding. The ball carrier has rushed for 1339 yards on the year with a very good 5.3 yards a carry average. Rice is also a huge threat in the passing game with 78 catches for 9 yards per reception average. Veteran running back Willis McGahee had a monster game last week with 167 yards rushing on 16 carries. He produced a 5.0 yards a carry average. Fullback Le’Ron McClain is a good short yardage back with a 3.9 yards a carry average.
Defensively the Ravens allow 16 points a game. They had trouble in pass defense against playoff teams. Baltimore is just 1-6 this season against playoff teams. Where Baltimore defense ot hurt was in the passing game as San Diego passed for 421 yards on Baltimore, Green Bay 256, Indianapolis 299 and Minnesota 261.
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NFL Trend: New England is 5-1 to the under in their past 6 games
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