Ravens vs. Patriots: Familiar Foes to Face-off Again

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Last week's surprising upset of the Steelers by the sixth-seeded Ravens set up a playoff matchup that is becoming one of the great postseason rivalries of our era.

Joe Flacco versus Tom Brady.

Yes, as ridiculous as it sounds to place them on equal footing, Flacco has compiled a playoff resume that is better than most current quarterbacks. But is Tom Brady among them?

At first glance the statistics seem to favor Brady:

At 12-4, the Patriots are the top seed in the AFC and will face off against a team that only made the playoffs because San Diego collapsed.

This year Brady threw for over 4,000 yards for the seventh time of his career-- a feat Joe Flacco has yet to perform once-- and finished the season with a passer rating of above 100. He has 160 career wins, good for third most all time.

Together with Coach Bill Belichick, Brady has enjoyed fourteen straight winning seasons (though he sat out one of them with his ACL tear). The two have become one of the most successful pairings in NFL history.

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Brady has 18 career playoff wins (most all time) to go with three championship rings, two super bowl MVP trophies and two regular season MVP trophies. He also won the comeback player of the year in 2009 after returning from his season-ending ACL injury the year before.

This weekend he will make his sixteenth career playoff start in Foxborough. His record: twelve wins, three losses.

How is there any room for comparison? How can there be any question of superiority?

Don't sleep on Playoff Joe, ladies and gentlemen.

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Joe Flacco has a 10-4 career playoff record, including a Superbowl win and MVP. He has thrown just one interception in his past seven playoff starts (posting a record of 6-1) and has an NFL record seven postseason wins on the road.

In that same timespan, Brady has gone 3-2 with six interceptions.

Joe Flacco is 2-1 against the Patriots in the playoffs, and is responsible for two of Brady's three home playoff losses.

His lone defeat came as a result of a missed field goal that would have sent the conference championship into overtime.

Flacco is tied with the Manning brothers for most playoff wins over Brady at two, and has a chance to pass both Peyton and Eli this weekend. (Brady's other two playoff losses: Jake Plummer and Mark Sanchez!)

So although Brady is the more decorated quarterback and will go down as one of the best to ever play the position, recent history favors the underdog in this AFC showdown.

Kickoff is on Saturday at 1:35 PST, and Flacco will try to top Brady once again to spoil the championship aspirations of a team that has not won a Superbowl in ten years. Will the Ravens pull off the upset?

Hope the Patriots: Nevermore.

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