The last AFC North team was eliminated from the playoffs when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens
21-3 in the Divisional Playoff round at Lucas Oil Stadium.
I just finished writing a decent-length post about the game, and my computer ate it, so I don't feel like typing the whole thing over again. Here's the gist of it.
- The Ravens' only score came on their opening drive on a 20-yard Billy Cundiff field goal, and for the rest of the first half, they were held without a first down.
- The defense kept Baltimore in the game until the final two minutes of the half, when Peyton Manning led the Colts on two touchdown drives against the tired Ravens.
- With the offense shut down, the Ravens almost got the big plays they needed from Ed Reed in the third quarter when he intercepted two of Manning's passes for long returns. But the first was jarred out of his hands with a well-placed hit from Colts WR Pierre Garcon, and the second was negated by pass interference on Baltimore.
- If this ends up being Reed's final game (after the game, he said he was "50-50" about whether to retire after this season), it was yet another standout performance by the six-time Pro Bowler.
- The Ravens' fate was sealed when RB Ray Rice lost the ball on a long run into Colts territory.
- Indianapolis moves on to face former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan's New York Jets in the AFC Championship.
- With the loss, the Ravens slipped back to second place in all-time postseason winning percentage (8-5). Only the Packers have a better postseason record, at 25-15.
- The Ravens have still never allowed a 100-yard rusher in the playoffs.
