Raj: You could make a fair case for both teams. You can say Baltimore because of how dirty they play against the Patriots and it’s been going on for the past couple of years. At the same time you can say Denver because for the same amount of time, it’s always been a high scoring, back-and-forth affair with that team and the Pats. I still pick Denver in the end. The reason is that the Manning-Brady rivalry never really ended after Manning’s career was over in Indy. He brought it to Denver and with the help of his receivers (not to mention Welker heading over there), things got more heated up. Playing the Broncos, in my opinion, always draws more anticipation than playing the Ravens. Ultimately that’s what fuels the fire to make this rivalry a bigger one than Pats-Ravens.
Rick: The bigger rival for New England is the Ravens. The only reason that Denver would be considered a rival is because they now have Peyton Manning. New England and Baltimore will be playing against each other for the third time in the last four postseasons. While Baltimore doesn’t have Ray Lewis or Ed Reed anymore, this is a rivalry in which Baltimore isn’t afraid to go to Foxboro and they have a coach in John Harbaugh that is great at winning road playoff games. You can even take this rivalry back to 2007 when Baltimore nearly ended the perfect regular season for the Patriots. These two teams have played some great games over the last eight years and we shouldn’t expect anything less, come 4:35 PM ET Saturday.
Derek: Brady/Manning is the matchup that will get the national attention and have roman numerals attached to it, however, the Baltimore Ravens are the Patriots’ true rivals at the moment. Since 2009, the teams have played each other six times, each winning three. In 2009, the Ravens steamrolled the Patriots and ended their season, handing Brady and Belichick their first home playoff loss. One year later, the Patriots stopped a potential game winning drive in the end zone to win their regular-season rematch. Fast forward to 2011 and we’ve got Sterling Moore breaking up the game-winning touchdown in the endzone and Billy Cundiff shanking a chip-shot field goal to send the Patriots to the Super Bowl. In Week 3 of 2012, the Ravens staged a comeback thanks to the replacement referees and won the game on a field goal that probably didn’t make it inside the uprights. A few months later, it was the Ravens defeating the Patriots at Gillette yet again to secure their trip to New Orleans and their eventual Super Bowl title. Last year’s game, a late season blow-out by the Patriots was the only game without major implications and also the only game to occur in Baltimore. The biggest difference between football and the other three sports of baseball, basketball, and hockey is that you never get a Game 7 in the NFL. Well, this week, the Patriots and Ravens will have their Game 7. Winner takes all in what has been an epic rivalry.
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