The Colts are coming off a miracle win over the Patriots last week and a lot of experts expect them to be flat this week.  I am not one of them however as this is a good matchup for the Colts’ offense.  The Ravens are giving up 208.9 yards passing per game which is the strength of the Colts’ offense as they are averaging 315.1 yards passing per game.  Peyton Manning has only been sacked 8 times this season and the Ravens will be without Terrell Suggs in this game meaning that he will likely be comfortable in the pocket.  If he has time to throw the ball he will pick the Ravens’ secondary apart.  Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark will likely both have big games this week.  The Ravens can’t double either of those guys or Manning will go to Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie who are both having good years.  The Colts’ running game has been weak this season so the Ravens’ strength of defending the run will be negated.

The Ravens will likely be more conservative than usual as they don’t want to get into a fire fight with the Colts.  That means that Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will likely get a lot of carries this week in a attempt to control the clock.  The Colts are giving up 108.7 yards rushing per game (4.3 ypc) so the Ravens should have some success on the ground.  But, the Ravens need Joe Flacco to play well especially if the Colts bring extra players in the box to defend the run.  That means that Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton will have to have good games for the Ravens to win on Sunday.  Another issue could be how much time that Flacco has to throw the football with DEs Dwight Freeney (9.5 sacks) and Robert Mathis (8.5 sacks) attacking from the edges of the pocket.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, RAVENS 17