Colts Cruise: Indy Shuts Down Baltimore, 20-3

Following the Ravens’ 20-3 playoff loss to the Colts, our Ravens blog, Baltimore Beatdown, is ready to blame everybody in the organization.

Ouch. BB goes on to highlight Ravens quarterbacks’ almost complete ineffectiveness against Indianapolis in recent history:

Our Colts blog, Stampede Blue, is giving Pierre Garçon the game ball, but insists on giving defensive coordinator Larry Coyer plenty of credit as well. Coyer’s defense, after all, surrendered only three points to the Ravens the entire game.

For more on Saturday’s game, as well as a look ahead to next weekend’s AFC Championship game, head on over to Stampede Blue.

For more, check out our Colts blog, Stampede Blue, and our Ravens blog, Baltimore Beatdown.

The top-seeded Colts will be at home next Sunday against the winner of the contest between the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers.

Finishing it out, they see the Colts over the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

Video: Some Colt love, from their Super Bowl victory.

Sure the Baltimore Ravens are playing the Indianapolis Colts in one of this weekend’s playoff games, but Baltimore Beatdown suggests watching the game within the game. Peyton Manning is the unquestioned leader of the Colts, Ray Lewis is the unquestioned leader of the Ravens. One’s on offense, the other on defense. Which means we get to watch two future Hall-of-Famers battle it out on the gridiron. No matter how it plays out, you can expect the best from two of the best ever.

Video: Since this post came from a Ravens perspective, here’s a little treat for Baltimore fans.

While the Colts have had a lot of success against the Ravens, it’s other ghosts of playoffs past that have their fans worried. Back in 2005, the Colts were similarly undefeated late in the season, dropped a few games towards the end, and after the bye got upset by the #6-seed Steelers in a crazy playoff game. But this 2009 Colts team is not the same, as Stampede Blue points out after receiving a tip in a Raheem Brock tweet that basically says the team got rid of bad players from that 2005 defense.

Not only are there similarities in Colts teams, but the guys at Stampede Blue find similarities between the 2005 Steelers and the 2009 Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens fanbase is tired of losing to the Colts. They want revenge for a string of failures against the Peyton Mannings, including some playoff losses. Sure, advancing in the playoffs can be a strong motivating factor, but admit it, beating a team that has owned you recently can put a giddy-up in your step. The Ravens will take all the push they can get.

From Baltimore Beatdown:

In an effort to get closer to the truth about what will happen this weekend during the NFL Divisional Round Playoffs, we talked to bloggers representing all eight teams still left in the chase. For each participant, we asked the same batch of questions. This is the preview for Baltimore and Indianapolis.