Colts vs. Ravens 2013, NFL Playoffs: Baltimore wins emotional game

While Ravens fans can bask in their playoff victory, SB Nation’s Baltimore Ravens blog, Baltimore Beat Down, asks the team to get ready to go back to work because another (and tougher) challenge awaits this weekend.

Four more NFL teams know their draft positioning following this past weekend’s round of Wild Card action.

Below is all 24 picks that have been determined so far:

It’s hard to tell what Mathis is going for here. The kick is self-explanatory, but the shuffle leading up to it -- almost as if he’s slipping on ice is just bizarre. Is he mocking a place kicker, pretending to be Flacco? You decide. Also, why is Mathis afraid of bending at the elbows?

Combining for over 150 yards on the ground, and playing solid defense, both teams look remarkably similar. The Colts are playing the Ravens’ game, and so far, Baltimore is doing it better.

Sometimes it’s about the small victories. There’s no need to always celebrate huge plays, shattering hits or glorious wins -- a fan should be able to appreciate the little things, like a three-point lead. Or a burrito (?).

Enjoying the game like he’s in day two of Burning Man, this dapper chap is heartily enjoying an early lead from a 23-yard field goal. It’s the fan to the top right who quickly became tired of his antics, and his claps rapidly became ambivalence.

You’d like his massive robot arm would have helped him make the catch. Robot science is not as advanced as we were led to believe.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis took to M&T Bank Stadium today for the last time, after announcing his retirement at the end of the season. His introduction was as excellent as you imagined it would be.

Prior to the game, Ravens players spoke about what Ray Lewis means to them, and the urgency they have to make something happen in these 2012-13 playoffs. There’s an understanding throughout the organization that they can’t concentrate fully on Lewis’s retirement, but instead use it as motivation.

The team did not disclose what the specific illness is, but they did say he was at the hospital and “doing fine.” Last Thursday, Arians missed practice with what the team called the flu. An illness has been circulating around the Colts complex.

The impressive interim work, along with the offensive production, had made Arians a head-coaching candidate for several teams during the current round of interviewing in the NFL.

Of course, some players won’t be on the field and were relegated to the inactive list. They are as follows for both sides:

via @DarrenRovell

SB Nation’s Stampede Blue and Baltimore Beatdown discussed Sunday’s game, how their teams got here and how Sunday’s game will be won.

The Colts got here thanks to the rookie class.

Hey, that’s hardly a synonym, Thesaurus! I was trying to avoid the word altogether!

Four wins away from a Super Bowl championship. Can they do that? They’re certainly going to need all kinds of Luck, both real and imaginary.

Ray Lewis.

Baltimore is certainly better with him and than without him.

The opening rounds of every sport’s post-season are always the best, for the simple fact that the most possible teams and markets and fans are involved, and there’s simply more to watch every night. Sure, it’s gripping drama when you have conference championships airing a game a night (or, in the NFL’s case, one after the other on the same Sunday) but there’s something perversely enjoyable about plopping down on the couch and staring at the TV for a ton of hours at a time for games that matter most.

MLB, the NBA and NHL -- as well as March Madness - have all found a way to harness this sort of power, but I think the first two rounds of the NFL playoffs are my favorite. Football’s become so stretched out lately -- games on Thursday nights no one likes, the end of the late season Saturday games -- that it feels like the sport itself is starting to stretch itself a bit thin (even if ratings remain at record levels). Wild Card Weekend and the divisional playoffs give you football when you want to watch it: on the weekends, mostly in the afternoon (save for the primetime Saturday game), mostly in the cold. It’s classic football, and I’ll be glued to it even though my team isn’t involved.

Brad Wells of Stampede Blue gives us his analysis. But who have you got?

“It just goes to prove that the NFL is full of surprises and full of longshot betting potential,” said Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com. “Both are underdogs on the NFL odds menu this weekend as well.”

Washington was a +450 underdog and their Wild Card foes from Seattle were +300, two more preseason longshots that paid off.

Baltimore has not done well against the spread this season despite holding a 10-6 record. The Ravens are 6-9-1 against the spread overall and just 3-5 at home. Indianapolis’ 11-5 record against the spread matches their 11-5 overall record, and the Colts are a respectable 4-4 against the spread on the road.