Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

Teams meet for 1st time in postseason. Clubs meet for 2nd time this season.

Ravens Club makes 2nd consecutive playoff appearance under head coach JOHN HARBAUGH... Club is 3-1 in WC games (2-0 on road)... Team has won 5 of 7 road playoff games... Club ranked 3rd in franchise history w/2,200 rush yards in '09... QB Joe Flacco has 2-1 postseason record. Flacco's 315 completions, 3,613 passing yards & 21 TDs in '09 rank 2nd in Ravens history. In only career meeting vs. NE (10/4/09), Flacco completed 27 of 47 (57.4 pct.) passes for 264 yards w/2 TDs vs. 1 INT... RB Ray Rice (2,041) joined JAMAL LEWIS (2,271) as 2nd Raven in franchise history to reach 2,000 scrimmage yards. Rice's 1,339 rush yards in '09 rank 3rd in franchise history. Rice had 152 scrimmage yards in last game vs. Patriots (103 rush, 49 receiving). Averaged 5.3 yards per carry in '09 (254 att., 1,339 yards). Rice was selected to 1st career Pro Bowl. RB Willis McGahee posted season-high 3 rush TDs last week & had career-high 12 rush TDs in '09... FB LE'RON MCCLAIN earned 2nd straight Pro Bowl selection... In only career postseason meeting vs. NE (w/Titans on 1/10/04), WR Derrick Mason had 7 rec. for 90 yards (12.9 average) w/TD. Incl. postseason, Mason aims for 4th consecutive game w/TD rec. vs. NE. WR Kelley Washington spent 2 seasons (2007-08) w/NE... In past 3 in '09, TE Todd Heap has 4 TD rec... Club ranked 2nd in AFC & tied for 5th in NFL w/22 INTs in '09... Ravens have 22 INTs in 11 postseason games... In 5 career postseason games, S Ed Reed has 5 INTs... Bal. has not allowed RB to gain 100+ rush yards in 11 consecutive postseason games (3rd-longest current streak)... LB Ray Lewis had team-high 133 tackles in '09... LB Terrell Suggs aims for 4th consecutive game w/sack in playoffs & has 4 in past 3... Rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe (undrafted FA, Georgia) posted 1st career INT last week... Club had 5 players selected to Pro Bowl (Lewis, McClain, Haloti Ngata, Reed & Rice).

Patriots Club aims for 12th consecutive home playoff win... Patriots aim for 3rd consecutive WC win... Club leads NFL w/3 SB titles, 5 AFC Championships, & 17 playoff wins since '94 season... Head coach BILL BELICHICK ranks 5th all-time with 15 playoff victories, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famers TOM LANDRY, DON SHULA, JOE GIBBS and CHUCK NOLL... Incl. postseason, club has 29-6 record (.828) at home since '06... QB Tom Brady is 14-3 (.823) in playoffs & holds Patriots record w/3,954 passing yards & 26 TD passes in postseason. Brady is 8-0 at home in playoffs & has completed 178 of 279 passes (63.8 pct.) for 1,778 yards with 13 TDs vs. 5 INTs & 89.9 passer rating. Brady can become 1st QB to win 1st 9 postseason home games in Super Bowl era. Patriots are 8-0 when Brady has 2 or more TD passes in playoff game. In '09, Brady (4,398) reached 4,000 passing yards in season for 3rd time. In 3 games vs. Ravens, Brady is 3-0 & has 687 passing yards w/3 TDs vs. 1 INT. RB Fred Taylor posted 9th career game of 2 or more rush TDs last week... In 3 career postseason games at home, RB Laurence Maroney averages 104.3 rush yards per game & aims for 3rd consecutive home playoff game w/100+ rush yards (122, 122)... WR Randy Moss (817) needs 83 receiving yards to become 12th player in NFL postseason history w/900 receiving yards. Moss averages 19.5 receiving yards per game in playoffs & has 10 TD rec. in 11 postseason games. Aims for 3rd consecutive game w/TD rec. vs. Bal. Rookie WR Julian Edelman (Round 7, Kent St.) had career-high in catches (10) & receiving yards (103) last week...Patriots allowed 18 sacks in '09, fewest in New England history. TE Ben Watson has 3 TDs in 4 career home playoff games... DT Mike Wright had 2 sacks in last meeting vs. Bal... Rookie CB Darius Butler (Round 2, Connecticut) had 91-yard INT-TD return last week... LB Adalius Thomas spent 7 seasons (2000-06) w/Ravens. Thomas had 2 sacks in last postseason game (SB XLII)... Club had 4 players selected to Pro Bowl (Brady, LOGAN MANKINS, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork).