NFL Divisional Playoff Preview: AFC

(click here for the NFC divisional preview)

A look, now, at the two AFC divisional playoff games this weekend. All NFL football betting lines come courtesy Sports Interaction’s online sportsbook.

Baltimore Ravens (10-7) at Indianapolis Colts (14-2)

The Numbers: Currently, Indy is listed as a -6.5 home favourite over the Ravens, a rather large number considering the Ravens are coming off a highly impressive win at New England and — back in Week 11 — these two teams met in a tightly-contested affair. The score that day: Colts 17, Ravens 15.

Meanwhile, the Over/Under is listed at 44 points. That’s a fairly standard number, so no real shock there.

The Matchup: Joe Flacco vs. Dwight Freeney/Robert Mathis. It’s no secret that Flacco’s right hip injury is way worse than the team is letting on — the Ravens QB only attempted 10 passes last week (and just 19 the week prior in Oakland) and can barely drop back into the pocket without a major hitch in his step. He’s in pain. And look for Indy’s outstanding DEs to only increase it. Freeney and Mathis could make live miserable for Flacco this weekend — they’re two of the speediest pass-rushers in the league and will be taking on a rookie (a great one, but still a rookie) tackle in Baltimore’s Michael Oher.

The Intangible: Ray Rice. We mentioned him as an intangible in the New England game, and Rice responded accordingly: 22 carries, 159 yards and two TDs, including a backbreaking 83-yarder on the opening play from scrimmage. If Rice can have anything to a similar day against Indy, the Ravens will be very, very tough to beat.

New York Jets (10-7) at San Diego Chargers (13-3)

The Numbers: San Diego opened as high as -9 at some books, but has started to come back a little bit. Sports Interaction currently has the line San Diego -7.0 and the Over/Under at 42.5.

The Matchup: Jets Run vs. Chargers Pass. the Jets love to run — they ran the ball 41 times against Cincinnati last week while attempting just 15 passes. In their last three games, they’ve rushed for 202, 257 and 171 yards. The Chargers, meanwhile, love to pass. They’ve got tons of size in the vertical passing game — QB Phillip Rivers (6’5) is big, TE Antonio Gates is big (6’4) and WRs Vincent Jackson (6’5) and Malcolm Floyd (6’5) are big — and led the NFL is passing plays of 20 yards or more (67 of them) this season.  Rivers has a funky throwing style that often results in a high ball, so what did Charger management do? Get him a bunch of tall receivers who could go up and get them. It’s made for one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the league, so the Jets will have to establish their equally-dynamic run game not just to score points, but to also keep Rivers and company off the field.

The Intangible: Mark Sanchez. The Jets’ rookie QB wasn’t called upon to do much last weekend in Cincy, but of the mere 15 passes he threw, he did complete 12 and scored a TD. In short, he did an outstanding job of carrying out a relativey simple game plan.  Assuming the gameplan will have to be more complex against the Chargers, you know what the question is: Can Sanchez handle more pressure and responsibility?