(SportsNetwork.com) - It may not be a big divisional matchup, but Saturdays AFC playoff matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and hosting New England Patriots figures to be a good one. After all, it appears you cant go wrong with Joe Flacco and Tom Brady in the postseason. The Patriots and Ravens rank first and second in the NFL in victories since 2008, with New England amassing 88 in that span. Baltimore has 82, a number it increased with last weekends 30-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC Wild Card round clash. The Ravens went into that game 0-3 in Pittsburgh in the postseason, but sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times to highlight a solid defensive effort and got a pair of passing touchdowns from Flacco. Flacco threw for 259 yards and he teamed with head coach John Harbaugh for their seventh playoff victory together. Thats playoff football. Thats Joe Flacco, a jubilant Harbaugh beamed. Hes the best quarterback in football. Well take him any day of the week, twice on Sunday...or Saturday night, if that be the case. Baltimore is 10-4 in the playoffs under Harbaugh with a Super Bowl win and the Ravens have handed the Patriots two of their four all-time losses in 19 home playoff games. Baltimore beat New England in a 2009 wild card matchup and again in the 2012 AFC Championship game prior to winning Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens shut Brady and the Pats out in the second half of that game to rally for a 28-13 and avenge a loss to New England in the previous AFC title game. This is the fourth postseason battle between the clubs, with each taking place in Foxborough, though Brady doesnt factor home-field advantage that much into the matchup. It always goes to execution and how well you play because theres nothing that the crowd can do to help you make the plays that youre supposed to make, he said. I think there are things that -- the communication and the ability to communicate late in the play clock is a strong advantage for the offense. New England is making its sixth straight postseason appearance, but hasnt won the Super Bowl since 2004 or reached the championship matchup since 2007. A victory in this game, though, would make the Patriots only the fifth team to reach four straight conference championship games. The Pats won the AFC East with their third straight 12-4 season, securing the top seed in the conference. They have advanced to the Super Bowl in three of the previous four seasons they have claimed the top seed. New England head coach Bill Belichick comes in having won 19 postseason games, tied with Don Shula for second most all-time and one back of Tom Landrys NFL-leading 20. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Saturday could become a milestone day for Brady after he passed for over 4,000 yards with 33 touchdowns in the regular season. Bradys 43 postseason touchdown passes rank third in NFL history and he comes in just behind second-place Brett Favre (44) and the all-time leader Joe Montana, who had 45. Brady also is one of two quarterbacks with at least 6,000 passing yards in the playoffs and no other quarterback has recorded as many postseason wins as his 18. While the Ravens had success last weekend in getting to Roethlisberger, Brady and his ability to move the ball quick present a different challenge. Its different because Ben scrambles a little more and hes a little stronger shrugging off tackles and things like that, noted Harbaugh. Neither one of them really scramble to run; both of them scramble to throw. Tom does a great job of getting the ball out quick. Theyre both excellent before the snap. New England did get 13 rushing touchdowns this season, but none of its players ran for more than Jonas Grays 412. However, receivers Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell combined along with tight end Rob Gronkowski for 248 receptions and 23 touchdowns. Gronkowski, limited to seven games and none in the playoffs last season due to a knee injury, led the Pats with 12 touchdown catches and should provide an added offensive punch New England did not have when it lost to Denver in the AFC Championship Game. Hes a real key to our offense, Brady said of his tight end. Hes a very talented player and weve got to find ways to get him the ball. Hes got to be a big factor. Were all excited to be out there this week. The Pats are likely to have Edelman back in action to. He led the team with 92 receptions to go along with 972 yards and four TDs, but missed the final two regular season games due to a concussion. Anytime you dont get to go out and play with your teammates its very tough, especially at the end of the year where you are preparing for postseason, but all of that is in the past. Im looking forward to today and preparing for the Ravens and getting ready for this game, Edelman said. Brady will be going up against a Ravens team that ranked 24th against the pass, but was dominant in allowing only 88.3 rushing yards per game. And though they give up yardage, the Ravens can also wreck havoc on a quarterback thanks to linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil set a single-season franchise record with 17 sacks and then picked up another two versus the Steelers. He was part of a pass rush that forced Roethlisberger into throwing a pair of interceptions. Then there is Suggs, who has had many battles with Brady and the Pats offense. He made six tackles and had a pick versus the Steelers and comes in with 12 career playoff sacks, tied with Reggie White for third all-time. Hes phenomenal. Hes (in his) 12th year; it looks like its his third year out there, said Brady of Suggs. Hes the leader of that defense, he makes great plays. I think theres the play thats called, and then what he actually does. So even though he has a certain responsibility, if he sniffs it out he takes a shot and goes for it. New England also may have some respect for Flacco, who has faced the Pats five times in Foxborough and has averaged 225.8 yards per game while throwing nine touchdown passes. His 92.8 passer rating is the beat by an opposing quarterback at Gillette Stadium since 2008 with a minimum of three games and he completed a trio of TD passes with no interceptions in the 2012 AFC Championship game. Flacco has thrown for 1,399 yards and 13 touchdowns with no picks over Baltimores current five-game playoff winning streak. Hes a good quarterback in all situations. Hes a good quarterback, period. I have a lot of respect for him, noted Belichick of Flacco. While Torrey Smith represents a deep, reliable threat for Flacco to look for -- with Smith leading the Ravens with 11 touchdown catches -- Steve Smith topped the team with 79 catches in his first season with the club and added another five receptions for 101 yards against the Steelers. Known for excellent hands, Steve Smith may see himself facing Pats cornerback Darrell Revis a lot in this game. Revis was credited with 14 passes defensed this season and picked off a pair of passes. Quarterbacks sometimes tend to avoid throwing to his side of the field, but Flacco said that limits an offense too much. I think as a play-caller, you have to just go out there, rely on your guys that you have that are out there, rely on the fact that they have ability. And as a quarterback, you have to go out there and just go through your reads. And if hes open, throw it to him; if hes not, dont, Flacco said. Linebacker Jamie Collins led New England with a career-high 115 tackles and was one of only three players this season with at least four sacks and a pair of interceptions. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its never easy, but the Ravens are one team that has been able to run with the Patriots in the playoffs, and obviously playing on the road does not bother the team. Baltimore is 10-5 all-time on the road in the postseason, but Harbaugh doesnt think that gives his club any added advantage. I dont think it really matters. Its a new game. Really, the past, the future -- Its just whoever plays best Saturday afternoon is going to be the team that wins the game. Its always that way. So, I dont think it makes any difference at all one way or the other, said Harbaugh. The Ravens combined a good defense with an offense that managed to put up points last weekend, but now they face a motivated Patriots team that has begun to see its window of success under Brady enter the latter stages. Were always trying to win the last game of the year. We set pretty high expectations and I think we all have high expectations but youve got to go out there and earn it, declared Brady. Its not easy and this is a first step for us. A lot of teams played last week, we didnt get a chance to do that. This is a week where we can really try to make an impact on this season. Weve worked pretty hard to get to this point. New England is going to have to work hard again this weekend and though Brady may take some shots, hell probably also have an opportunity to make some plays against a suspect secondary, with a healthy Gronkowski being the difference maker. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Patriots 27, Ravens 24 New York Mets Shirts . Patton was placed on the restricted list testing positive for a banned amphetamine. Patton took Adderall, a drug commonly used to combat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, late in the 2013 season and then was given a random drug test. Howard Johnson Jersey .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/1030l-ron-darling-jersey-mets.html . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Randy Niemann Jersey . Teams one through twenty competing in Englands top flight are each fatally flawed. A wide-open, highly competitive and mistake-filled season has followed. Mike Piazza Jersey . TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. 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Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Having drawn 1-1 at home in the first leg, Juve was staring at elimination on the away-goals rule until Fiorentina defender Gonzalo Rodriguez was dismissed in the 69th minute for a second booking. From the resulting free kick at the edge of the area, Pirlo stepped up and whipped a brilliant strike into the top corner to seal a 1-0 win. The classy Italy midfielder shows no sign of decline at the age of 34 -- he scored a similarly sublime free kick for his team in a last-gasp league win over Genoa on Sunday, which kept Juve 14 points clear in Serie A and on course to defend its title. Juventus will be hosting the Europa League final on May 14 and the runaway Italian league leader may yet be playing in the showpiece match in front of its own fans. Sevilla overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit courtesy of goals by Jose Antonio Reyes and Carlos Bacca, earning a 2-0 win that sent the match to penalties. Sevillas first spot kick by Vitolo was saved but Alfred NDiaye and Nono failed to find the target with Betis last two attempts, putting the two-time winners through 4-3 on penalties. Benfica remained on course for a return to the final after surviving a late fightback by Tottenham to draw 2-2 in their second leg and advance 5-3 on aggregate. Two goals in less than two mminutes by Nacer Chadli put Spurs 2-1 ahead on the night and gave them 11 minutes to score another, which would have forced extra time.dddddddddddd The English team missed a number of chances before conceding a penalty deep into injury time, converted by Lima. There was no repeat of the touchline spat between rival coaches Jorge Jesus and Tim Sherwood form the first leg -- Sherwood opted to sit in the stands and stay out of trouble. Portos 1-0 lead from its first leg against Napoli was wiped out by Goran Pandevs deft finish in the 21st minute. The Italian side dominated but was picked off on counterattacks through goals by Nabil Ghilas in the 69th and Ricardo Quaresma in the 76th. Quaresma, the mercurial playmaker, finished off a flowing move by jinking between two defenders and slamming a shot high into the net for the goal of the evening. Duvan Zapatas consolation goal earned Napoli a 2-2 draw but it exited 3-2 on aggregate, denying coach Rafael Benitez the opportunity to retain the title he won when in interim charge of Chelsea last season. Players were taken off the pitch by the referee for about 10 minutes midway through the first half of Salzburg-Basel after missiles, including fireworks, were thrown onto the field of play by Basel fans. The score was 1-0 to Salzburg at the time after Jonatan Sorianos competition-high eighth goal in the Europa League, while Basel was down to 10 men after Marek Suchys straight red in the ninth minute. However, Marco Streller and Gaston Sauro scored headed goals in the second half for the Swiss team and Salzburg also ended the match with 10 men after Alan received a second yellow card for trying a bicycle kick and hitting Basel defender Philipp Degen in the face. Lyon lost 2-1 at Viktoria Plzen but advanced 5-3 on aggregate, Valencia beat Ludogorets Razgrad 1-0 thanks to Paco Alcacers 59th-minute goal and advanced 4-0 on aggregate. AZ Alkmaar drew 0-0 at Anzhi Makhachkala for a 1-0 aggregate victory. ' ' '