The Colts pushed the Ravens around a little bit on Saturday Night and it showed on the scoreboard.  Peyton Manning was solid completing 30 of 44 passes for 246 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Joseph Addai had a hard time getting much going for the Colts in this game with 11 carries for 23 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also added 3 catches for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  Reggie Wayne (8 rec, 63 yards, TD), Dallas Clark (7 rec, 59 yards, FR) and Austin Collie (4 rec, 52 yards, TD) all had solid games for the Colts on Saturday Night in the passing game.  The Colts finished up with 275 total yards in this game on offense (42 rushing, 233 passing).

It was the defense that won this game for the Colts.  DT Daniel Muir had one of the best games of his career leading the way for the Colts with 7 tackles (1 tackle for a loss).  Linebacker Clint Session also had a solid game with 4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  CB Jerraud Powers and S Antoine Bethea each pitched in with 1 interception apiece.  The Ravens finished up with only 270 total yards on offense (87 rushing, 183 passing).  Only the Jets stand between the Colts and the Super Bowl now.

The Colts will face a Ravens’ team that is on a roll.  Hopefully the rest the Colts had pretty much the last three weeks will have them ready to go tomorrow night.  The Colts must jump on the Ravens quick in a attempt to take them out of their gameplan.  The Ravens want to run the ball and keep it away from the Colts’ offense.  The Ravens’ CBs are the weakness of the defense so look for Peyton Manning to be targeting Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie a lot.  It would also be smart for the Colts to run the ball some with Joseph Addai to keep the Ravens from bringing a big pass rush.

This is not a good matchup for the Colts’ D which is more equipped to stop the pass than the run.  The Colts need DTs Daniel Muir, Antonio Johnson and middle linebacker Gary Brackett to stop the inside running game of the Ravens and that will not be easy.  If the Ravens are running the ball well and there is no reason to think they won’t the Colts could be in some trouble in this game.  DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis will likely be negated in this game as the Ravens won’t be throwing the ball much.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 23, RAVENS 20

The Colts got beat for the second time this season by the Chargers but this time it ended their year.  Peyton Manning completed 33 of 48 passes for 402 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  But both of the interceptions really hurt the Colts in this game.  Joseph Addai couldn’t find any running room as he rushed for 43 yards on 13 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 67 yards (7.4 avg).  Dallas Clark (6 rec, 95 yards), Anthony Gonzalez (4 rec, 79 yards) and Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 76 yards) each caught a TD pass in this game.  The Colts finished up with 44 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 48 passes for 402 yards.

The Colts defense didn’t play too well but it was led by tackle Edward Johnson (9 tackles) and safety Antoine Bethea (7 tackles).  The Chargers finished up with 99 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards.

On November 11th of this season the Chargers beat the Colts 23-21 in San Diego.  It’s unlikely that the Chargers will pick off Peyton Manning six times again like they did November 11th, so they will need to play mistake free football to have a chance to win on the road. 

The Colts have been very good at stopping the run this season so the Chargers will need to throw the football often on first down to loosen up the Colts secondary.  They will need Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers to repeat last week’s performance against the Titans but that will likely be hard to do against corners Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden.  With that in mind look for a lot of passes to LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates (if he can play).  That will put big pressure on outside linebackers Freddy Keiaho and Tyjuan Hagler.  Still, the Chargers won’t forget to run the ball considering that they have the best running back on the planet.

The Colts will likely try to mix the run in more than usual with Joseph Addai taking on the interior of the Chargers defense.  That’s because Peyton Manning had one of his worst games ever in the regular season meeting with the Chargers and Colts as he threw six pickoffs.  Look for Manning to keep the passing game short to Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark.  The Colts must get good blocking from their tackles or the Colts could be in trouble with Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips blitzing off of the edges.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 24, CHARGERS 23