Ravens get ready to hit road
Baltimore eager to play Patriots in ‘extremely intense environment’
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — No team in the NFL had a better home record than the Baltimore Ravens, who are headed to the AFC championship game on the strength of their 9-0 mark at M&T Bank Stadium.
Unfortunately for them, their path to the Super Bowl calls for a road trip to New England.
Baltimore (13-4) would have had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if not for its mediocre 4-4 record on the road. The Ravens’ last loss, a 34-14 rout in San Diego on Dec. 18, cost them the top seed in the AFC.
Playing as the No. 2 seed, Baltimore returned from a bye to beat the Houston Texans 20-13 at home on Sunday. That completed the Ravens’ first perfect season at home. The only other team to finish unbeaten at home was New Orleans (8-0).
“It was awesome. We love being at home,” linebacker Jarret Johnson said Monday, well aware that Baltimore’s next home game will be in the preseason in August.
If the Ravens are to get to Indianapolis, site of the Super Bowl, they must beat the Patriots (14-3) in Foxborough on Sunday.
Baltimore defeated New England in the playoffs on the road after the 2009 season, but its overall record against the Patriots is 1-6 — including a 27-24 defeat in 2007 in Baltimore, a 27-21 loss in New England in 2009 and a 23-20 setback in overtime last season.
“The last four times we played them, going back to ’97, all four of them have been wars,” Johnson said.
“Even though they’ve won three of the four, they had to earn it. This one is not going to be any different. It’s going to be an extremely intense situation and environment, and we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Monday on a Boston radio station that the Ravens are the toughest team the Patriots will have faced all season. The Patriots moved on with their ninth straight win when they beat the Denver Broncos 45-10 Saturday night.