There has been no talk of Mayflower vans, Bob Irsay or even Johnny Unitas this week as Baltimore’s football past and present prepared to meet this afternoon at 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Instead, the Ravens and Colts are desperate for a win to remain in contention in their respective divisions — and that’s all anybody is talking about.
“There is no special meaning behind this game and after it’s all said and done, we want to be 3-2,” Ravens receiver Derrick Mason said. “That’s all we care about right now and I’m pretty sure they are looking at it the same way.”
The Ravens (2-2) are trying to rebound from consecutive, three-point losses by winning for their first time in four trips to Indianapolis to prevent Pittsburgh (4-1) from extending its lead in the AFC North.
Meantime, the Colts (2-2), who have yet to win a game at their new home, are off to their worst start since 2001 — the last time they finished with a losing record. The Colts, who scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes, 10 seconds to pull out a 31-27 victory over Houston last week, can’t afford to fall further behind AFC South Division-leading Tennessee (5-0).
“We’ve got to get a streak going, No. 1, because it’s hard to get in playoff contention if you win one, lose one, win one, lose one,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “ We haven’t won a home game yet this year — that’s a little disappointing. It’s hard to be a playoff team if you don’t win homes games.”
Today’s game marks the fifth straight season the Colts and Ravens have met in the regular season or playoffs. The Ravens have lost five straight against the Colts, including a 44-20 setback at M&T Bank Stadium last year, when the Ravens committed five turnovers and trailed 37-7 at halftime.
“It’s always classic rivals when we play these guys,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “They know what they get, we know what we get. [Manning is] probably the best quarterback in the game, and he probably has one of the best receiving corps in Reggie Wayne, [Dallas] Clark and [Marvin] Harrison and all those guys over there.”
But this these are not the same Colts who the Ravens faced last year. The Colts have used four new players, including three rookies, on the offensive line and their defense is not nearly as good without Bob Sanders, who is sidelined with a high right ankle sprain.
“Certainly, we’ve had some different guys playing,” Manning said. “But that’s something that’s happened in the past. We’ve had injuries before and we’ve had young guys step up, and that’s part of football. It’s something we have to work through.”
Manning said he is ready for the “chess match” of playing against Lewis and the Ravens’ top-ranked defense that has allowed the opposition an average of just 192.5 yards per game.
“Baltimore does a great job of mixing it up every single week,” Manning said. “It’s a credit to their players and how much they can handle mentally. Some teams just can’t do that many different blitzes or different types of zone or man-to-man combinations because their players can’t handle the mental overload. But Baltimore can, and it definitely presents a lot of problems for an offense.”
RAVENS-COLTS FILE
Here is how the Ravens have fared through the years against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts lead the all-time series, 6-2, including a victory in the teams’ lone postseason game.
Date Location Result Note
10/13/96 Indianapolis Colts, 26-21 Coach Ted Marchibroda fails to defeat city’s former team
11/29/98 Baltimore Ravens, 38-31 QB Jim Harbaugh gives Johnny Unitas game ball after victory
12/1/01 Baltimore Ravens. 39-27 Ravens force 4 TOs; K Matt Stover kicks 4 field goals
10/13/02 Indianapolis Colts, 22-20 K Mike Vanderjagt kicks game-winner with four seconds remaining
12/9/04 Indianapolis Colts, 20-10 Two, third-quarter TDs the difference
9/11/05 Baltimore Colts, 24-7 Colts finish with three sacks, force three tunrovers
1/13/07 Baltimore Colts, 15-6 No TDs scored; Colts end Ravens’ season in divisional playoff round
12/9/07 Baltimore Colts, 44-20 Ravens have 5 TOs, trail 23-0 after first quarter
