The similarities are eerie for the Indianapolis Colts. A bit frighteningly so.
The Colts, who spent the weekend watching and waiting to learn their opponent in a Divisional Playoff Saturday, learned around 4 p.m. EST it would be the Baltimore Ravens. Actually, it was apparent earlier that would be the case, so decisive was the Ravens' 33-14 upset victory over the New England Patriots in an AFC Wild Card game in Foxboro, Mass., Sunday.
The Ravens got ahead early, and dominated late.
And as they did, those who follow the Colts perhaps couldn't help think how eerily similar the early part of the postseason is to one four seasons ago.
In 2005, the Colts clinched home-field advantage with three weeks remaining, played meaningless games late in the season, then watched the No. 6 seeded Pittsburgh Steelers upset third-seeded Cincinnati in the first round of the playoffs. The Steelers then upset the Colts, 21-18, the following week.
The similarities are striking:
The Steelers and Ravens are both AFC North teams. They both play tough defense.
The Steelers of 2005 had a second-year quarterback with big-time ability, Ben Roethlisberger; the Ravens have a second-year quarterback with big-time ability, Joe Flacco.
The Steelers of 2005 had made the AFC Championship Game the year before, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. The Ravens made it to the AFC Championship Game last season, losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.
The Steelers of 2005 had lost to the Colts in November, 24-7, at the RCA Dome; the Ravens lost to the Colts, 17-15, in Baltimore in November, one of five games in that month in which the Colts rallied to win after trailing in the fourth quarter.
While some of the similarities may be trivial, the final three are not. Flacco, like Roethlisberger in 2005, may not yet be an elite-level quarterback, but he is 3-1 in the postseason and seems unlikely to make the critical postseason errors that so often ends teams' seasons. Possibly, being deep into his second season, he is on the cusp of moving to an elite level, and the postseason stage often is where such moves are made.
The fact that the Colts and Ravens have played likely means little. The details of November's meeting certainly will be dissected this week, but more often than not, such analysis is entertaining before the game and not very meaningful during it.
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