Playoffs of the 2000s: Indianapolis vs. Baltimore

Like the New Orleans-Minnesota matchup earlier in our Playoffs of the 2000s series, our next battle also replays a game that occurred in this year's actual playoffs. The similarities are striking -- the Baltimore Ravens come off a dominating first-round win on the road (against New England this year and against Denver in our fictional playoffs) to face the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts. The Colts shut the Ravens down a few weeks ago; will they do it again here?

The Colts' Super Bowl opponent this season -- the New Orleans Saints -- already advanced to their conference championship game in our decade-long look at the league's best playoff teams. Are the two teams destined to square off in our mock finale, as they will in Miami?

Before breaking this game down, we have the answer to Saturday's bonus question. The Green Bay Packer that has scored three touchdowns in a single playoff game over the last 10 years is Ryan Grant, who accomplished the feat in the second round of the playoffs in 2008 against the Seahawks.

Now, let's look at our divisional-round meeting in the Playoffs of the 2000s between the AFC No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts and the AFC No. 5 seed Baltimore Ravens.

Indianapolis Colts

This year's Super Bowl marks the second time in the 2000s that Indianapolis has reached the year's final game. In 2007, they entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed, then defeated Kansas City at home and Baltimore on the road before facing New England in the AFC Championship. The Colts finally thwarted the Patriots in that game and went on to defeat Chicago in Super Bowl XLI. In the last 10 years, the Colts have made the playoffs a league-best nine times. They are 3-3 in the second round and 6-2 at home in the playoffs. The Colts spent most of this decade coached by Tony Dungy, with Jim Caldwell taking over in 2009.

Despite all their regular-season success, the Colts have been an up-and-down team once the postseason started. In 2000, they snuck in as the No. 6 seed, went up 14-0 against the Dolphins in the first round, but lost the game in overtime. After missing the playoffs in 2001 for the only time in the decade, they were throttled in 2002 by the Jets in the first round as a wild-card team. Indianapolis was then eliminated by New England in the next two season, first in the AFC Championship and then in the second round. Next, the top-seeded Colts were upset by the sixth-seeded Steelers in the second round of the 2005 playoffs -- Pittsburgh held a 21-3 lead going into the fourth quarter only to see Indianapolis rally but fall three points short of a great comeback.

Next came the Colts' Super Bowl run. Three Adam Vinatieri field goals staked the team to a 9-0 lead over the Chiefs in the first round, and two second-half TDs gave the Colts an easy 23-8 win. They hit the road for the second round, and Vinatieri handled all the scoring, with his five field goals earning the Colts a 15-6 victory. In the AFC Championship, the Patriots jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. Peyton Manning led the Colts on two touchdown drives in the third quarter, but the Patriots still held the lead late in the fourth. With 2:17 left on the clock, though, Manning marched the Colts 80 yards down the field for the game-winning score, purging the postseason demons and giving Indianapolis a ticket to the Super Bowl. Vinatieri added three more field goals in the Super Bowl, and the Colts finally parlayed one of their playoff trips in the 2000s into a championship.

The next two years saw the Colts fall to the Chargers, but this year the Colts found redemption and another trip to the Super Bowl. The team only had to play two wild-card teams to reach the Super Bowl, which, interestingly, wasn't the first time that scenario has occurred. Seattle reached Super Bowl XL after defeating the wild-card Redskins and Panthers. Will the Colts suffer the same fate, or will they win their second championship in four years?

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens reached the playoffs six times in the 2000s, including in each of the last two years. They made the playoffs in the 2000 season as the No. 4 seed, defeating Denver in their wild-card game on Dec. 31, 2000 by a score of 21-3. The Ravens went on to topple the AFC's No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the road before dominating the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. In their four playoff games that season, the Ravens allowed a total of 23 points. They are 2-3 in the second round and 6-3 on the road.

Winning the Super Bowl as a wild card may seem like something that rarely occurs, but it happens more than you may think. Baltimore won Super Bowl XXXV as a wild-card team, back when the league was still comprised of six divisions. Since that year, both the Steelers (Super Bowl XL) and the Giants (Super Bowl XLII) have won titles as road teams throughout the playoffs.

Both Baltimore victories in the second round have come as a wild-card team against a No. 1 seed. Coincidentally, they defeated the Tennessee Titans each time, first in their 2001 title run and then again in 2009. They lost to No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in 2002 and to the Colts twice, once as the home team against the third-seeded Colts, and this year as a wild-card team against a No. 1 seed. With all the second-round games the Ravens have played against No. 1 seeds, it's fitting to see them in the same scenario here.

The Game

The Colts did a great job of beating the Ravens at their own game back in 2007, winning a playoff game against the defensive-minded Ravens, despite not scoring a touchdown. The Colts' defense shut down the Ravens again a few weeks ago, defeating Baltimore 20-3 in their second-round matchup.

With those two victories over the Ravens (one at home and one on the road), it's hard to imagine the Colts losing this matchup. Manning is as calm and collected as they come, while quarterbacks like Steve McNair and Joe Flacco have struggled to move the ball against Indianapolis. It may shock some to see the Colts playing such good defense, but it's been a staple of their teams later in the decade.

With the Colts gaining the edge on defense, with Adam Vinatieri dominating multiple playoff games with his leg, and with the high-flying Colts offense markedly better than that of Baltimore, we can safely give the Colts the win here. Indianapolis takes the game 23-6.

Bonus question: Which Baltimore Raven intercepted Peyton Manning in both those second-round losses?

The Colts advance to our AFC championship to face the No. 2 seed, New England.