Joe Flacco will start and wear a knee brace against the Patriots after suffering a reported "mild" sprained MCL. It will be key to watch how much the knee hampers Flacco. He's used his mobility a lot this season, even taking off to pick up key first downs. Flacco could sit more in the pocket if his knee doesn't feel 100 percent come gameday.

Ray Rice has rushed for more than 50 yards in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Patriots run defense is the second-worst unit in the league, allowing an average of 132.5 yards per game. So is this the game Rice breaks out? He had a big day against the Chicago Bears' porous run defense in Week 11. Rice could take the pressure off Flacco and his knee.

The Ravens are the only team Tom Brady has thrown more interceptions (10) against than touchdowns (8). He's been visibly rattled (or just plain downtrodden) on the field a few times. Brady has shown his frustration with a lack of receivers around him, and he's again without tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Baltimore's secondary did an excellent job with Calvin "Megatron" Johnson and the rest of the big-bodied Lions receivers. Now they have to deal with a bunch of little guys. The Patriots are led by 5-foot-10 Julian Edelman, who has caught 89 passes for 914 yards and six scores and 5-foot-11 Danny Amendola, who has 51 receptions for 579 yards and two scores. The Patriots use their quickness and speed on shorter routes and try to pick up extra yardage after each catch.

Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones and younger brother and Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones haven't talked this week. The older brother has gotten the best of the sibling rivalry so far with two wins. Arthur is having a fine season with 45 tackles and 4.5 sacks while Chandler has 73 tackles and 11.5 sacks.

After being one of the heroes in the Ravens' comeback win over Minnesota, tight end Dennis Pitta had just two catches for 24 yards in Detroit. He saw a lot of bracketed coverage from the Lions. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots choose to cover Pitta after he burned them with a red-zone touchdown in last year's AFC championship. Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said Pitta is an "excellent player." It will be Pitta's third game back from his hip injury.

Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is already a star after his 61-yard kick in Detroit. Now what can he do for an encore? He'll go for former Ravens kicker Matt Stover's record. Stover hit 36 straight field goals from 2005-2006. Tucker is at 33 straight. Tucker has sunk six game-winning kicks already in his two-year career. His first game-winner beat the Patriots in Week 3 last season.

The Patriots used to have the Ravens' number. But times have changed. The Ravens swept New England in two games last year and pulled away for a convincing 28-13 victory in the AFC championship. There hadn't been much trash talk all week until Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty said, "[T]here would be no better feeling than us beating them Sunday and . . . we eliminate their season right there."

Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs hasn't logged a sack since Week 9, a stretch of six straight games. After a red-hot start to the year, the Sizzle has faded. Suggs and Brady have a longstanding rivalry with each other, so maybe that will get Suggs heated up. The Ravens need it because if Brady has time to throw, he can carve up a secondary with his quick receivers.

Perhaps the best one-on-one matchup on the field will be between wide receiver Torrey Smith and Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib. Expect Talib, who is just as comfortable playing outside as he is in the slot, to mirror Smith wherever he goes. Talib had to leave last year's AFC championship game early with an injury. This time, he's got shutting down No. 82 first and foremost on his mind.