And then there were four… There are only two games on the NFL schedule that are left before the Super Bowl, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’re taking a close look by doing our NFC Championship Preview and odds breakdown, and our AFC Championship Game preview and odds breakdown.

The first game on Sunday is the AFC Championship Game, pitting the Baltimore Ravens up against the New England Patriots. These two teams were the top two seeds in the conference, and save for a few weeks when the Houston Texans were in the fray, these were the top two teams in the AFC all season long.

Baltimore has taken the very, very tough road to reach this point, as it has had to play a number of tough games both at home and on the road this year. The Ravens are a perfect 7-0 in games against playoff teams this year, and they have to hope that they can keep that up when they go into Foxboro on Sunday.

The Patriots certainly have the talent to do some real damage though, and with the amount of just raw skill that they have out there on the field, they are deserving favorites. Sure, the schedule has been weak this year, and sure they don’t have a single win against a team that finished above .500 since last December, but the Pats can score on anyone. QB Tom Brady just torched the Denver Broncos for six TDs, and he is clearly the most talented and most playoff-experienced quarterback left in the bunch.

QB Joe Flacco has a history of winning playoff games on the road in big time spots, but it seems when push comes to shove, he just can’t get his team over the hump in the games like this one. The oddsmakers don’t have a lot of confidence that he can get the job done in this one, though. Baltimore is a 7.5 point underdog, while the ‘total’ is set at a rather lofty 50.5 in the AFC Championship Game.

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On the NFC Championship Game odds, we have two teams that hardly anyone saw coming. The New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers were always considered good teams this year that were probably going to be in the playoffs, but in the end, no one really, truly thought that either was going to really have the goods to play in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers must admit that they caught a break when the Giants beat the Green Bay Packers. Not only do they probably end up getting the easier game, but they also avoid the trip into Lambeau Field and force the G-Men to travel across the country for their second trip to the Bay Area this season.

You aren’t going to find a hotter quarterback right now than QB Eli Manning, who has tossed six TDs in his two playoff games thus far in the postseason. The defense has gotten the job done for the Giants as well, as the pass rush has been all over the place against both the Falcons and the Packers. QBs Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers have to be thrilled that they aren’t going to be dealing with these pass rushers like DE Jason Pierre-Paul again this season.

That being said, the Niners are the hot commodity right now. No one believed that they could get the job done against QB Drew Brees and the mighty New Orleans Saints offense, and though they did allow 32 points and almost 500 yards of offense, they forced five turnovers and were largely the more aggressive of the two teams on both sides of the ball. They feel like they deserve to be here, and for the first time in his career, QB Alex Smith is getting the respect that he deserves after being a No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft all those years ago.

Smith has a chance to fulfill his destiny if he can just hold serve at home in this game. The Giants are up against it, as San Fran has now gone 8-1 SU and 8-0-1 ATS this year when playing by the Bay. The 49ers are favored by a field goal, while the ‘total’, which was set at the same 47 that this game landed on the first time these two teams met, has since dropped to 45.

2012 NFL Divisional Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 1/16/12):
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AFC Championship Game Odds (1/22/12)
301 Baltimore Ravens +7
302 New England Patriots -7
Over/Under 50

NFC Championship Game Lines (1/22/12)
303 New York Giants +1
304 San Francisco 49ers -1
Over/Under 41.5

The Current NFL Week Divisional NFL Odds @ Bovada Sportsbook
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The AFC Championship Game odds are out, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are set to take a look at what should be a fantastic duel in Foxboro between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. Check out our New England vs. Baltimore keys to the game for the AFC Championship Game.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Ravens vs. Patriots Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Ravens vs. Patriots Date/Time: Sunday, January 22nd, 3:00 p.m.
Ravens vs. Patriots Television Coverage: CBS

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012 NFL Playoff Bracket And Other NFL Playoff Previews

Key #1: The Patriots have to prove that they are tough
It’s hard to challenge a team’s toughness, but we have to wonder just how good these Patriots are. They played against two teams that finished above .500 this year, and they were beaten by both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve got their hands full now with a Baltimore team that is as tough as nails. What we have seen from the Patriots is the ability to throw the ball, and there is no doubt that they can do that as well as anyone ever has been able to in the history of the league. However, running the ball is a severely different story. The team ranks No. 20 in the NFL with 110.2 rushing yards per game, and a heck of a lot of those yards have come on finesse runs to the outside. The Ravens are going to challenge New England the entire game by slamming it right up the gut both on offense and on defense, and if this game gets ugly, QB Tom Brady and the gang are going to be tested against a team that absolutely relishes playing in these types of games.

Ravens @ Patriots Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Baltimore Ravens +7
New England Patriots -7
Over/Under 50
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Key #2: Brady is going to have to find some receivers aside from the tight ends
The combination of TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski is as good as it gets in the NFL, and these two had right around 250 yards from scrimmage against the Denver Broncos last week, but we just don’t know whether the Ravens are going to be allowing that type of production with all of the speed that it has in the middle of the field. Remember that last week, Baltimore played against one of the few teams that utilize the tight end as much as New England does, and the three Houston tight ends combined for just two receptions and 26 yards. The Ravens also didn’t allow a pass that went for more than 19 yards in the whole game, and it is a wonder how Brady is going to find holes in this defense if he can’t work the ball up the field and can’t get it inside to his tight ends. WR Wes Welker could be in for a big time day, as could WR Deion Branch, who is more or less the forgotten man in this offense in spite of the fact that he had a fantastic season as the No. 2 wide out.

Key #3: Joe Flacco has to make some plays to win
There really wasn’t all that much that Flacco did last week against the Texans. He took advantage of three turnovers to score 17 first quarter points, but he only had a field goal for the rest of the game. Quite often, Flacco has found himself rushed against some of the best front sevens in the game, but with the Patriots missing DE Andre Carter and possibly playing without their top sack man, DE Mark Anderson as well, the pocket might not be a problem for the former Delaware Blue Hen. Flacco went 14-of-27 against Houston’s stout defense, but a lot of the passes that he completed were products of great plays by the wide receivers and tight ends, several of which were one-handed snares on balls that weren’t necessarily thrown the greatest. Flacco has found ways to win playoff games for his whole career, but right around this juncture, he needs to make the big time play to get his team to the Super Bowl, and he just hasn’t been able to do it. There is a point that there have to be some questions asked of Flacco, and eventually, he is going to have to win a game like this to validate that he indeed can take this team to the Super Bowl.

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