AFC Championship Prediction: Ravens Defense Will Tame Gronk and Brady

It's hard to imagine anyone stopping the New England Patriots, but the Baltimore Ravens will tame Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski and Tom Brady on their way to Super Bowl XLVI.

The Patriots used to be unstoppable at home, especially in the playoffs. But since 2007 they are 3-3 in the postseason. One of those losses was to the very same Ravens team that is coming into Gillette Stadium this Sunday afternoon.

The Pats are the last team left in the playoffs that is offense-oriented. They ranked 31st in total defense in 2011, and they are completely reliant upon Brady's ability to keep racking up the points.

The Ravens, on the other hand, are a team that is defense-oriented, possessing the tools to thwart the potent New England offense.

The key to this game is how well the Patriots' offensive line can hold up to the Ravens' pass rush.

Led by all-world linebacker Ray Lewis and his running mate from Miami, Ed Reed, the Ravens will cover Gronkowski long enough to give Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and the rest of the ruffians up front the time they need to put Brady on his back on a regular basis.

Although the Patriots have done well both in the regular season and in the divisional round to protect Brady, they won't have the same luck against the fierce Ravens pass rush.

Brady will certainly get his yards, but the Ravens will get to him enough times to cause two or three turnovers. The energy will be taken out of the crowd and the momentum away from the Patriots.

I expect Suggs to have a dominant performance, collecting at least two sacks. I also expect Reed to come away with at least one pick, bum ankle or not.

The Ravens defense is on a roll and they will suck the life out of Boston on Sunday in the AFC championship game.