Ravens vs Patriots: Tom Brady Will Punish Baltimore's Secondary for AFC Title

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will take on the Baltimore Ravens in what is expected to be nothing less than a matchup of epic proportions in the 2012 AFC Championship.

A Patriots win would give the team a shot at a fourth Super Bowl behind Tom Brady, while the Ravens would be returning to the big game for the first time since 2001.

Avenging the Ravens victory in the 2009 playoff meeting between these two teams, Brady and the Pats will handily overcome one of the more sounds defensive units in the NFL.

The Patriots have the clear advantage in this year's AFC championship game, as Tom Brady and an electrifying offense have been dominating opponents the entire second half of the season.

Just how exceptionable has this offense been?

Since losing to the New York Giants in Week 9, the Patriots have gone on to win nine consecutive games, including the team's divisional-round win over the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos.

During the win streak, the Patriots have scored at least 30 points in eight of the nine games and at least 40 points in three of the team's last four contests. Brady and the Patriots have averaged a whopping 37.3 points per game since the loss to the Giants.

Talk about jaw-dropping, back-breaking numbers for this team.

Brady has been electrifying during the streak, recording 25 touchdowns and just three interceptions—after having thrown 10 interceptions in the first nine weeks. His turnover-free, touchdowns-crazed play will be the recipe for success for the Patriots team.

The offense comes off a 45-10 blowout win over one of the more well-coached and talented defenses in the NFL. Brady threw for six touchdowns and 363 yards in the win over Denver. It was his fifth consecutive game throwing for over 300 yards.

What makes this offense so difficult to cover for the any defense, outside the impressive Brady numbers, is that the tight ends are able to get especially involved and find seams in the secondary.

Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski have been just short of sensational this season at getting to spots 10 to 15 yards down the field and giving Brady big targets to throw to. How good are we talking?

The two combined for an NFL record 2,327 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. There's not much more head coach Bill Belichick could ask for out of his two young talents.

These two will able to exploit the Ravens secondary and give Brady quick options before the Ravens defensive line is able to penetrate the offensive line of the Patriots. Brady will readily exploit this strength from the start of and throughout this AFC championship game.

When it's all said and done, it's the hottest offense in the NFL that will be too much for the Ravens offense to compete with at Foxboro on Championship Sunday.