Ravens vs. Patriots Predictions: Bill Belichick Will Confuse Joe Flacco in Win

Most of the focus leading up to the game between the Baltimore Ravens defense and New England Patriots offense this week has been on Baltimore's defense matching up against New England's offense.

But that battle of epic proportions won't be the one that decides this game.

No, it will be whether the defensive wizardry of Bill Belichick and the Patriots scheme will confuse Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco into committing several costly turnovers that will be the difference.

I'm not Belichick, so I can only guess how he'll prioritize trying to stop the weapons on Baltimore's offense. But my guess would be that priority No. 1 would be bottling up running back Ray Rice, and priority No. 2 would be getting pressure on Flacco and using a number of different alignments and coverages to confuse the quarerback.

Look for Belichick to borrow from the Houston Texans defensive game plan from last week, one that Grantland's Bill Barnwell breaks down nicely:

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Flacco has struggled all season, posting his worst completion percentage and lowest yards per attempt as a pro, but he was really bad against the Texans. His 14-of-27 for 176 with two touchdowns and no picks looks okay, but he played worse than the numbers. The Texans accomplished this, mainly, by rushing the hell out of Flacco and taking advantage of his ability to diagnose blitzes and account for rushers in pass protection. They sacked Flacco five times and knocked him down on an additional six throws.

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As Barnwell notes, the Patriots have 12 sacks in the last three games, which makes me think Belichick will be able to dial up the pressure on Flacco.

But turnovers will be key in this game, as they generally are. Consider this little nugget of information from The Washington Post:

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Since 1990, when the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format, the winner of the turnover battle was 49-5-9 in conference championships or Super Bowls, according to STATS LLC.

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The Patriots won that battle on the season, finishing plus-17 in turnover differential during the regular season.

But there's a caveat—New England's defense has given up a ton of yards all season long to opposing offenses. If they don't pressure Flacco and cause turnovers on defense, the Ravens offense should be able to move the ball at will.

And I really believe Baltimore's defense will come to play and keep this one close throughout, meaning the battle of Flacco versus the New England defense will ultimately decide this game.

I just don't think Flacco can win a battle of wits against Belichick, and the Patriots ability to pressure Flacco and force poor throws will set up the Patriots offense for the easy points that will ultimately decide this game.

I predict a Patriots win, 20-14.

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