Baltimore Ravens vs. Atlanta Falcons: Teams Try To Soar to Conference Supremacy

It's that time of year when we start to find out who's for real in the NFL, and Thursday night's contest between the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons could launch the victor to the top spot of their conference.

Both teams are 6-2 with the Falcons alone at the top of the NFC South and the Ravens sitting at first in the AFC North, ahead of the Pittsburgh thanks to their head-to-head win over the Steelers.

The teams are also in virtual ties for the top spot in each conference. No team has a better record than either, but the Baltimore Ravens are at the top of the AFC thanks to their conference record, while Atlanta is behind the New York Giants in the NFC due to New York's undefeated in-conference mark.

Statistically, this is a very good matchup.

Atlanta has advantages in passing yards, rushing yards and opponent rushing yards, while Baltimore has advantages in opponent passing yards and points allowed per game.

It is well known by this point that the Falcons' biggest weaknesses, and seemingly their only major ones, are their knack for allowing big numbers in the passing game and their propensity for giving up big plays.

Despite this, however, they are 10th in the league in points allowed, slightly behind the Ravens, as they employ somewhat of a bend-don't-break defense.

Teams are able to get yards, but not points.

Last week against Tampa Bay, the Falcons' defense did not allow Josh Freeman to engineer one of his late game drives, stopping the Buccaneers on fourth down near the goal line to seal the win and forcing two second half Freeman interceptions.

They also held the young QB under 200 yards passing.

Atlanta's defense is tied for third in the NFC with 13 interceptions, and the team as a whole is near the top in turnover differential at plus-seven.

Baltimore, on the other hand, has struggled to create turnovers, as they are in the middle of the pack in the AFC in that category and are just plus-one in turnover differential this season.

As the Ravens' defense has a slight advantage in points allowed per game, Atlanta's offense has been slightly better at scoring points with 24.5 a game to Baltimore's 21.9, although both teams have gone over their season averages in their past two games.

Individually speaking, there are great matchups galore in this one.

It will be fun to watch Baltimore receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh battle Atlanta corners Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes, who have been better than the overall numbers suggest.

Ray Lewis and Michael Turner should also meet quite a few times, as will Ravens back Ray Rice and Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton.

Taking it a step further, Atlanta defensive end John Abraham will be going directly at left tackle Michael Oher of The Blind Side fame, and it will be interesting to see how quarterback Matt Ryan fares against free safety Ed Reed, who is back from an injury and adds another dimension to Baltimore's defense.

Ryan was duped into an interception by Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu earlier this season, so we will see how he fares against another elite safety who is very good at getting interceptions and equally adept at running them back.

The contest will also be the first meeting between Ryan and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco.

The two were first-round picks in the 2008 draft and led their teams to improbable 11-5 seasons and playoff berths.

It's very possible that at some point in their careers they will face off in a Super Bowl.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith was also with the Ravens during their 2000 championship season. Much has changed since that time, with Lewis the only remaining member of that squad, but we will see if it provides any type of advantage for the Falcons.

Smith and Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh both became the main men in 2008 and are leading the next wave of great coaches.

Smith is particularly good at winning his home games, particularly when Ryan is under center. The two have combined to lose just one home game in Ryan's young career and are 4-0 this season at the Georgia Dome, which should make Atlanta the slight favorite in this game.

This should be a hard-fought, defensive battle and will stand as a statement game for both teams.

The winner will have taken down one of the top teams in the other conference and could possibly vault into the outright No. 1 position in their conference, depending on how some other games shake out.

It should be a fun Thursday night.