Baltimore Ravens vs. Atlanta Falcons: Ready To Battle in Super Bowl Preview

NFL Week 10 kicks off with a Thursday night showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.

In fact, this is more then a regular season game. This might just be a Super Bowl preview in the middle of November.

The intriguing part about this match up is how both teams are similar in many ways coming into this week's game. Both teams sit at 6-2, coming off wins at home this past week. Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan are both former first-round picks, who are in their third season as starters and continue to make strides in their young careers.

Michael Turner and Ray Rice are two young running backs who have obtained the starting role for two seasons now. Anquan Boldin, Roddy White, Derrick Mason and Michael Jenkins lead some of the past passing attacks in the league.

On the defensive side, these units find way to get stops through many different ways. Head coaches Mike Smith and John Harbaugh enter their third season with their respective teams.

Aside from how close these teams are to each other talent wise, the Georgia Dome will be rocking on Thursday in Atlanta.

Both the Falcons and the Ravens are fighting for top seeds within their conferences. With the elite teams showing their true colors mid-season, neither the Ravens or Falcons have an easy road ahead of them. That is why this win is so crucial.

A win by the Baltimore Ravens not only means they are given the edge as the top team in the AFC, but benefit from a favorable schedule over the next four weeks.

For the Falcons, a win is very important for them as well. The NFC is beginning to emerge with contenders, especially within their own division. A loss for the Falcons would bring them to ties both win the Saints and the Buccaneers for the division lead, which clearly isn't what the team had on the agenda.

A key match up I am looking forward to is the Falcons running game against the Ravens defense. Miami found success running the ball early in the game last week with Ronnie Brown. The Falcons' Michael Turner has a similar skill set, and Atlanta is going to attempt to run the ball early and often against the Ravens.

My suggestion is to not put all the pressure on Matt Ryan's shoulders. Last week, the Dolphins witnessed how the Ravens can create turnovers now that Ed Reed is back on the field.

Overall, it is going to be a game that goes down to the wire, and it will be interesting who wins in Flacco-Ryan I, or simply put, a possible early preview of this year's Super Bowl.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens and NFL Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com.

Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/MattMiselis.