EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Broncos-Ravens Breakdown

Click here for more on this story

CNNSI.com NFL analyst Pat Kirwan breaks down the wild-card weekend games and explains which team has the edge.

Matchups: Offense | Defense | Special Teams | Coaching

OFFENSE
Broncos		Ravens
Brian Griese is going to Pro Bowl despite missing five games and is questionable for this week. Griese has been very good throwing 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Gus Ferrotte has gone 4-1 in his absence. Between the two, the Broncos are the No. 2-ranked offense in the NFL.	QB	Both Trent Dilfer and Tony Banks have been inconsistent this year. After taking over for Banks, Dilfer played very well in the first several games, but in recent weeks has reverted back to the way he played in Tampa.
After losing Terrell Davis and last season's surprise Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson came out of nowhere and rushed for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns. Anderson is in contention for rookie of the year honors. Anderson became the third different Bronco to rush for 1,000 yards in the last three seasons.	RB	Jamal Lewis is Mike Anderson's main competitor for rookie of the year. Lewis is the Ravens' best offensive player, rushing for 1,364 yards and six touchdowns.
Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith were the NFL premier tandem this season. McCaffrey set the Broncos' single-season record for receptions with 101. Smith was right on his heels with 100 catches. They became the second duo in NFL history to go over 100 receptions in the same season. They are experienced, big, physical receivers who will go over the middle. The Broncos have used a combination of players at tight end: Dwayne Carswell (49 catches), Desmond Clark (27) and Byron Chamberlain (22).	WR / TE	The Ravens' receiving corp is not very deep. Qadry Ismail leads Baltimore receivers with 48 catches. Travis Taylor was lost early in the season. The Ravens' receivers have not been able to make big plays and have only accounted for 11 TDs as a group. Shannon Sharpe will be trash-talking his old teammates for the first time since leaving Denver. He will also be bringing his ability as well. Sharpe led the Ravens with 67 receptions for 810 yards and five touchdowns.
Pro Bowl center Tom Nalen leads a line that is considered one of the best in the NFL. The Broncos do not have a single lineman over 300 pounds. Their athletic ability and technique is tremendous. This line has produced three different 1,000-yard rushers in the last three years.	LINE	The Ravens' line has helped Jamal Lewis rush for more than 1,300 yards, but will need to help Trent Dilfer a little more. Dilfer needs extra time to be affective. Ravens QBs have been sacked 43 times this season. Pro Bowl tackle Jonathan Ogden continues to shine.

DEFENSE
Broncos		Ravens
Defensive tackle Trevor Pryce's 12 sacks have earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl. The rest of the defensive must pick up the pass rush to help poor pass coverage. Pryce has more sacks than the other three starters combined.	LINE	The Ravens picked up DT Sam Adams in the offseason and he rewarded them with a Pro Bowl season. Adams and DT Tony Siragusa do an excellent job of clogging up the middle and free up middle linebacker Ray Lewis. Defensive end Rob Burnett leads the team with 9 1/2 sacks. The defensive line is the major reason why the Ravens are No. 1 against the run.
The Broncos' linebackers are a consistent and steady group. Bill Romanowski is known for his nasty play and trash talking, but is a solid veteran who will make plays. John Mobley is the third-leading tackler, and Al Wilson is a young talent that coming into his own.	LB	Ray Lewis once again leads the Ravens in tackles and is going to the Pro Bowl, and is the the best player on a record-setting defense. Lewis has help at the LB position with Peter Boulware (seven sacks) and Jamie Sharper, who is second leading tackler on this defense.
The Broncos are the 31st ranked defense against the pass. They give up a lot of yards, but they offset that with turnovers. The Broncos have 27 interceptions, the second most in the NFL. Terrell Buckley leads the Broncos with 6 interceptions. Billy Jenkins is the team's leading tackler and has four interceptions.	DB	Free safety Rod Woodson will represent the Ravens' secondary at the Pro Bowl. The Ravens secondary is fifth in the league in interceptions with 23. The Ravens are ranked No. 8 in pass defense, giving up only 176.3 yards per game. Despite being burned by the Jets for more than 400 yards passing last week, Baltimore was able to make big plays when it counted. Chris McAlister's INT return for a 98-yard TD was the game's turning point.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Broncos		Ravens
Jason Elam is a proven clutch kicker for the Broncos. Elam is 18 of 24 on field-goal attempts and 49-for-49 on extra points. Return man Deltha O?Neal is capable of making a big play. He averages 24 yards on kickoffs with one touchdown and 10.4 on punts.		Matt Stover has had a tremendous season making 35 of 39 field-goal attempts and 30 of 30 PATs. But it was Stover who was on fire during the Ravens' five-game stretch with out a offensive touchdown. His efforts have earned a trip to the Pro Bowl. Last week we saw what Jermaine Lewis is capable of. For the second time in his career he returned two punts for a touchdown in the same game.

COACHING
Broncos		Ravens
Mike Shanahan has two Super Bowl rings and is a career 7-1 in the playoffs. He has a done a tremendous job with Griese. After Elway retired, observers wondered about Shanahan going with Griese instead of Bubby Brister last season. It looks like Shanahan made the right choice again. Griese is going to the Pro Bowl and Brister a backup in Minnesota.		Brian Billick has done a remarkable job working with the type of players he has. When he was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota it was a wide-open passing offense. But now in Baltimore, he has adjusted and is winning with defense and a running game. Billick did a great job keeping his team together during their five-game stretch where the offense could not score a TD. The Ravens remarkably went 2-3 during that drought.