How good would the Indianapolis Colts be this season with a healthy Peyton Manning?  That’s the question that football fans have been asking all season long.  This Colts season is horrendous.  Ten Peyton Mannings wouldn’t put them in the playoffs.  They have much bigger issues than losing their quarterback.

Even with Peyton Manning this Ravens team would have defeated the Colts in week 14.  Baltimore is rolling into the playoffs and the Colts are hoping to put a “1” in the win column over the next couple weeks.

Baltimore ended a decade long drought against the Indianapolis Colts this week, defeating them 24-10, here are my thoughts on the victory.

  • Suggs is the AFC Defensive Player of the Year – If Terrell Suggs finishes the 2011 season the same way he started it, he’s got the be the AFC’s defensive player of the year.  Suggs racked up three strip sacks on Dan Orlovsky. On the season, T-Sizzle has a career high 13 sacks and the Ravens lead the NFL with 45. As Tony Lombardi of Ravens24x7.com tweets, Suggs could have had five sacks if the Colts weren’t holding so much.  I’m guessing the refs felt bad for Indy.
  • Rice’s career year – Ray Rice continues a dominate season and is the Ravens biggest threat on offensive heading into the playoffs.  The days of Cam Cameron leaving Rice out of the offense seem like so long ago.  Rice broke the 1000 yard mark this week and caught his 235th pass which puts him third in franchise history behind Todd Heap and Derrick Mason.
  • Flacco in control – Joe Flacco managed the game against this bad Colts offense very successfully.  Flacco threw for two touchdowns and crossed the 3,000 yards passing mark for the third straight year.  The Ravens QB did throw a interception in the end zone, but CBS analyst Steve Tasker blamed Anquan Boldin for failing to break up the pass. In the first half, Joe Flacco was 14 of 19 for 138 yards, threw a touchdown pass earned a 111.3 QB rating.
  • Hopefully Billy is ok – We heard about Billy Cundiff’s injury prior to today’s game.  Cundiff booted a 36 yard field goal, but was sidelined for a kickoff in the second half.  Several reporters indicated that Cundiff stayed on the sideline during the game. We’ll keep you posted on his status, but the Ravens never give updates on injuries.
  • Tyrod on the field – John Harbaugh indicated this week that Tyrod Taylor could see some time on the field this week.  He did, but it was only for one snap.  Taylor was in the huddle, but Flacco was under center for a short pass.  The Wildcat formation certainly gives Baltimore’s offense another wrinkle as they look to keep their opponents on their toes in January.
  • My one criticism – If I have to be critical of the Ravens in their dominant win over Indianpolis, I have to criticize their kick coverage.  The Ravens seem to allow far too many long returns that hurt their defense.
Baltimore stays on top of the division and proves once again that they are the best team in the AFC.  It always feels good beating the Colts, even without Peyton Manning.