Times staff writer Tom Jones breaks down today's NFL playoff games. Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots Records: Ravens 9-7 overall, 3-5 on the road; Patriots 10-6 overall, 8-0 at home Weather: Sunny, 23 Time/TV: 1; Ch. 10 Three key matchups 1. Patriots receiver Julian Edelman vs. Ravens secondary The Patriots got horrible news last week when Wes Welker, who led the NFL with a team-record 123 receptions despite missing two full games and most of last week's finale, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Over the past three seasons, Welker has an incredible 346 receptions. Because of that, he was often double-teamed, leaving single coverage on Randy Moss. Now the Ravens can double-team Moss while Edelman, a rookie, steps in for Welker. Edelman caught 37 passes this season, including 10 in the finale against the Texans after Welker left. 2. Patriots offensive line vs. Ravens pass rush The Ravens would prefer to not blitz too much because quarterback Tom Brady ate them up when they sent five or more rushers in Week 4, a 27-21 Patriots victory. But with Welker out, the Ravens might get more aggressive. They might have to because Baltimore's 3-4 scheme relies on linebackers getting pressure, and its secondary is a bit banged up. Linebackers accounted for about half of the Ravens' 32 sacks this season. 3. Ravens OT Michael Oher vs. Patriots DE Ty Warren Warren, a noted run-stopper, is back from injury. The Ravens had the fifth-best rushing attack in the NFL and often run behind Oher. Making this battle more intriguing is Warren claiming Oher did plenty of trash-talking when the teams met in October. The Ravens' odds of winning could depend on who wins this matchup. The Ravens will win if: Ray Rice gets loose. The running back had a monster season, rushing for 1,339 yards in addition to catching 78 passes. A big day from Rice means less pressure on quarterback Joe Flacco. If Rice struggles, the Ravens could turn to Willis McGahee, who rushed for 167 yards last week against the Raiders. The Patriots will win if: They can stop the Ravens' running attack. In the Patriots' 27-21 victory over the Ravens in October, Baltimore's Ray Rice rushed for 103 yards on just 11 carries. And yet the Ravens lost while attempting a season-high 47 passes. You have to think the Patriots' game plan is to force quarterback Joe Flacco to beat them. Hero/goat watch Ravens: You get the feeling that if the Ravens are going to win this game, they'll need a big play on defense. And linebacker Ray Lewis, even at age 34, remains one of the NFL's top big-game performers. This season, for only the second time since breaking into the league in 1996, Lewis went without an interception. Let's see if he can get one today against Tom Brady. Patriots: While all the talk this season has surrounded quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, let's not forget just how good Tom Brady is. The Patriots had the third-best passing offense in the NFL as Brady completed 66 percent of his passes with 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. But there are rumors he could be playing this game with broken or at least bruised ribs. Coach-speak Baltimore's John Harbaugh has coached in the NFL for two seasons, and he has the Ravens in the playoffs for the second time. At 47, he's one of the bright young coaches in the game. But he's going against one of the legendary coaches in NFL history in New England's Bill Belichick, who has won three Super Bowls and is 15-4 in the playoffs for his career. Three things you might not know 1 The Patriots are 5-0 against the Ravens. But New England's Tom Brady has only a career 81.5 passer rating against them and has completed only 54 percent of his passes his lowest against any opponent. 2 You wonder how good these teams are. The Patriots went 2-3 against teams that made the playoffs this season, and one team they beat was the Ravens. Baltimore was even worse, going 1-6. The victory came against San Diego, 31-26 in Week 2. 3 For two teams who hardly ever meet, they don't exactly get along. The game in October was full of trash talk. And the bitterness spilled over afterward when the Ravens, led by coach John Harbaugh and defensive stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, complained Brady talked the referee into late-hit calls on two scoring drives. You wonder if that seed has been planted into the heads of officials. Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals Records: Packers 11-5 overall, 5-3 on the road; Cardinals 10-6 overall, 4-4 at home Weather: Cloudy, 69 Time/TV: 4:30; Ch. 13 Three key matchups 1. Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Packers CB Charles Woodson This might be the best one-on-one matchup of the entire postseason. Some think Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the game, while there are those who will argue Woodson is the league's premier cornerback. Fitzgerald had 92 catches for 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns. Woodson, who injured his shoulder last week but should be okay, tied for the league lead in interceptions with nine, three of which he returned for touchdowns, and had two sacks and four forced fumbles. 2. Cardinals QB Kurt Warner vs. Packers secondary Based on the stats, you wonder if the Cardinals are going to even attempt a running play. The Cardinals come into the game with the 28th-ranked rushing offense in the league and are going against the No. 1 rushing defense in the league. Certainly, the Cards will try to establish the run but won't waste too much time if they can't get anything going. Then again, it won't be easy to throw against the Packers. In the past eight games, the Packers defense has 24 sacks and 18 interceptions. 3. Packers youth vs. Cardinals experience The Packers hope young teams with little experience can make it through the playoffs. Green Bay came into the season with the youngest roster in the league for the fourth consecutive season. The average age of the Packers at the start of the season was 25.7 years. The league average was 26.61. The Packers had the second-fewest average years of experience at 3.81. The league average was 4.48. The Cardinals were the second-oldest team in the league. The Packers will win if: They can shut down Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and shorten the game. Look, the Packers offense is going to score. The Cardinals ranked 20th in total defense. But Green Bay wouldn't mind chewing up the clock with some long drives to keep Warner off the field. The 38-year-old Warner is 8-3 in the postseason. The Cardinals will win if: They can muster any kind of running attack. The last thing the Cardinals want is to get into a game in which the Packers are pinning back their ears and rushing the very immobile Kurt Warner on every down. If the Cards can run even a little, it opens up the play-action offense and gives Warner some time to breath when he does throw. Hero/goat watch Packers: All eyes are on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is playing for the first time in the playoffs. But this is an absolutely amazing stat to show you how Rodgers performs under pressure: On third downs this season, he has a passer rating of 135.4 with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. Cardinals: It's hard to figure who might be the goat. But the Cardinals offense has plenty of candidates considering its turnover ratio was minus-7, worst among playoff teams. In fact, the Cardinals are the only playoff team to have more turnovers than turnovers forced. The Cardinals led the league in fumbles (32) and fumbles lost (18), and that's scary when they're about to play a Packers team that led the league with 40 takeaways. Coach-speak Neither coach has his job riding on the outcome of this game. In fact, you get the feeling both are in for long careers with their current teams. Green Bay's Mike McCarthy is 38-26 in four seasons while Ken Wisenhunt is coming off a season in which he took the upstart Cardinals to within one defensive stop of winning the Super Bowl. Three things you might not know 1 Brett Who? Think of all the great quarterbacks in NFL history. Only one has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. Know who it is? The Packers' Aaron Rodgers. 2 The Cardinals are fighting a bit of history. No team that has lost the Super Bowl one season has made it back the next since the Bills lost four straight from 1991 to 1994. 3 The Cardinals and Packers played back in the preseason. And the Packers' first-team offense scored 31 first-half points against Arizona. Then last week, the Packers buried the Cardinals 33-7, but the game meant nothing to Arizona. The question is: Did the Cardinals really try in either game? Times staff writer Tom Jones breaks down today's NFL playoff games. Three key matchups 1. Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Packers CB Charles Woodson This might be the best one-on-one matchup of the entire postseason. Some think Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the game, while there are those who will argue Woodson is the league's premier cornerback. Fitzgerald had 92 catches for 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns. Woodson, who injured his shoulder last week but should be okay, tied for the league lead in interceptions with nine, three of which he returned for touchdowns, and had two sacks and four forced fumbles. 2. Cardinals QB Kurt Warner vs. Packers secondary Based on the stats, you wonder if the Cardinals are going to even attempt a running play. The Cardinals come into the game with the 28th-ranked rushing offense in the league and are going against the No. 1 rushing defense in the league. Certainly, the Cards will try to establish the run but won't waste too much time if they can't get anything going. Then again, it won't be easy to throw against the Packers. In the past eight games, the Packers defense has 24 sacks and 18 interceptions. 3. Packers youth vs. Cardinals experience The Packers hope young teams with little experience can make it through the playoffs. Green Bay came into the season with the youngest roster in the league for the fourth consecutive season. The average age of the Packers at the start of the season was 25.7 years. The league average was 26.61. The Packers had the second-fewest average years of experience at 3.81. The league average was 4.48. The Cardinals were the second-oldest team in the league. The Packers will win if: They can shut down Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and shorten the game. Look, the Packers offense is going to score. The Cardinals ranked 20th in total defense. But Green Bay wouldn't mind chewing up the clock with some long drives to keep Warner off the field. The 38-year-old Warner is 8-3 in the postseason. The Cardinals will win if: They can muster any kind of running attack. The last thing the Cardinals want is to get into a game in which the Packers are pinning back their ears and rushing the very immobile Kurt Warner on every down. If the Cards can run even a little, it opens up the play-action offense and gives Warner some time to breath when he does throw. Hero/goat watch Packers: All eyes are on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is playing for the first time in the playoffs. But this is an absolutely amazing stat to show you how Rodgers performs under pressure: On third downs this season, he has a passer rating of 135.4 with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. Cardinals: It's hard to figure who might be the goat. But the Cardinals offense has plenty of candidates considering its turnover ratio was minus-7, worst among playoff teams. In fact, the Cardinals are the only playoff team to have more turnovers than turnovers forced. The Cardinals led the league in fumbles (32) and fumbles lost (18), and that's scary when they're about to play a Packers team that led the league with 40 takeaways. Coach-speak Neither coach has his job riding on the outcome of this game. In fact, you get the feeling both are in for long careers with their current teams. Green Bay's Mike McCarthy is 38-26 in four seasons while Ken Wisenhunt is coming off a season in which he took the upstart Cardinals to within one defensive stop of winning the Super Bowl. Three things you might not know 1 Brett Who? Think of all the great quarterbacks in NFL history. Only one has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. Know who it is? The Packers' Aaron Rodgers. 2 The Cardinals are fighting a bit of history. No team that has lost the Super Bowl one season has made it back the next since the Bills lost four straight from 1991 to 1994. 3 The Cardinals and Packers played back in the preseason. And the Packers' first-team offense scored 31 first-half points against Arizona. Then last week, the Packers buried the Cardinals 33-7, but the game meant nothing to Arizona. The question is: Did the Cardinals really try in either game? Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals Records: Packers 11-5 overall, 5-3 on the road; Cardinals 10-6 overall, 4-4 at home Weather: Cloudy, 69 Time/TV: 4:30; Ch. 13 Three key matchups 1. Patriots receiver Julian Edelman vs. Ravens secondary The Patriots got horrible news last week when Wes Welker, who led the NFL with a team-record 123 receptions despite missing two full games and most of last week's finale, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Over the past three seasons, Welker has an incredible 346 receptions. Because of that, he was often double-teamed, leaving single coverage on Randy Moss. Now the Ravens can double-team Moss while Edelman, a rookie, steps in for Welker. Edelman caught 37 passes this season, including 10 in the finale against the Texans after Welker left. 2. Patriots offensive line vs. Ravens pass rush The Ravens would prefer to not blitz too much because quarterback Tom Brady ate them up when they sent five or more rushers in Week 4, a 27-21 Patriots victory. But with Welker out, the Ravens might get more aggressive. They might have to because Baltimore's 3-4 scheme relies on linebackers getting pressure, and its secondary is a bit banged up. Linebackers accounted for about half of the Ravens' 32 sacks this season. 3. Ravens OT Michael Oher vs. Patriots DE Ty Warren Warren, a noted run-stopper, is back from injury. The Ravens had the fifth-best rushing attack in the NFL and often run behind Oher. Making this battle more intriguing is Warren claiming Oher did plenty of trash-talking when the teams met in October. The Ravens' odds of winning could depend on who wins this matchup. The Ravens will win if: Ray Rice gets loose. The running back had a monster season, rushing for 1,339 yards in addition to catching 78 passes. A big day from Rice means less pressure on quarterback Joe Flacco. If Rice struggles, the Ravens could turn to Willis McGahee, who rushed for 167 yards last week against the Raiders. The Patriots will win if: They can stop the Ravens' running attack. In the Patriots' 27-21 victory over the Ravens in October, Baltimore's Ray Rice rushed for 103 yards on just 11 carries. And yet the Ravens lost while attempting a season-high 47 passes. You have to think the Patriots' game plan is to force quarterback Joe Flacco to beat them. Hero/goat watch Ravens: You get the feeling that if the Ravens are going to win this game, they'll need a big play on defense. And linebacker Ray Lewis, even at age 34, remains one of the NFL's top big-game performers. This season, for only the second time since breaking into the league in 1996, Lewis went without an interception. Let's see if he can get one today against Tom Brady. Patriots: While all the talk this season has surrounded quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, let's not forget just how good Tom Brady is. The Patriots had the third-best passing offense in the NFL as Brady completed 66 percent of his passes with 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. But there are rumors he could be playing this game with broken or at least bruised ribs. Coach-speak Baltimore's John Harbaugh has coached in the NFL for two seasons, and he has the Ravens in the playoffs for the second time. At 47, he's one of the bright young coaches in the game. But he's going against one of the legendary coaches in NFL history in New England's Bill Belichick, who has won three Super Bowls and is 15-4 in the playoffs for his career. Three things you might not know 1 The Patriots are 5-0 against the Ravens. But New England's Tom Brady has only a career 81.5 passer rating against them and has completed only 54 percent of his passes his lowest against any opponent. 2 You wonder how good these teams are. The Patriots went 2-3 against teams that made the playoffs this season, and one team they beat was the Ravens. Baltimore was even worse, going 1-6. The victory came against San Diego, 31-26 in Week 2. 3 For two teams who hardly ever meet, they don't exactly get along. The game in October was full of trash talk. And the bitterness spilled over afterward when the Ravens, led by coach John Harbaugh and defensive stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, complained Brady talked the referee into late-hit calls on two scoring drives. You wonder if that seed has been planted into the heads of officials. 