Tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET, the Indianpolis Colts (11-5) and New England Patriots (12-4) take the field for the AFC Champioship Game live from Gillette Stadium in New England. The game can be live streamed here. Indianapolis fans can hear all of the action on WFINI 1070 while New England fans can do the same on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Indianapolis is in the AFC title game for the first time since toppling the Jets en route to the Super Bowl in 2009 with Peyton Manning under center. New England, meanwhile, are in this game for the fourth straight season, though their last two trips haven't been successful.
The Colts clinched the AFC South for the second consecutive year with an 11-5 record and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos to get this far.
The Patriots, meanwhile, went 12-4 to win its sixth AFC East division crown in a row and toppled the Baltimore Ravens last week after sitting the first round out with a bye.
Tom Brady will look to lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time in three years.
Brady went 373-for-582 (64.1 percent) in the 2014 regular season for 4,109 yards with 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Last week against Baltimore, Brady was 33 of 50 (66 percent) for 367 yards with three scores and one pick. Brady has 46 touchdowns and 23 interceptions through 27 career playoff games.
The Colts counter with Andrew Luck, who is 0-3 against Brady in his career, including a horrid postseason game last season when he threw four interceptions en route to a 43-22 defeat in the divisional round.
Luck led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes in the regular season while going 380-for-616 (61.7 percent) for 4,761 yards and he threw 16 interceptions. Luck was 27 of 43 (62.79 percent) for 265 yards with two scores and two picks against Denver last weekend.
The 25-year-old has more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (9) in his postseason career through five games.
One matchup to keep an eye on is between Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis.
With Reggie Wayne less than 100 percent, Hilton's role is even more important in today's game.
Hilton has been the Colts best wideout this season as the third-year receiver amassed a team-best 1,345 yards on 82 catches and added seven touchdowns in the regular season.
The third-year receiver was targeted eight times last week against the Broncos and hauled in four catches for 72 yards, but failed to find the end zone.
Hilton has 214 postseason receptions through 46 games (26 starts) for 3,289 yards and has found the end zone 19 times.
Quarterbacks that have targeted Revis this season have gone 35-of-79 (44.3 percent) for 545 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions -- two of which came from Revis himself. Revis has two picks in his playoff career through seven games.
One important offensive player for New England is tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had 82 receptions for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season and then torched the Ravens for 108 yards on seven catches and caught a touchdown pass last week.
A trip to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona is on the line when the Colts and Patriots take the field for the AFC Championship Game live from Gillette Stadium this afternoon in New England.
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