"Ravens offensive tackles Michael Oher and Jared Gaither won the battle last time, but the Indianapolis Colts won the war.

Round 2 begins Saturday night when Gaither and Oher meet Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis in an AFC semifinal, only this time the game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium instead of in Baltimore.

Advantage: Mathis and Freeney.

"I've never played in Indianapolis Stadium," said Oher, the Ravens' rookie right tackle who will match up against Mathis. "But I did play in all the SEC stadiums, and they are pretty loud, too. There is nothing you can do about the crowd noise. Being on the road in the NFL is a big help to the home team. You just got to focus in on the ball."

The Oher and Gaither versus Freeney and Mathis showdown is one of the major story lines of the week, even though Gaither (ankle) did not practice Wednesday and was clearly bothered by the injury during practice Thursday. He did not look like someone who would be ready to play in two days. If he can't go, the matchup will tilt heavily in the Colts' direction. Freeney and Mathis have faced the Ravens six times each, including in the postseason three years ago. Freeney has two sacks and Mathis has five sacks, four forced fumbles and two recovered.

Freeney is the Colts' all-time sack leader, with 84, and Mathis is No. 2, with 61. But in a meeting against the Ravens on Nov. 22, they were shut out. None. Zero. See ya. Bye-bye.

Afterward, Freeney mumbled about being double-teamed often. Two days ago, Oher agreed with Freeney. But we all know better. On that particular Sunday, Oher and Gaither basically handled Freeney and Mathis man-to-man. They got those big paws on the little defensive ends and constantly shoved them out and up the field past quarterback Joe Flacco.

It was one of the biggest upsets since Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali, which is why everyone was talking about it again this week.

"They played a good game," Mathis said of their previous encounter. "You can't take anything away from them. The young guys play with a lot of heart and passion, so it'll be a good matchup.""