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Thanksgiving is only one day away and with it comes a crucial Week 12 for the Baltimore Ravens and the race for the AFC North division. The Ravens will take on the Cincinnati Bengals, a team Baltimore hasn't beaten in 3 years, Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. Before that, the team will watch the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Indianapolis Colts on Thanksgiving night to see what kind of situation they will find themselves in as a result of the nightcap of thanksgiving games and hoping for a Colts win.
Unfortunately, the Ravens could very well find themselves looking up at the Steelers in the division entering Sunday due to the injury of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. During the Colts 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Luck suffered a concussion but was able to finish the game. Over the past 2 days, Luck has been in concussion protocol.
With Luck out for Thursday night's showdown with the Steelers, the hope of a Colts win for the Baltimore Ravens and their fans will rest on the shoulders of backup quarterback Scott Tolzien. Tolzien was a starter for the Wisconsin Badgers and led the team to the Rose Bowl in 2010. He went undrafted and spent the 2011 season with the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. After spending the 2012 season with the 49ers, Tolzien was waived and was signed by the Green Bay Packers and would spend the following three seasons in Green Bay before being signed by the Colts this year after they said no to a return for last years backup quarterback, veteran Matt Hasselbeck.
Luck's injury not only comes at a bad time for the Ravens, but a bad time for the Colts as well. The Colts are a game behind the first place Houston Texans in the AFC South and every game is crucial to their playoff chances. Without Luck, their chances are slim to none.
Unless Tolzien puts on a Thanksgiving performance similar to what former Dallas Cowboys QB and current head coach Jason Garrett did in 1994 and lead the Colts to an amazing victory, the Ravens will most likely enter Sunday looking up at the Steelers in the AFC North which makes Sunday's game against the Bengals make or break for the Ravens.