The Indianapolis Colts magical season came to an end with a 24-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.  Join us live after the game at 4:30pm ET as we look at what went wrong, and where the Colts go from here.

Here's your open thread for the Colts and Ravens.

Remember to follow all your favorite Colts Authority writers and "honored alumni" on Twitter as well:

Nate Dunlevy, Greg Cowan, Todd Smith, Kyle Rodriguez, Scott Kacsmar, Luke Dunlevy, Laura Calloway, Brent Fatig, Lou Pin, Josh Boeke, and Marcus Dugan

Here's the Colts Gameday Follow list.

We'll have post-game coverage here on CA, but also check out Todd, Kyle and me at Bleacher Report today as well.

Also, everyone is invited to join the Injury Expert Will Carroll, myself and other Colts fans for a tweet up for the playoff game.

We'll be meeting at the Oaken Barrel in Greenwood at 12:30. Come by, have a brew and talk some football.

Also, catch me on 1070 the Fan at 8 pm with Jersey Johnny after the game.

A Season – And a Gamble – to Remember

The Indianapolis Colts have had a season that fans will be able to cherish for a lifetime.  Their made-for-Hollywood story, however, could very well come to an end this weekend, and on paper, it looks all too likely.  Advanced metrics, standard statistics, turnover differential, and overall talent levels all say the 2012 Colts don’t belong in the playoffs.  All that logic, reasonable though it may sound, indicated they wouldn’t finish the season 11-5, either.  Yet, here they are.  (And the Ravens aren’t exactly setting the world on fire).

Aside from simply being a better at football than most people expected, the Colts have benefitted from great leadership, a sizeable chip on their shoulder, and a big motivational gamble by Chuck Pagano

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12 Things to Watch For in Sunday's Colts-RavensGame

Ray's already planning some post-retirement relaxation

Last week the Colts got revenge on the Texans and doomed their bid for the first seed in the AFC. After earning the fifth seed and completing a remarkable single-season turnaround the Colts now face a familiar foe: the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens enter the playoffs in an unusual spot: a suspect defense now depends on an offense to bail them out. Can the Colts continue their unlikely march to the Super Bowl? Here's a few things to keep an eye on as we try to answer that question:

Geoff Burke, US Presswire Colts defender Antoine Bethea ends the Ravens' deepest penetration of Indianapolis territory with an interception at the goal line of a pass intended for Baltimore tight end Todd Heap. (January 2007)

Today, we’ll take a look at the players’ approach to the loud, intense playoff environment in Baltimore and whether the angry mob in Mobtown will affect the play on the field.  We'll also discuss the surprising awesomeness of Jerrell Freeman.  We’ll also highlight some of the best quotes from this week. 

Veterans Preparing the Young Guns for Baltimore

Six years have passed since the Colts Super Bowl run that saw them win a brutal defensive struggle in the Charm City on their way to the championship.  The Colts currently have 32 players on their active roster with two years of experience or less, including 11 rookies.  It is safe to say that most of the roster has never seen anything like the environment they will be playing in on Sunday. 

They don’t remember the pyrotechnics, Ray Lewis dancing like a wild man to incite the crowd, or the crowd itself, which will be spewing more malignity than just about any group of fans in football, or the Ravens’ punishing playing style on both sides of the ball.

The Colts... are in... the playoffs! THE COLTS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! They travel to Baltimore on Sunday to take on the Ravens. Join us tonight at 10pm as we break down the game: match-ups, stats, injuries, everything you need to know to get ready for the game! And, hey, maybe we'll have some fun while we do it, too!

As the Colts get ready to take on the Ravens in the Wild Card Round, we have some Colts-related videos that should get you fired up for some playoff action. Our first one comes courtesy of Colts Authority reader Nick, with a submission he created!  Hope everyone enjoys it:

The second video was posted in our Reader Blog section by reader "buymymonkey" (snicker). From NFL Network's SounFX, here's Andrew Luck miked up against the Cleveland Browns!

And Colts Authority's Marcus Dugan just shared this one with me, I had never seen it before, it's a good one. Credit to the person who made it! (Whoever it is...:))

I restarted this column in week 6, when the Colts traveled to New Jersey to take on the New York Jets. The Colts lost that game in embarrassing fashion, 35-9, to fall to 2-3 on the season. Who would have thought that 12 weeks later, the Colts would be getting set to face Baltimore in the first round of the NFL playoffs after winning 9 of their final 11 games?

But that is what happened, and while Colts fans may have to suffer through a week of hearing why their team is the worst playoff team ever, how they have no shot, and how the mighty Ravens, lead by the greatest person ever, Ray Lewis, will run them out of the stadium, they are a playoff team, and they have their opportunity to make a lot of people look silly. Will the Colts take advantage of that opportunity? After the jump, we'll find out together, as we look at the key stats, match-ups, and injuries that will help determine how much longer this magical season lasts.

Due to a shortage of quotes from yesterday, our Thursday Notebook is another of those "different" ones.  Tomorrow, it shall return to its usual glorious form.  For now, we’ll kick off the day by discussing staying the course, playoff mojo, keeping the peace with Baltimore fans, and playoff milestones that may or may not be within reach. 

Maintaining Consistency and Building Momentum

As the Indianapolis Colts prepare travel to the city and state that once cheered for them as their own, the hype of the playoffs, the talk of Pagano going back, and the old stories of Baltimorean angst will reach a fever pitch. 

The young Colts team will need to be able to tune out all the noise and stick to their routine.  “We’ve done a lot to get to this point so I don’t think you need to wholesale change things,” Andrew Luck said about getting ready for the Ravens. “Obviously, intensity is going to ratchet up, things are going to kick up a notch but trust in the same preparation, in the same process and hopefully that’ll pay dividends.”