If you’re reading this, you’ve survived the absolute thrilling stress which was last Sunday night’s game.
As The Rock would say, Finally! the Ravens have beaten Patrick Mahomes.
What a game it was. It reminded me of Baltimore’s 2012 narrow escape of New England in Week 3. Those two games had a lot of similarities:
- Early season home matchup against the Super Bowl favorite
- Primetime game against a team that seemed to always have their number
- Unbelievably dramatic finish
- Tucker’s over the top field goal as time expired in (2012)
- Odafe Oweh’s forced and recovered fumble, Lamar Jackson’s 4th down conversion (2021)
Despite all that, another opponent is approaching. The Detroit Lions are set to face the Ravens this Sunday. Here’s a review of past games in this series.
In five games against the Lions, the Ravens are 4-1, winning by a total score of 146-84. The one loss Baltimore endured came after the Mike Carey-led officiating crew penalized the purple and black 21 times for 147 yards in 2005. Baltimore lost that game, 35-17. For context, the Ravens had 21 penalties in the previous three games combined.
When you score less points than penalties you commit, that’s never good.
What was good, though, was the way those other four games turned out. Baltimore’s other road game in Detroit was won by way of Justin Tucker’s incredible 61-yard field goal with less than a minute to play. And then in games played at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore has averaged 37 points per game.
If the Ravens do win Sunday, they’ll have a record of 2-1, which has been their record after three games every season since 2017 (the last three seasons resulting in a playoff berth).
The Ravens have been trending upward since 2017. The Lions, however, not so much.
In the last four-plus seasons, Detroit has had four different head coaches and compiled a win/loss record of 23-42-1 (.348 win percentage). That’s historically poor. But no matter how bad you may think the Lions are, they’re still an NFL team that represents a threat to the Ravens.
It would be in Baltimore’s best interest to score early, so that they can control game tempo and somewhat predict what the Lions will do when they’re on offense. In other words, if they could have a game where everyone comes out healthy and Lamar sits for most of the 4th quarter, that would be ideal.
You’d also think the Ravens defense doesn’t allow 30-plus points for the 3rd week running. Another key component to a Ravens win would if Justin Madubuike and Odafe Oweh continue their good form. By constantly pressuring Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Baltimore could alleviate a lot of pressure on what is already a banged up secondary.
A win is a win, and style points mean nothing. However, you’d like to see the Ravens win going away, as opposed to fighting tooth and nail like they’ve been doing so far this season. According to Vegas Insider, that figures to be the case.
The current point spread of Sunday’s game favors the Ravens by 8.0 points—the 2nd biggest favorite of the week (Denver -10.5 vs. NY Jets).
My prediction: Baltimore wins after enduring a turbulent first half. On the strength of a huge 3rd quarter, the Ravens leave Detroit with a 34-13 win.
What’s your take? Let us know here!
Born in Baltimore, Mike had long been drawn to sports of all kinds. Growing up watching Cal Ripken play ever day gave him a great example for which to attack every endeavor he undertakes.
When the Ravens came to town, though, that’s when Mike found his passion. Since that time, he’s tried to gain every bit of knowledge he could. Now as a high school coach, Mike is able to take his film study and appreciation of the game to a new level.
To engage with Mike on social media, follow him on Twitter @MikeFastNFL.