OTL: Resting Ravens See Two AFC North Foes Win Sunday

Did anybody else get up early this morning with the thought that they would be up late stressing their heart about the Baltimore Ravens? The last time the Detroit Lions came to town was an easy breezy 38-6 romp through their very soul. This time it doesn’t feel like it will be that easy. The Lions just dropped 52 points on the Chicago Bears, in a game where Jared Goff had the same number of incomplete passes as he did touchdowns…five. The Ravens gave up 41 points to the Buffalo Bills in week one, Nnamdi Madubuike isn’t playing, and when you put everything together it sounds like a Baltimore barn burner.

Before we jump into the most anticipated matchup of the week, the one they saved for last, let’s talk about what happened yesterday. The story of the day was the Green Bay Packers going into Cleveland and walking out with their first loss of the season. The Browns beat the Packers 13-10 in a game that showcased the potential of their defense. Ryan McGinnis of Sports Illustrated gave a brief overview of the Browns defensive merit in his article about the surprise victory.

Myles Garrett and the rest of the defensive line showed why they are one of the best in the league, as they held Packers star running back Josh Jacobs to just 30 rushing yards on 16 carries. There are no signs of this extremely talented line stopping anytime soon. Fortunate for Cleveland fans, unfortunate for opposing team’s backfields.

Potentially the biggest play of the game came from the defense late in the fourth quarter, when big man Shelby Harris perfectly got a hand to the ball, blocking McManus’ potential lead taking attempt.

The Browns defense was the reason why this team stayed in the game all day, and eventually had a chance to get the win as time expired.

The Baltimore Ravens toppled the Browns 41-17 in Week 2 despite a painfully slow start. The Browns’ glory this Sunday should make the Ravens feel better about that slow start, as well as about how poorly they ran the ball. While the Browns aren’t a contender – they simply don’t have the offensive muscle for that – they are deeply talented on defense. The Browns just stole a win from an NFC team with Super Bowl aspirations and an unbelievable amount of hype around them. The Ravens felt good about that Week 2 win, but should probably feel great in hindsight.

The Pittsburgh Steelers snatched a victory in New England. The Aaron Rodgers led Steelers won 21-14 in a game where the Patriots all but handed them a victory. In the beginning it looked like the Patriots were trying to speed run a loss like it was a video game challenge. While it ended up being quite a compelling contest, the Patriots gave the ball away five times, including a ridiculous goal line fumble that felt like dark magic emanating from the Steelers’ sideline. The fact that the Patriots had 369 total yards and the Steelers only had 203 total yards is eye-opening.

Standard operating procedure for Pittsburgh, as it seems they have a handful of games like this every single season.

The fact that the Steelers won a tight game when the Patriots gifted them five turnovers speaks to the fact the Steelers have things to work on. Jack Markowski of Sports Illustrated highlighted a couple of the negatives for the Steelers in their tight win. One of these negatives is the Pittsburgh rushing attack:

The Steelers’ run game struggled to get anything going in Weeks 1 and 2, and it was no different against New England.

Pittsburgh ended up with 26 attempts on the day for just 64 yards, which came out to an average of 2.5 yards per carry. While Jaylen Warren was productive in the passing game, hauling in five passes for 34 yards, he posted only 47 yards on 18 carries.

The Steelers haven’t had their offensive identity of old in the past few seasons. Last night during Sunday Night Football Cris Collinsworth was incapable of talking about things other than the Chiefs not looking like the Chiefs. My question is what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers football? They had Russell Wilson last year and Rodgers this year, and while the offense is certainly more capable, the run game and the offensive line are major areas of doubt for them. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers used to have a very defined brand of football and it was about being physical and tough. The Steelers are doing okay and have scraped two tough wins out against the Jets and the Patriots, but I wonder if they know who they are as a football team yet. I wonder what the 2025 Steelers will do to be different than the middle-of-the-pack performances of the past few years. Baltimore is fine with them taking their time as they figure all of that out.

Does the NFL have a mercy rule? The Bengals got shellacked by the Minnesota Vikings to the tune of 48-10. Joe Burrow is out, but that does not explain a 38-point loss that played like the Goliath picking on preschool children instead of David. Jake Browning was 19-27 passing for 140 yards, one touchdown and two picks in his first full game covering for Burrow. Not having Burrow doesn’t explain why the Vikings could do just about anything they wanted, why the Bengals had three fumbles, or why their running game was stuck in cement. The Vikings, I may add, were doing this with their backup quarterback Carson Wentz. That was a total team loss, one that makes you think the Bengals may not be much of a factor this season.

Okay, but what about tonight?

Matt Russell of Yahoo Sports thinks the Lions are a well-reasoned team to bet on going into this battle:

That version of the Lions’ offense is going to give the Ravens’ pass defense trouble, like the Bills in Week 1, and most of the high-caliber quarterbacks Baltimore faced last season. Even more concerning for the Ravens is the absence of star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who’s a critical component in stopping the run.

It won’t be a breeze for the Lions’ defense, but that’s why this game comes with a total of well over 50. The Detroit stop-unit continues to be loaded with red letters in its depth chart, but that’s been the case for over a year now, and the Ravens’ offense is marginally less complex without Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard.

I don’t argue that the loss of Madubuike is going to be a problem. If the Lions can run the ball up the gut, all of their offense is on the menu – and Dan Campbell is notoriously a hungry coach. I have no delusions that the Ravens will dominate the Lions like they did in that 38-6 game. My argument is that missing Likely and Ricard isn’t as big of a deal as Russell may think. The Ravens put up 40 and 41 points in their two showings of the season, work done without Likely and Ricard. But yeah, if I’m betting anything in this game it would be the over. These teams can score and both have defensive problems to figure out.

Baltimore Beatdown’s new editor Nikhil Mehta (hi Nik!) sees the Ravens bucking the trend of giving up a fourth quarter lead in a memorable game:

This game has all the makings of a shootout that will soar over the 52.5 O/U. The two teams will trade scores in the first half before the Ravens gain an edge in the third quarter. Once again, Baltimore will have to protect a lead in the fourth against a high-octane offense, but this time, they don’t break. A late splash play on defense will get the ball back to Lamar Jackson with a lead, and this time, the offense will slam the door shut.

The Ravens have a track record of these “Splash Plays” on defense, which gives merit to Mehta’s point. Remember the Buccaneers game last season. Marlon Humphrey changed that game with an interception, just like he did last year against the Bengals. The Ravens being opportunistic at home, in front of a prime time crowd, could be the thing the defense needs. That could spark a big team win.

Baltimore Beatdown’s Zac Canter has a different view of the game. He thinks this game will be lower scoring than people think:

Fortunately, the Ravens defense will also be able to keep the Lions in check as well. The Lions have weapons like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs, and they will make plays. Jared Goff is an excellent quarterback as well, but Ravens’ defenses rarely struggle against signal callers who don’t have above-average mobility. Even if Nnamdi Madubuike doesn’t play, the pass rush should be able to impact Goff and keep this close.

It’s going to be close all the way through. My feeling is that the Ravens will have an opportunity for an interception in the 4th quarter. If they come down with it, they win it. Both teams score in the low 20s.

So what do I think?

BOLD PREDICTIONS: Hunting Lions in the Dark

I think I’m going to stay up late stressing over the Ravens one way or another. In all seriousness give me the Ravens 40-32. I do see this as a high-octane, offense-oriented game. I think the difference will be that the Lions don’t have an answer for Lamar Jackson. He will nullify their pass rush and have a night to remember.

I have a class at Towson tonight that technically goes to 7:40. Dr. Lucas, if you’re reading this, letting us out early is a good call tonight.

Happy game day to all, may it not seem too much like a Monday.

The post OTL: Resting Ravens See Two AFC North Foes Win Sunday appeared first on Russell Street Report.