Baltimore Beatdown
The Ravens got their act together in Week 2, dominating the Browns on both sides of the ball on their way to a 41-17 victory. The offense responded to Cleveland’s stout run defense with four touchdowns through the air, and Roquan Smith earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for one of his best performances in purple and black.
Next up are the Lions, a team the Ravens throttled in Baltimore two years ago. John Harbaugh and his staff should still have the basic blueprint from that matchup, but personnel and coaching changes on both sides will offer plenty of new, exciting dynamics on the field. Here’s how the Ravens can bring their record to 2-1 on Monday night.
The Ravens are going to be missing two of their best front seven players in this one, with Kyle Van Noy and Nnamdi Madubuike down, the latter being the best pass rusher on the team. Even more so, the two of them being down will severely hurt the Ravens ability to stop the run. Against Jahmyr Gibbs, that’s not ideal for success.
It will be imperative for the Ravens to start fast and get points on the board early, unlike last week against Cleveland. Putting the Lions in chase mode will help guys like Odafe Oweh, Mike Green, and Fub Peebles pin their ears back and get after Jared Goff, who isn’t mobile and historically gets rattled when hit a lot.
The Ravens will likely look to get their run game with Derrick Henry kickstarted again after a disappointing Week 2. They will probably be able to as well. But the Ravens should look to send Zay Flowers, who dominates against cover one and cover three coverage, on crossers and generate a ton of explosive plays. The Lions run single high safety on nearly 75% of their plays but are 25th in EPA when they do. Flowers running with the ball in his hands over the middle of the field should be the game plan early and often.
Lamar Jackson threw for 375 yards when they played Detroit in 2023 and Flowers went for 75 yards himself. Detroit’s scheme hasn’t changed much since then and their corners, Terrion Arnold and DJ Reed, aren’t starting the season strongly. If the Lions stick to their game plan and don’t drastically change for this matchup, Jackson should be able to dice them up with his arm.
Like last week against Joe Flacco, Jared Goff is one of the least mobile quarterbacks the Ravens will play this year. Even with Madubuike and Van Noy down, the pass rush has to win today if the Ravens don’t want to get into a shootout. As I said earlier, Goff has historically been a quarterback who gets rattled and off his rhythm when hit. It can wreck an offensive gameplan, especially if the Ravens can do it early.
The Lions...
