Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions have one of their biggest tests on Monday night, as they travel to face the Baltimore Ravens. For the past few years, these have been two of the best regular season teams in football, yet both are still seeking postseason success.
There will be no playoff results on the line this week, but it will certainly be a litmus test for both squads. Who will have the advantage on “Monday Night Football”? Let’s break it down in our Lions vs. Ravens On Paper preview and prediction.
Note: We’re still using some 2024 data when clearly stated, but starting in Week 4, we will throw out all of last year’s stats.
2025 DVOA rankings: Lions (7th) vs. Ravens (12th)
The Lions’ passing attack looks to be back after taking Week 1 off. Sunday against the Bears was one of Jared Goff’s best career performances—including his third-highest passer rating (156.0), seventh-highest yards per attempt (11.9), and fifth-highest completion percentage (82.1%).
While Goff was marvelous, the biggest difference between Weeks 1 and 2 was the performance of the offensive line. Per PFF, the offensive line was responsible for 12 pressures vs. the Packers. Against the Bears, that number dropped to two.
So is that more about the Lions or more about the Bears’ lackluster pass rush? It’s worth noting that Chicago produced just eight pressures vs. the Vikings in Week 1, so there is reason to believe their ability to get to the passer is much worse than Green Bay’s, and being at home also likely helped the Lions. But the most likely outcome is that Detroit’s offensive line talent is somewhere between their first two performances.
Last year, the Ravens’ pass defense got off to a rough start, but was one of the best down the stretch. As a unit, they finished:
Some of their “improvement” down the stretch was due to the strength of opposing offenses, but it’s still worth considering them a top-10 pass defense last year.
As for this year? Much like the Lions, it’s a tale of two weeks. Josh Allen was electric against the Ravens in Week 1. Joe Flacco struggled in Week 2. Given the disparity in talent on both the Bills and the Browns, it’s really hard to gauge where this pass defense is at.
One thing has been consistent for a very long time in Baltimore: pass rush. They ranked second in sacks last year and first the year before. This year, however, they’ve only logged three sacks, and on Monday they’ll be missing one of their more talented rushers in Kyle Van Noy—and possibly the person who has two of the three sacks for Baltimore, Nnambi Madubuike.
For what it’s worth, advanced stats and pressure rates don’t provide much clarity on their...
