Pride of Detroit
Sunday’s performance by the Detroit Lions was what people expected out of them. The offense made multiple big plays, the defense made some key stops, created turnovers, and generated pressure on the quarterback, and the offensive line’s performance was night and day compared to the previous week. With how the Lions played against the Chicago Bears, they look like one of the best teams in the NFL.
But now, they have to go on the road to play a similar high-level team in the Baltimore Ravens, on “Monday Night Football.” What a way to snap back to reality, right? That is not to say that the Lions can’t win this game, but I doubt they can drop 50 points on the Ravens’ defense. The Ravens are coming off their first win of the season—after a heartbreaking collapse in Week 1—their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, is already playing MVP-level football, and the Ravens look poised to be one of the top teams in the AFC once again.
The Ravens and Lions play for the eighth time in their franchise’s histories, with Detroit going 1-6 against Baltimore. The last win for Detroit dates back to October 9th, 2005. Are the Ravens capable of keeping a 20-year streak alive? Let’s look into the Ravens a little deeper, see what has changed positively and negatively for them, and what the Lions are getting into their Week 3 matchup.
Last season was a strong one for the Ravens. Jackson was in the MVP race but came up short to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Jackson threw for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He continued to be a problem with his legs, too, rushing for 915 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson played lights out.
Running back Derrick Henry came close to a career year, and the offense seemed to flow together. Henry finished with 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns. He even scored through the air twice and had 19 catches for 193 yards. Wide receiver Zay Flowers had his first 1,000-yard season with 1,059 and four touchdowns. While tight end Mark Andrews saw his role get reduced, he still led the team in touchdowns with 11, as backup Isaiah Likely finished with six touchdowns and 477 yards, to Andrews’ 673.
The defense was led by linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who had a career-high 12.5 sacks, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who led the team with six interceptions. The Ravens were best at stopping the run, allowing the least rushing yards in the NFL with 1,361 and the lowest yards per carry with 3.6 per Next Gen Stats. While the defense was doing great, there was a big area of concern at kicker with Justin Tucker. Tucker was facing sexual misconduct accusations, and he had his worst season ever, making only 73.3 percent of...
