Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Ravens will face their first NFC opponent of the season as the Detroit Lions come to town for a Monday Night Football showdown.
The staff of Baltimore Beatdown gives their bold predictions for the matchup of two Super Bowl contenders.
With a heartbreaking loss and a divisional stomp-down in their first two weeks, the Ravens are having a typical start to their season. Normally, the next step is to demolish a few NFC teams in September and October. The Lions, though, answered plenty of questions after dropping 52 points on the Bears last week.
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. – Nikhil Mehta
This is gonna be a knock-down, drag-out. After the Lions were embarrassed in Baltimore in 2023, Detroit will be doing everything to not let it happen again. But few teams play better than the Ravens in primetime, especially at home. That being said, their offense faces their biggest struggle yet on Monday. The Ravens’ offensive line simply won’t be able to handle the Lions’ pass rush, throwing Lamar Jackson off his game with his first interception of the year against what could be the best safety duo in the NFL in Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Luckily, the Ravens find their rushing attack again. Derrick Henry goes for 70+ yards, Justice Hill makes plays through the air, and Keaton Mitchell gets his first activation of the season and rips a long run of 30+ yards. The Ravens still struggle to score points against the Lions’ rush.
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. – Zach Canter
Rashod Bateman leads the Ravens in receiving yards with his first breakout game of the season. In his return to action, Isaiah Likely catches another timely touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Likely’s clutch score gives the Ravens a narrow lead, and the defense comes up big...
