The Baltimore Ravens are undefeated and atop the AFC North.
However, it didn’t appear that way when the Ravens found themselves down 20-2 to the Browns only eight minutes into the game. Some may brush it off as a hard fought division rivalry, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discover the Browns are one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The two teams the Ravens have beaten are currently 0-2, so let’s not forget they has yet to face stiff competition.
It’s encouraging that the Ravens have pulled away in close games so far this season. Last season, the Ravens failed to do that — nine times to be exact — as Baltimore would finish the 2015 season with a pathetic 5-11 record.
The Ravens have played the Jaguars twice in the past two seasons, and Jacksonville has improved in each of them, fighting Baltimore to the bitter end in each of their past two meetings. This upcoming game should be no exception.
Blake Bortles is better than most people realize, and has very similar physical traits to Ben Roethlisberger. Like Big Ben, Bortles also has dangerous weapons to complement his rocket arm.
Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are lethal and Baltimore’s defense cannot let these guys tear up their secondary like Corey Coleman did last week, or it’ll be a long 60 minutes for the Ravens.
Here’s the scary part — even if Baltimore can shut down Robinson and Hurns, they will also need to have answers for tight ends Julius Thomas and Marcedes Lewis, who have served as Bortles’ security blankets over the past two weeks.
Bottom line — Baltimore must force Bortles to make poor throws by applying pressure from their front seven.
Joe Flacco has a solid deep ball, but he needs to do a better job protecting the football, as he threw two interceptions last week that made the game against Cleveland a lot closer than it needed to be. Jalen Ramsey is probably dying to get his first career interception, and if Flacco recklessly throws the pigskin around, Ramsey will capitalize.
There’s a reason Baltimore originally tried to trade up in this year’s draft to select Ramsey. He’s the real deal.
Linebacker Telvin Smith also has the capability to neutralize both Justin Forsett and Terrance West. Smith has recorded 18 total tackles this season with an average of nine tackles per game. If Baltimore wants to improve to 3-0, Marshal Yanda needs to bring his “A-game” against Smith and Jaguar front seven.
Many people may write this game off as an easy win for Baltimore, and nothing could be further from the truth. If the Ravens get caught napping this Sunday, they’re going to take an “L.”
Prediction: Ravens over Jaguars 23-20
