Baltimore Ravens Week 15 Preview
The Baltimore Ravens (8-5) will be welcoming the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-12) to M&T Bank Stadium for an AFC matchup at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Even if they win out, the Ravens still aren’t in complete control of their own destiny when it comes to making the postseason, however, their odds are getting increasingly higher each week and their remaining schedule is very favorable.
The Ravens capped off Week 14 with an exhilarating 47-42 win over the Cleveland Browns in an instant classic on Monday Night Football that is already been dubbed the ‘Game of the Year.
It marked their first time winning consecutive wins since October and reigning league MVP, Lamar Jackson, had one of his best games of the season.
The Jaguars were blown out 31-10 by the Tennessee Titans last week in their 12th straight loss since winning their season opener. Reigning league rushing champion and current leading rusher, Derrick Henry, ran roughshod through and over their defense for 215 yards and two scores on the ground.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the matchup including potential X factors, injuries to monitor for each team, and a final outcome prediction.
What’s at stake:
While the Ravens aren’t in the running to repeat as AFC North champions for the third year in a row, they are still very much alive for one of the wildcard playoff spots and can finish as high as second in the North since they completed the season sweep of the Browns and will likely win out.
With a win, Baltimore would improve to 9-5 overall and improve to 6-5 in AFC conference play. They are still currently sitting on the outside looking in on the current playoff picture, but they have a more favorable schedule to close out the season than some of the other wild card contenders currently in front of or behind them in the standings.
If Jacksonville were to win, it would be arguably the biggest upset of the season and effectively take them out of the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes since they would ‘improve’ to 2-12 and the still winless New York Jets are highly unlikely to win out the final three weeks of the year.
Injuries to monitor:
The Ravens are really banged up in the secondary and particularly at cornerback where they will be without veteran cornerback Jimmy Smith for the third time this season as he deals with the latest in a rash of different injuries that have plagued him during the second half of the season.
The often-injured defensive back has only played a full 16 game season twice in his 10-year career but when he’s healthy and on the field, he is among the best at his position and a valuable member of the defense thanks to his unique blend of size and athleticism.
Baltimore had four other corners either miss practice or be limited participants this week but all others beside smith are listed as questionable but are expected to play.
All-Pro Marcus Peters did practice all week, Davontae Harris at out on Wednesday and Thursday but returned on Friday on a limited basis, Tramon Williams was limited on Wednesday and Thursday but practiced fully on Friday, and Anthony Averett popped up on the report and missed practice on Friday.
Veteran defensive Calais Campbell practice for just the second time since suffering his calf strain against Indianapolis in Week Nine and even though it was on a limited basis, it is an encouraging sign that he’s getting healthier by the week.
Tight end Luke Willson is set to make his return after missing last week’s game because of a hip injury he suffered late in the week of practice leading up to the game. He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday but was a full participant on Friday.
Head Coach John Harbaugh told reporters that all three wide receivers on the Reserve/COVID-19 list – Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, and James Proche II – are “on track” to play on Sunday. They were identified as “high-risk” close contacts via tracing but will be eligible to play if they continue to test negative.
As for the Jaguars, the only player that they had listed on their final injury report is cornerback Sidney Jones who has been ruled out with an Achilles injury.
Rookie running back James Robinson was limited with a knee injury on Wednesday and Thursday but was a full participant on Friday. The undrafted gem out of Illinois State is third in the league in rushing with 1,035 yards and has broken rookie scrimmage yard records.
Potential X factors:
RB Gus Edwards
The third-year pro has been a model of consistency this season and no matter who the perceived ‘lead’ back is, he is always involved in the game plan. Edwards has expanded his repertoire this season and has shown that he can be more explosive and elusive once he gets into the second level of the defense.
He has also shown greater nose and urgency in getting across the goal line with six touchdowns through 13 games. Edwards ripped off a pair of touchdown runs against Cleveland where he showed all four traits.
On his first, he turned on the jets and sprinted five yards punch in a diving score. The second came a run up the middle that he bounced outside and made a defender whiff on a tackle as he ran 19 yards to pay dirt.
Edwards runs with the same kind of hard-nosed, arm tackle-breaking physicality as Henry and possesses the same kind of deceptive breakaway long speed once he gets a full head of steam. Expect the wheels on Gus ‘The Bus’ to be rolling all through the Bank on Sunday.
DT Justin Madubuike
The rookie defensive tackle is coming off the best game of his young career to date according to his coaches, pundits, and even Pro Football Focus who gave him a grade of 90.4 for his performance against the Browns despite playing just 37 percent of the Ravens defensive snaps.
With Campbell still on the mend and playing on a limited snap count, Madubuike has been stepping up and improving the more experience he gains. Against Cleveland, he finished with three combined tackles, and even though he didn’t bring Baker Mayfield down for a sack, he generated three pressures per PFF.
Madubuike has had some close call and recorded a handful of pressures and a quarterback hit but hasn’t notched his first career sack yet.
Several coaches and players believe that the levies are close to breaking for the Ravens’ pass rush in terms of sacks and this could be the week that it happens. Against an underwhelming Jaguars offensive line, this could finally be the game that the rookie gets the first of his career.
Recent history of the matchup:
The Jaguars surprisingly hold the lead in the all-time series between the two teams at 12-9 dating back to their first meeting in the Ravens’ inaugural season in 1996.
Jacksonville built up an early lead in the series by winning the first eight meetings from 96-99 but since the turn of the century, Baltimore holds a 9-4 advantage.
Since Harbaugh was hired in 2008, the two teams have faced off six times with each team notching three wins apiece. The last time they faced off, the Ravens suffered an embarrassing 44-7 loss in their first trip across the pond at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Final prediction:
I predict that the Ravens will not only stay hot and notch their third straight win by running roughshod over the Jaguars defense in a similar fashion to Henry but I believe that they will be even more dominant on the ground and could have two running backs rush for over 100 yards for the first time in the same game this season.
Jackson would be a prime candidate to eclipse the century mark in this game and very well might but this game has a high likelihood of getting out of hand fast in favor of the Ravens and he won’t be in the game long enough to shred the Jaguars like he did the Cowboys and Browns in their last two games.
As far as who those two running backs might be, it could be any of the top three since Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman might want to make a concerted effort to get veteran Mark Ingram involved after he played just one snap against the Brown last week.
Defensive Coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale told reporters on Thursday that he likes the swagger that Minshew plays with but all the swag in the world won’t be able to save the second-year signal-caller from the onslaught of pressure that he will be facing on Sunday from the Ravens ferocious front seven.
Final outcome: Ravens roll over Jaguars 41-13
