Baltimore Ravens Week Six Predictions
The NFL is somehow already six weeks in and teams are starting to show how good they are… except for the Ravens. The Ravens are entering this week with a record of 3-2 and nobody knows how good or bad this team is.
The Ravens started out 2-0 with two dominating wins against the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, but then looked like they did not care losing horribly to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers before bouncing back against the Oakland Raiders.
Is this the week where we can see some consistency? Here are my predictions for the upcoming game against the Chicago Bears.
The defense will continue to feast against rookie Quarterbacks
The Ravens are 9-0 against rookie quarterbacks at home in the John Harbaugh era and expect the same against Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky made his first career start last Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and looked better than expected. His footwork looks good for a rookie and it looks like Trubisky loves to roll out of the pocket. But Trubisky’s best bet against the Ravens is to just drop it off to Tarik Cohen and let him make plays. The Bears are without Cameron Meredith and Kevin White, their top two receivers, for the year due to injuries and even if Jimmy Smith sits out this week, the Ravens secondary will shut the passing game down. With defensive coordinator Dean Pees starting to get creative with blitz schemes again, expect Trubisky to be on the ground quite a bit and make some bad throws that could become interceptions trying to avoid the sack.
Joe Flacco and the offense play their best game yet
Now I am predicting this game to be similar to the games against the Bengals and Browns, where the Ravens jump to an early lead and just run the ball throughout the second half. The Bears have no big name players on defense and if the Ravens come firing out the gate like they did last week, it will be a long day for the Bears. Flacco looks like he’s finally healthy and has trust in his offensive line, so expect him to throw passes longer than 15 yards quite a bit. Last week he was starting to step into his throws, which was a big reason for his good game. I will be thoroughly disappointed if the offense turns the ball over at any point during the game. The Bears’ defense ranks dead last in turnovers, forcing only three fumbles and zero interceptions so far this season. Flacco needs to make good throws and Alex Collins needs to hold onto the ball, otherwise this game will be way closer than it needs to be.
Breshad Perriman finally shows up
Breshad Perriman has been arguably the biggest disappointment so far this season. All preseason, the Ravens kept saying Perriman was the best player on the field and that this year was his coming out party. So far, Perriman only has four catches for 26 yards while dropping a majority of passes his way. Yes, the Ravens did not have to throw the ball that often in the first two games, but Perriman needs to catch the balls thrown his way. As of right now, Perriman is just a speedy player and is gaining the “bust” status faster than he can run. The Ravens should know everyone is getting upset with Perriman, so I expect Flacco goes to him early and often so he can get some confidence back and hopefully break one for a long touchdown.
All in all, the Ravens should easily beat this Bears team by at least two possessions. If not, then this team has no chance in making a deep playoff run. I am predicting the Ravens to win 33-10, with the lone Bears touchdown happening in junk time. The defense will have another day full of turnovers, forcing three interceptions and two fumbles. Flacco will throw for two touchdowns, Alex Collins and Buck Allen combine for over 150 yards rushing, and the Ravens will sack Trubisky four times while the Bears sack Flacco once.
