Four key matchups to watch for in Ravens v Chiefs
Much has been made of the third meeting between the last two league MVPs ahead of the Monday night matchup of the two powerhouses of not just the AFC but the NFL as a whole in the Baltimore Ravens and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
However, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes aren’t going to be on the field at the same time unless it is before the game during warmups or postgame in displays of sportsmanship. That means that actual head-to-head matchups will occur between the respective offenses and defenses of the two teams.
Here are four key matchups to look for in the Ravens primetime showdown with the Chiefs on Monday Night Football:
Ravens pass protection v Chiefs pass rush
Baltimore’s offensive line had a resurgent performance in their run blocking in the second half of their Week Two win over the Houston Texans, but their pass protection has sprung a few leaks in the first two games of the season against some talented pass rushers including allowing four sacks last week.
“It’s never as good as you think, it’s never as bad as you think,” Stanley said. “A lot of it wasn’t terrible pass protection, but we know we can be cleaner, we know we can be better. We don’t want our quarterback taking that many hits.”
They have some inexperience and players working back from or currently dealing with injuries on the starting unit and will face off with some more talented interior and edge pass rushers when the Chiefs come to town on Monday night for their prime-time showdown.
Kansas City has one of the best defensive tackles in the league in Chris Jones who has recorded 26 sacks since 2018 and defensive end Frank Clark is a gifted edge rusher who is coming off an incredible postseason run where he recorded additional five sacks in three playoff contests after logging eight 14 games in the regular season.
Stanley has been a little nicked up in the first couple weeks, starting center Matt Skura is still working his way back from major knee surgery and rookie Tyre Phillips continues to improve with each starting experience he gets under his belt. The Chiefs have been very susceptible to the run in the first two weeks and maybe they take some of the wind out of the sails of the Kansas City’s pass rush by keeping the ball on the ground.
ILB Patrick Queen v RB Clyde Edwards-Hilaire
Before they were the first-round picks of their respective NFL teams in this year’s draft back in April, Queen and Edwards-Hilaire were college teammates and helped lead the LSU Tigers to a national championship last year.
Both of them are off to impressive starts to their rookie seasons with Queen leading the Ravens in tackles through two games and Edwards-Hilaire has recorded 208 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown over the same span. They are both lauded for their ability to contribute in the passing game with Queen for his skills in coverage and Edwards-Hilaire for pass-catching prowess out of the backfield.
The pair of rookies are integral pieces to what their teams like to do on their respective sides of the ball and could find themselves matched up against one another in space whether it is on a passing play or if Edwards-Hilaire gets to the second level of the Ravens’ defense.
They will also likely face off at or behind the line of scrimmage on several occasions whether it is on a running play or when Edwards-Hilaire stays behind to pass protect and Queen comes in on a blitz which he has been dangerous and decisive doing in his first two career starts.
Raven secondary v Chiefs pass catchers
The Ravens have the best cornerback tandem in the league with a pair of First-Team All-Pros Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey and the unheralded yet talented homegrown safety tandem of Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliott who have been extremely disruptive in the first two games this season.
The Chiefs have arguably the best and certainly the fastest collection of offensive skill position players at the disposal of their rocket-armed quarterback. Mahomes makes his routine hookups with speedy wideouts Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and Demarcus Robinson as well as tight end Travis Kelce look like pitch and catch on a weekly basis.
When these two units line up against each other on Monday night, it will be exciting to see the master chess match between Ravens Defensive Coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale and Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid as they try to confuse and confound one another with creative plays and personnel packages.
Ravens pass-catchers v Chiefs secondary
Last season the Ravens’ passing game flowed through the tight end position and it resulted in Mark Andrews breaking out, leading the team in nearly every receiving statistical category, and making his first career Pro Bowl.
With more attention being devoted to one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league to start this season, Baltimore’s other pass catchers, specifically at the wide receiver, have stepped up and made plays for Jackson in the passing game. Against the Texans, he completed more passes to his wide receivers (12 catches for 128 on 20 targets) than he did to his tight ends (two for 40 yards on two targets).
All four of his top receivers are making plays, coming up with clutch catches and picking up first downs with almost every catch according to their average depths of target. Second-year receivers Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and Miles Boykin have shown tremendous growth in their rapport with Jackson, veteran Willie Snead is showing his more than just a possession receiver, and rookie Devin Duvernay picks up chunks of yardage and first downs every time he touches the ball.
Baltimore’s offense will want to build off their bounce back rushing performance in Week Two with another dominating day on the ground against poor tackling Chiefs defense against the run, but Kansas City’s secondary has allowed big plays through the air as well. The Ravens receivers have been good at making the most of their opportunities when the ball comes their way through the first two games and that trend could continue this week.
