Preview: Ravens Return Home to Face Lions

The Baltimore Ravens return home to M&T Bank stadium for week seven, after their trip to London that saw them come away victorious over the Tennessee Titans to move to 4-2, and into first place in the AFC north.

The Detroit Lions come to Baltimore as one of the hottest teams in the entire NFC as they sit at 5-1, first place in the NFC north, and coming off an impressive 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was one for the record books the last time these two teams squared off. It took a Justin Tucker 66-yard field goal as time expired for the Ravens to steal a victory in Detroit just two seasons ago.

The Ravens got good news on the injury front this week at outside linebacker Odafe Oweh returned to practice. Oweh has missed the previous four weeks with an ankle injury, but practiced in full on Thursday and Friday and currently does not have an injury designation meaning he will play Sunday. Cornerback Kevon Seymour (ankle) and safety Marcus Williams (hamstring) both left last Sundays game early and both did not practice this week officially ruling them out for this Sunday.

The Lions will be without starting running back David Montgomery (ribs) and guard Jonah Jackson (ankle) for Sunday as both did not practice all week. Tight end James Mitchell (hamstring), defensive end Joshua Paschal (knee), and running back Craig Reynolds (hamstring/toe) were all limited in practice on Friday and all three are listed as questionable. With Montgomery out and Reynolds not fully 100% rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs is in line to get a bulk of the work in the Lions backfield. Gibbs himself may not be completely 100% as he has been dealing with a hamstring injury that limited him in practice this week.

Players to Watch:

Geno Stone

Those outside of Baltimore likely knew very little about Geno Stone heading into this season. The 5’11” safety out of the University of Iowa now in his third season in the NFL, is firmly putting his name on the map this year as he has played at a pro bowl level through six weeks. Stone has a career high three interceptions, after recording just one career interception prior to this year.

While statistics are nice, Stone has also played more then he ever has this year. With the injury to fellow safety Marcus Williams in week one, Stone has stepped in alongside Kyle Hamilton helping the Ravens secondary become one of the best in the NFL in 2023. Stone will look to continue to build on his career year this Sunday as he takes on Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who thrown just three interceptions this season.

Josh Reynolds

On a team that has one of the best receivers in the NFL today in Amon-Ra St. Brown. It can be easy to overlook many of the other key pieces that make up the fourth best passing offense in the league. One of those key pieces is Lions receiver Josh Reynolds. Reynolds, now on his third team in his eight-year NFL career, sits second on the team in receiving yards only behind St. Brown and tied for the most receiving touchdowns on the team with three.

Reynolds is a big play receiver standing at 6’3″ he averages 17.9 yards per reception, fourth highest of wide receivers who have played in six games. With starting running back David Montgomery out and a lot of attention being paid to St. Brown the Ravens secondary cannot lose track of Reynolds as the Lions look to attack the second ranked passing defense in the NFL.

Prediction

When looking at a schedule before the year kicks off, it impossible to know the direction teams will take and matchups that looked promising in the beginning of the year, now looks like on of the worst. In the case of Ravens, Lions early indications were that the Lions would improve upon their 9-8 record last year. So far the Lions haven’t just improved, but they have become one of the best teams in the the entire NFC. While the Ravens continue to be pillars of success sitting as a force in the AFC through six weeks having truly yet to play a complete football game.

The Lions and Ravens have played some instant classics over their short series history, with the two most memorable games being decided by the foot of Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. Sundays game should be one of the best on the day as one of the best offenses in the NFL goes up against one of the best defenses in the NFL. I think the difference on Sunday will come down to how well the Ravens do inside the red zone, an area of the field they struggled in last week against the Titans.

The Lions who have a top 10 defense rank 21st in red zone defense allowing their opponents to score touchdowns nearly 58% of the time inside the red zone. The Ravens offense should be able to move the ball against this Lions defense and with an emphasis on scoring touchdowns in the red zone this week in practice I expect the Ravens offense will return to proper form in that area of the field.

The Lions are an up and coming team that is having a lot of new found success this season, but the Ravens are no strangers to success and commonly find themselves in big games with big moments, and Sunday will most certainty be one of those big games. With both teams very evenly matched, I will take the experience over talent in this case, Ravens win 27-23.

Line: Baltimore -3

Over/Under: 43

All-Time Record: Baltimore leads series 5-1

Last Meeting: 9/26/21 Baltimore 19-17