Ravens at Chiefs: Someone is going to be 1-3 on Sunday night

It’s not the heavyweight fight we expected in Kansas City on Sunday as both teams are 1-2 and need to start winning football games. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the high stakes for Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes and the franchises as the Ravens travel to the Chiefs as a dubious 2 1/2-point road favorite at Arrowhead Stadium.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the high stakes of the upcoming Ravens vs. Chiefs game, with the Ravens as slight favorites. They highlighted the importance of health, particularly the absence of Nnamdi Asobar, who has a serious neck injury. The Ravens are 1-2, and the Chiefs are also 1-2, adding urgency to the matchup. Both teams have struggled defensively, with the Ravens allowing 323 yards per game and the Chiefs 31st in pass defense. Offensively, the Ravens have been inconsistent, with issues in first down efficiency and fumbles. The game is crucial for both teams’ playoff hopes and division standings.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Analyze the matchup between the Ravens and Chiefs and identify potential mismatches.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Discuss the implications of a potential Ravens loss on their playoff and division chances.
• [ ] Follow up on the status of Lamar Jackson’s neck injury and its potential impact on the team.
• [ ] Assess the performance of the Ravens’ defensive line and identify ways to improve their run defense.

Ravens vs. Chiefs Preview and Health Concerns

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning the upcoming Ravens vs. Chiefs game and the excitement around it.
• Nestor and Luke Jones discuss the impact of a Monday night game on the team’s preparation, with John Harbaugh trying to give the players extra rest.
• Luke highlights the importance of health for both teams, noting that the Ravens and Chiefs are both 1-2.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the urgency of the game, with both teams needing a win to stay competitive in their divisions.

Concerns Over Nnamdi Asobar’s Injury

• Nestor and Luke delve into the seriousness of Nnamdi Asobar’s neck injury, with John Harbaugh confirming he won’t play on Sunday.
• Nestor shares his concerns based on media reports and discussions with other analysts, noting the severity of the injury.
• Luke explains the complexity of neck injuries, comparing Asobar’s situation to Zach Gore’s past injury.
• They discuss the potential long-term implications of the injury, including the possibility of a career-threatening condition.

Impact of Injuries on the Defensive Line

• Luke updates on the status of other injured players, including Travis Jones and Broderick Washington, who are also banged up.
• They discuss the patchwork nature of the defensive line, with John Jenkins being the only consistent performer.
• Nestor and Luke express concern over the defensive line’s performance, noting the team’s struggles against the run.
• They mention the recent signings of veteran defensive tackles Taven Bryan and Josh Tupou to bolster the line.

Offensive Line and Running Game Issues

• Nestor and Luke discuss the offensive line’s struggles in opening up holes for the running game.
• They highlight the absence of key players like Patrick Ricard and the impact on the team’s goal-to-go situations.
• Luke points out the team’s first-down efficiency issues, with too many negative plays on early downs.
• They discuss the importance of the offensive line in creating opportunities for Lamar Jackson and the running game.

Challenges Faced by the Secondary

• Nestor and Luke talk about the issues in the secondary, with players like Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton not performing well.
• They discuss the impact of these issues on the team’s ability to stop the run and cover receivers.
• Luke mentions the need for young players like Nate Wiggins and Ebenezer Ogundeko to step up.
• They express concern over the team’s overall defensive performance, noting the high number of yards allowed on the ground.

Kansas City Chiefs’ Offensive and Defensive Performance

• Nestor and Luke analyze the Chiefs’ offensive and defensive performance, noting the team’s struggles in certain areas.
• They discuss the importance of Patrick Mahomes’ scrambling ability and the need for a consistent run game.
• Luke highlights the Chiefs’ defensive issues, with the team allowing over 200 rushing yards in their last game.
• They discuss the potential mismatches in the game, with the Chiefs’ receivers posing a threat to the Ravens’ secondary.

Predictions and Expectations for the Game

• Nestor and Luke make predictions about the game, with Nestor expressing concern over the team’s current form.
• They discuss the importance of winning the game for both teams, with the Chiefs needing a win to stay competitive in their division.
• Luke emphasizes the need for the Ravens to score points and maintain a strong pass rush against Mahomes.
• They conclude by discussing the potential long-term implications of the game for both teams, including playoff positioning and division standings.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Ravens, Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, Nnamdi Asobar, health concerns, defensive line, offensive line, running game, injuries, division standings, playoff hopes, Kansas City, Baltimore, football game, urgency.

SPEAKERS

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Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:02

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 tassel, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively coming at you in expectations of a huge football game on Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Ravens in Kansas City that used to mean some delicious barbecue. For me, it will mean some crab cakes for us, though the Maryland lottery puts us on the road along with nobody, pure solutions, our friends, a curio wellness, GBMC, putting us out on the road right now. And I will have the Raven scratch offs to give away. I’m putting together a fade lease excursion as well as cost us into monium, because it’s close to home, as well as some new places as we get into October, and I don’t have to worry about playoff baseball, and we have all sorts of weirdness this weekend with the Yankees and the Orioles and the Yankees in the by and the Orioles playing spoiler, and the Blue Jays doing whatever they’re doing as well. But Luke and I are focused on football and Patrick mahomes and nom de madab ek Luke. I can’t begin to say, you know, it’s been four years since I’ve been thrown out by Chad Steele and John Harbaugh on the minions there, but I had these short weeks go especially after a loss one and two, big game, rival game favorite on the road. I don’t know. Man, we beat them up pretty good, and then Tuesday afternoon happens quickly. That gives way to Wednesday, and they’re practicing, and Taylor Swift might even beat the game on Sunday, huh?

Luke Jones  01:30

Yeah, I didn’t even think about that part of it, but it’s always a little strange when you have a Monday night game, anytime you have a prime time game, it kind of just throws the the start of the week out of whack. John Harbaugh is trying to get these guys a little bit of extra rest, because you have, you know, you take away one day from your normal week. So they started a little bit later in the day, Wednesday. But I think health continues to be such a big part of what we’re talking about here, and you have a big game, both teams are one and two. I mean, think about this. I mean, a month ago, if someone had told you that the ravens and the chiefs would be playing in week four and the loser would be one in three. I mean, that’d be very surprising, regardless of early season schedule and all that.

Nestor Aparicio  02:13

But for the Ravens that bet, you’d make a lot of money, you know,

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Luke Jones  02:17

yeah, sure, sure. I mean, not that either. Teams had a cakewalk of a schedule, obviously, but certainly lots of no shortage of urgency, at least as it pertains to week four for either team. But as I said, the story for the Ravens continues to be health. John Harbaugh did not have anything new to offer on Nnamdi, mada BK and the health of his neck, other than to say he’s not playing on Sunday so

Nestor Aparicio  02:44

well you read hardball ease as well as anyone. I can usually tell when he’s BS and me, he always could. He hated that. It’s one of the reasons he threw me out. But the level of concern and the look when his eyes and the mannerism of which this began last late last week, concerned all of you in the media, the real media. I mean, even to the point where, like I had Leonard Raskin and Dennis collatzos on this week, it’s great to visit with Dennis. It’s been a while, and they both first thing they said to me, they’re worried about madabeki, aren’t they? You know, like, before we even did radio, whatever you know, right? Like, so the rumblings to the fan base too, and maybe it’s because we’ve seen Zach or we’ve seen Sergio Kendall, we’ve seen, you know, players get injured, too injured to be able to play um Dennis pitta, Todd heat go through, you know, great, great players that just kind of had it taken away from them, maybe a little earlier, in regard to not being able to do what they wanted to do. This has been very sudden, though,

Luke Jones  03:49

right? Yeah, I mean, and it’s very unnerving. It’s very unsettling because you just don’t know. I mean, look, the good thing is, everyone saw a Monday night on the sideline right? He wasn’t, he wasn’t wearing a neck brace. It’s not as though they’re being so secretive that there’s something extraordinarily wrong in terms of impacting his quality of life, right? But it’s a neck injury, and they have been very clear not to say it was, you know, just muscular or something like that, right? I mean, there, it’s clear there’s concern. John Harbaugh’s acknowledged there’s concern, but he hasn’t been given the green light to comment on it. That generally means either evaluation is ongoing, which a lot of these types of things, it’s not cut and dried all the time, right? Um, someone breaks a bone, someone tears a knee ligament, you can diagnose that very quickly when you have something and look, I mean, Zach Gore, and I’m not saying this is like Zach or right. I mean, we don’t know what the outcome is going to be here in Zach, or his case, keep in mind he got hurt in that Christmas game the Antonio Brown reaching over the goal line game. Back in 2016 he had a a different he had a herniated disc. It was a different neck injury that he suffered in that game. It was through the evaluation and the imaging process of that that they then discovered he actually had a congenital spinal condition that they said, You never should have been playing football these years. I mean, that that was a risk for you. Thank goodness we’ve caught this. Because this, this could have been a very, very bad outcome well beyond football. So not at all suggesting this is like that. But when you are talking about a neck, you’ve got to be careful with that. You know, to me, football, we know it’s such a brutal game, right? But there are two types of injuries that are different than everything else, head injuries, when we’re talking more specifically, concussions, and even that, it’s taken us until the last five to 10 years to start taking those more seriously, and what we always have taken seriously, because we’ve always seen these situations in the history of the game. I mean, I go back to being a kid and Mike Utley Dennis bird, right? I mean, we you see these high profile neck injuries that don’t happen every week, but you at least have some scares every season around the NFL, college football at the high school level, I mean, all of that. So when something happens, even if it’s not, oh, there was this big hit and he was carted off, or they, they strapped him to a backboard or anything like that. But he wakes up a day or two later and he’s not feeling right, and the the issues stemming to something with his neck, you’ve got to be really, really, really careful with that. Beyond is Mada bikin going to play in week three or week four, or is he going to be back in a month? You have to look at that very, very carefully. And in some cases, decisions have to be made. And I don’t say that to imply that it’s necessarily career threatening, but sometimes it’s a case where we think you need to get this taken care of, and unfortunately, this might take you out of play for the rest of the season, or in some cases, and I see this a lot as a professional wrestling fan. Bear with me for a moment where you’ve had plenty of wrestlers over the years have neck procedures, neck surgeries, things of that nature. And many of them are able to return to the ring after nine months, 12 months, a year and a half and but there also have been individuals who could not do it anymore and had to retire. So when I say all that. I’m not saying all that for anyone listening right now to completely sound the most

Nestor Aparicio  07:44

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of our jobs don’t involve our necks, right? I mean, they do on screens, and my necks been a little weird. You can ask Dr Steve about that, you know, but in a general sense, we’re not in many car crashes on every single Yeah, right, yeah. I’m not doing that kind of work, right? So that’s where,

Luke Jones  07:59

that’s where, with John Harbaugh saying what he said to this point and not saying what he said to this point, I I will buy that. And look, there’s always the competitive element that every team kind of goes through with their injuries and all that. But for him to have ruled out Matt abika and not played that gamesmanship kind of thing that John, or any head coach plays around the league, it speaks to. There’s a sensitivity to this, and there’s a thoroughness to this in terms of evaluating, potentially some decisions that need to be made. And, you know, I don’t want to speculate beyond that, because, you know, maybe he will be fine in six weeks. I don’t know. It is different than a turf toe injury, though, exactly, this isn’t, you know, this isn’t all you know. Can he play through a hamstring or, you know, an ankle, you know, a shoulder, you know? I mean, I always think back to Peter Boulware and how he played with his shoulder, kind of, you know, in a harness for felt like most of his career, right? I mean, Ray Lewis had that back in oh two and oh three and, you know, but a neck that you can’t do that, right? I mean, at the very least, you have to make sure you have a complete understanding and idea that your head’s complete. You know, when you’re the doctors and the training staff and the medical staff, and, you know, you seek other opinions, all that you want to have a full picture of what you’re dealing with. And in some cases, it can end up being fine. In other cases, it can be something where, you know, Tavon Young was an example, had to have a neck surgery. He returned to play the next year, right? And you know, even though he had an injury, play career, didn’t necessarily have another issue with his neck after that. But we also know that, yes, there are sometimes cases where it does threaten someone’s career and potentially can end their career. I mean, again, Zach or that was a spinal, you know, that was a congenital condition that was discovered in the process of him having done something else to his. To his spine, where, you know, you kind of look at that injury and you say, for his life, that was a blessing in disguise, that that was caught, because if he had the wrong head, I mean, doctors told him he could have been paralyzed or worse. So that’s that’s why, whenever you’re talking, and I don’t think you know this, I haven’t seen any fan chatter as far as, like, you know, why isn’t he out there? Like, that kind of thing. I think everyone understands when you’re talking about a neck issue, you’ve got to be extremely careful with that. So there that being said, that he’s not playing this up. Yeah, he’s not playing and all. And as we can kind of pivot, because there’s, you know, I don’t have anything more beyond that, other than you know, John expressed concern. I think it’s obvious they’re concerned, right? And whether that’s for the next month, whether that’s for the rest of the season, or whether that’s more than that, right? So you don’t want to speculate too much, but you also don’t want to say it’s nothing either. But in the meantime, they don’t have them Sunday, and unfortunately, they’re banged up on further banged up on the defensive line. Travis Jones, who only played two snaps in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game, he’s dealing with the knee left, actually limped off on that Jameer Gibbs fourth down touchdown on the very first play of the of the fourth quarter. And the only play he played after that was the first snap after the Derrick Henry fumble. And if you go back and look at the all 22 he couldn’t put, really, couldn’t put any weight to kind of and he got higher, yeah, and then he was off. So now he was from I did not see him, but I know a couple other reporters did spot him in the locker room briefly. Seemed to be fine walking through, John Harbaugh indicated he and Broderick Washington, he feels, at this early stage of the week, when he was speaking on Wednesday, that he was encouraged that they might be able to play, but we don’t know. So in the meantime, you know, no matter BK Jones is banged up, Washington’s banged up the defensive line, other than John Jenkins, played horribly on Monday night, as it was, but they did sign a pair of veteran defensive tackles, Taven Bryan, you know, former first round pick once upon a time, and Josh Tupou, who was on their practice squad last year. So and

Nestor Aparicio  12:15

they’re really patching this together. I mean, started with Jenkins, right, who still has some some motor left in him. I mean, there’s a guy that’s been everywhere in

Luke Jones  12:23

the league, right? Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, we’re going to see how this plays out, you know, John Jenkins gonna, you know, he’s going to play. I mean, he played a lot on Monday night. And, like I said, he was the one guy. But when you go back and watch that, you know, Travis Jones had a poor game. Broderick Washington was poor, but John Jenkins played, well, they’re going to meet, you know, especially if Travis Jones’s status is in some question here for Sunday. You know, it’s all hands on deck. And, you know, like I said, Brent urban, I mean, they’ve couple new guys on the practice squad. I mean, it’s really a patchwork kind of defensive line

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Nestor Aparicio  12:58

that we did not envision, right? And we can we be talking about this as a deficiency? You didn’t like the linebacking course so much. We had questions about the depth of the secondary and where young players would fit in. But you know, this hasn’t looked good for Humphrey, who’s injured. It hasn’t looked good for Hamilton. It hasn’t looked great for roquan, or the way that was shot out of a gun in the Cleveland game, right? Like and what it means when you’re getting bowl over and teams want to run the ball, that they’re going to try to run the ball. And I’m not saying that Kansas City, Houston or the rams are going to be that the next couple of weeks, but they’re going to get tested now. And it is a weakness. It It went from something as a perceived, if not strength, at least stable, to something that feels very unstable right now. And when you’re running games unstable, you can’t get the ball back for Lamar,

Luke Jones  13:53

yeah. I mean, this is a concern. I mean, it’s not unstable. It’s been terrible so far. I mean, when 3230 seconds? I mean, these are just raw numbers, and look, are they going to get better defensively? Well, a lot of that pertains to the health of their defensive line, but I’m guessing they will, but at the same time relative to expectations. I mean, we were thinking this had the chance to be a top five defense. Now, one thing I did want to address, if you go back and listen to our conversations, or what I was writing back in the spring, you know, say around draft time, I did talk a little bit, and I would let me be clear, I wasn’t alone in this. The defensive line depth was something that I talked about in terms of, okay, you know, you’ve not a BK. You love Travis Jones. You really like Right? I mean ankle injury last year aside that he was playing through, we’ve seen him be a guy who looks like he could be a guy, right, someone that can be an above average player. But we acknowledge that Michael Pierce retired, we acknowledge that Brent urban was another year older, and whether he was going to be in the plans or not. You know, he’s on the practice squad right now. We acknowledge that, you know. And what my big surprise was, when you think back to how this draft was regarded in terms of defensive line, they didn’t take a defensive lineman to a knee, so they took a knee as peoples in the sixth round right and and he’s an undersized kind of tweener, you know, when you watch him, he flashes as a guy that could be a situational inside pass rusher for you, but it’s not necessarily a guy you want out there for early downs. I mean, he’s just small, you know, he’s going to get pushed around by a by a physical offensive line like Detroit. So you know that that they’re going to have to figure this out, but you look at the numbers that it’s not beating them up. It the numbers are what they are. And I get it, they play Buffalo and Detroit, as I said, coming out of Monday night’s game, when it’s all said and done from 2025 who knows? Maybe buffalo plays Detroit in the Super Bowl. I mean, that certainly can happen. So it’s not as though there’s this great shame in losing the buffalo or Detroit, but I think it’s the manner in which it’s occurred that’s so alarming. Week one, the blown lead, and going back to that narrative, and week three, I mean, they were just

Nestor Aparicio  16:11

bullied, right? But the alarming part is whether they’re a good team or not, and we’re questioning that now and saying, If you can’t stop the run, special teams have been so so quarterbacks outstanding, but you got no running game, and the offensive line hasn’t really been able to open up the kind of holes in the running game to create the kind of creativity you’d like. Now no likely, no Ricard, no big boy ball. Henry either lost the step. Has no holes, fumbling the ball. Hold on to the football. Hold on to the football period. But so all the potential of the ceiling is still Willy Wonka and glass ceiling and all of that, but the reality of one and two and the reality of their injuries, their weaknesses, their exposures, and the fact that, I don’t know where the leak stops, because Matt abika is not coming, they’re not going to get that kind of play from their defensive line. Yeah.

Luke Jones  17:09

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I mean, if he’s not coming back, that’s, that’s a pass rusher, sure. I mean, yeah, no question there.

Nestor Aparicio  17:15

I would just say front seven problems, whatever that means.

Luke Jones  17:19

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I mean, it’s, you know, Marlon Humphrey hasn’t played well, and you kind of, now, I think they’re outside corners. Have played well. Hamilton wasn’t good on Monday night, but it’s Kyle Hamilton. I’m not worried about him. But yeah, they have issues. And you know, the one thing I’ll push back on a little bit, they’re a good team. I don’t have any doubts about that. I see even as

Nestor Aparicio  17:40

you wake me up Monday morning, if they’re one in three, are they a good team?

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Luke Jones  17:43

Yes, yes, because you’re still talking about you still have to consider the competition. The question is, are you a great team? Are you a team that’s as presently constructed, a Super Bowl contender that is coming into question with these issues, right?

Nestor Aparicio  17:58

Dude, I’ll go to war with you all Monday if they’re one in three, and having lost to the three good teams they’ve played, and if they lose in some sort of 10 Point convincing fashion, and mahomes looks like, like, you can

Luke Jones  18:10

say they stink. I’m gonna say, I’m not gonna say

Nestor Aparicio  18:12

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they stink. I’m gonna say like, I’m gonna push back on whether they’re a good team at one and three. I just because you know what I’m saying. Like, wherever they are on the past rankings doesn’t matter

Luke Jones  18:25

playing great, but they’ve also played great teams. They’re not losing to, you know? They didn’t lose to Cleveland. Well, that’s

Nestor Aparicio  18:32

part of their problem in January, isn’t it? Sure? Well, but we’re going to get

Luke Jones  18:35

no question. I’m saying someone’s a good team doesn’t mean you think they’re going to win the Super Bowl, right? And that’s what we’re talking about here. But I’m not

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Nestor Aparicio  18:43

trying to be persnickety, but don’t sell me line anything. They lose their one and three on Monday, and they’re one in three and like, that’s beloved

Luke Jones  18:52

bar John, you know, right? I’m not saying it’s not, I’m telling you what I think they’re, they’re, I’m going to project out what I still think they’re going to be. And we’re getting into semantics here, right?

Nestor Aparicio  19:02

Kansas City on the road in the place they’ve never won against the Jedi quarterback, and people still believe in them, right?

Luke Jones  19:08

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So tired of talking about Vegas and DVO a and EPA, and I’m so done with all that. I just like, go win football games don’t fumble, and keep right, you know? And, and that’s funny, because it’s almost, I almost sound contradictory to push back on what you just said, look, I think they’re a good team, even if they lose Sunday, I’ll tell you right now, I still think they’ll recover to win the division, but at some point, then it’s just like, Okay, so what’s that mean for December? What’s that mean for January? You’re already in, already in a position where you know, if you’re one and three and Buffalo’s for it, oh, the number one seeds already looking very, very grim to get

Nestor Aparicio  19:49

measured late in the year too. I aired early in the week. They played Green Bay on Christmas. They played Green Bay Christmas week, but they’re going to go to Minnesota late. Pittsburgh is going to be. Real thing, I think, by the time they see Pittsburgh. So they’re going to have games in November and December that they’re not going to have some eight game winning streak like the bills, and you’re just going to say, well, they’re just good. They have to go out and prove they’re good against good teams. They haven’t done that this month for sure. And if they’re one in three on Monday, they’re one and three. I don’t even know what to say, like, I don’t expect them to win on Sunday, because I remember the legend of the chiefs, and I know that thing’s kind of tarnished, but I also know, like, they’re going to get run on I know what this front seven looks like right now, and how shaky this thing. I don’t say it’s built on a house of cards, but it was built on Matt abika roquan and Marlon Humphrey around Kyle Hamilton. And when Hamilton’s not playing well, it sort of says to me there was nothing happening in front of him, allowing him to play either position particularly well. And I think he is inclined to be Superman, yeah?

Luke Jones  21:02

Well, you talk about him or roquan Smith. I mean, I think you know couple things. One, this whole look ahead thing that you and I can do, they can’t be thinking in those terms, right? And they’ve heard all off season, and these guys hear the noise, right? And they, you know, they’ll, they’ll, they’ll brush off anything that’s complimentary, and they’re quick to point out anything that’s negative, right? So they hear everything, but gotta win Sunday. It’s just that, that simple. The difference here, both teams are one and two. Kansas City has even more urgency than the Ravens do right now, because they actually play in a division where you look at the chargers, chargers look way better than anything else in the AFC north that the ravens are facing, and they’ve already lost to the Chargers. So one in three for Kansas City is far more dire in terms of their division and wanting to win the division, then even what the Ravens face if they’re one in three, because no one believes in the Bengals at this point.

Nestor Aparicio  22:09

Well, you beat the chiefs. That’s one place you won’t have to go back to in January, right? Beat the chiefs. They’re in bad necessarily, in sure, but I mean just winning their own

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Luke Jones  22:21

division. Oh, no, yeah. Fair enough. Fair enough.

Nestor Aparicio  22:23

So I hadn’t thought about that, but that’s why we talk about this stuff together. But, yeah, but that’s

Luke Jones  22:27

where you look at this thing. And you say, normally, if you say you’re one and two and going to Kansas City, I mean, there, look, urgency is high for both these teams, but mathematically speaking, forget about number one seed or anything like that. But just your division, Kansas City’s and deep you know, what if they lose on Sunday, assuming the Chargers don’t start charging it up, which, I guess, you know, it’s in the DNA of their franchise, but it doesn’t feel quite as much that way under Jim Harbaugh, well,

Nestor Aparicio  22:54

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the questions in Kansas City Monday is, are they a good team? If they’re one in three, right? Same thing, right? Sure. So, I mean, it’s stakes are high in this, right? Somebody will be

Luke Jones  23:03

sold for week four. It’s pretty crazy. I mean, it’s, it’s always a big game when you’re going up against a team like that, anyway, but when you’re one and two and you’re banged up, you know, I mentioned the defensive line, you know, Van Noy still not practicing, the assumption is he’s not going to play. Pat Ricard still out. You know, I think we’ve seen the Pat Ricard thing show up, not necessarily with their entire running game on the entire, you know, over the entire field, because it’s not as though Ricard plays every every down, every snap, but I think we’ve talked about some of the head scratching stuff you’ve seen in goal to go situations. Patrick Ricardo,

Nestor Aparicio  23:39

Ricard doing things that allowed Lamar to run or gave Lamar one more block or one more chip or one more second to be Lamar. You know that there’s a reason they’ve kept that cat around, right?

Luke Jones  23:53

Yeah, sure. I mean, I you know again, even if it’s 20 or 25 snaps a game, it’s 20 or 25 snaps a game. So I think their goal to go stuff has absolutely been impacted by Ricard not being on the field.

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Nestor Aparicio  24:05

So what are they good at, dude? I mean, seriously, like going into this train, that freight train, they leave the league scoring. That freight train thing they did the first three quarters in Buffalo that they

Luke Jones  24:19

leave the league in scoring, though, like, let’s not again. This is, this is why I’m pushing back on, you know, your comment about, are they a good team? Yeah, they’re a good team. They’re very flawed, though, and and what their flaws have been, have been major flaws, right? But at the same time, their offense, it’s been high variance in the way that it’s been incredible at times, and then other times it’s looked not great, right? And well, that’s

Nestor Aparicio  24:43

first down efficiency, sure. Literally, I mean, for all of these eight years, second and two, second and one, second and three, second and two, like first and 15, you know, Second and nine, second and 12, second and 19. Mm. Second and 10 on an incomplete or nothing play Second and eight if, you know, Henry gets stuffed or whatever, been a lot of that through three weeks, lots, lot, too much. Quite frankly,

Luke Jones  25:12

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there has, at the same time their first in the league in third down offense. So they’ve, they’ve converted their thirds.

Nestor Aparicio  25:17

But you give enough chances, they get put enough bullets in the gun, they’ll get you right. But I’m just

Luke Jones  25:21

saying, I mean that there have been times where their offense has been absolutely humming, right? I mean, their offense has been excellent overall, like when you look at the entire body of work, the production, but within that, you’ve seen stretches of time where it’s really faltered at the worst times,

Nestor Aparicio  25:37

and they’ve also scored points with the defense hasn’t taken the ball away three times and giving them 17 points to, you know, for the scoreboard. You know that

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Luke Jones  25:45

happened against Cleveland, but yeah, the first, first couple, you know, the other two games, I mean, their defense didn’t have any takeaways. I mean, they had no sacks of Jerry.

Nestor Aparicio  25:53

Earned offense, kind of like, you know, the other night when they had, when they went 98 yards and 95 yards down the field. That’s earned offense. When you go the length of the field, do that, but it’s also flawed defense, man, like we haven’t seen anything like that. And ever here, ever Ray Lewis and those guys would allow that. And the searching I saw in the locker room after the game, you know, for Chad steel, throwing me out and all that, it’s where I learned the most, is when I walk in there and see a sullen Marlon Humphrey and a contrite Derrick Henry and a pissed off, quizzical Lamar and a sort of embarrassed John our ball. I think to some true I absolutely think

Luke Jones  26:37

that. I mean when you give up over 200 rushing yards at home, when you give up 295 plus yard drives at home. Look, Detroit’s a heck of a football team, but they did to the Ravens what the ravens are accustomed to doing, even to some good teams over the course of the regular season. Now January, a different discussion, but you know, I mean, you think back to what Detroit, what happened to Detroit when they came into Baltimore two years ago in the house? Ago, and how completely different it was this time around. It’s a credit to them, but it’s also a statement of where the ravens are right now. I mean their their defense, even last year, with all the issues they had on the back end of the secondary and given up big plays, they stopped the run even early last year, they stopped the run at a very high level for them to be right now going into week 4/32, in total defense, 30th in rush defense, 31st and pass defense, 31st in scoring defense, 24th and third down defense, tied for 21st and fourth down defense, very small sample, but quarterback pressures And sacks near the bottom. I mean, you know they, they, they haven’t against Cleveland. They, you know what? They have. They have three sacks so far. I mean, Joe Flacco was throwing the ball away so quickly and, I mean, we saw how that worked, so I had no issue with how their defense played against Cleveland. But it’s Cleveland like, no disrespect to Joe, but he’s 40 years old like he he shouldn’t, he wouldn’t start for he may not start for another team in the National Football League. I mean, that’s what you’re talking about there. So that’s the only game that your defense has to hang their hat on whatsoever. I mean, I get it. Buffalo and Detroit are not that. That’s still doesn’t mean you can be last, you know. I mean, I understand, as I said to you, in the in the aftermath of that, bills game through three quarters their defense, there was plenty to clean up, but it’s the bills. It’s Josh Allen. I understand that on Monday night, it’s Jared Goff in the lions and all these skill players they have, by no means that I expect them to hold those teams to 10 points, right? I mean, we need to be realistic. It’s not 2000 anymore. Even the best defenses in the National Football League in 2025 are going to give up points against elite offenses. But it’s the, just the the sheer nature of how it’s happened. You know, in the case of of week one, the fourth quarter, they got completely, you know, just annihilated and over the course of Monday night’s game, just physically, especially as as the game went on, you know, the Detroit running between the tackles the way they did. I mean, you just don’t see

Nestor Aparicio  29:12

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that. Well, I want to see where the mismatches are this week. I mean, I mentioned, you know, Tyreke Hills not around anymore. That created, like, ridiculous mismatch, along with Kelsey being that guy. I don’t know where they are, with Hollywood and Kareem, and just in general, that offensive line that they’ve been for five years in Kansas City trying to catch up, they have Patrick mahomes. I mean, I’ll give you Lamar. Lamar is fine. And all that Moses won a couple of these. So I’m still going to put him. Lamar is crunch above, you know at this point, sure, but fun, but when everything falls apart around you. And a note to Lamar that you know when the Batemans and the Andrews and the zays and the Derek Henry’s aren’t there and you’re trying to do it yourself, as Flacco found that once he was making too much money against the. Cap the Chiefs don’t have those mismatches. Don’t have that big boy football that maybe they had five years ago, and certainly the mystiques off at one and two from where they are. But I don’t know for this outfit to go out there. They’ve not had a lot of success out there at stopping Patrick mahomes, I wonder where the mismatches are and is this the week Travis Kelsey catches 12 balls for Taylor and finds the fountain of something else, because they haven’t performed well against it. I mean, championship game they they were within the realm of winning that two years ago, but these rosters have changed so much, and I do wonder what the chiefs are going to try to do. And I know this spagnolo is been up for years trying to keep a guy like Lamar down and having scheme for that, maybe not having players for that. But this is a fascinating matchup, going right to Andy and John too, and the whole history there and spagnolo and John and the whole friendship there and all of that. This is a weird, big, large game on a Sunday afternoon for this time of the year for white knuckling, for our fan base. And they’ve got trophies over there so like, if it falls apart on them at some point it was going to and maybe this is the time it does, and they get surpassed by the chargers, and they become the nine and eight team this year, trying to flip it around and figure it out, and get Travis to go off and get married and figure out how they move to mahomes 2.0 but Lamar 2.0 is missing, like two three rings and a couple of losses in Super Bowls that he has, and this is a measurement week for the Ravens franchise, but for Kansas City to to say we’re still here and we’re still your daddy, and you’re not coming into our place as a favorite in winning

Luke Jones  31:54

Fair enough. I mean, there’s absolutely, I mean, this is absolutely a what’s under the hood kind of game for both these teams, right to your point. I mean, clearly the Chiefs have the cache, the the experience, the January success, the Super Bowl rings, all of that. But as I said, they fall to one and three, and the Chargers keep kind of rolling the way they have early on. I mean, man, they’re in a hole. There’s no doubt. Whereas I think the difference for the ravens, it’s much more the mental part of it, and where you are physically with some of these injuries, and another loss to Kansas City, and then you’re in a position where you’re one in three. That’s bad enough, but you also look at it in terms of you’re one in three, and you lost the buffalo in Kansas City, and then Detroit’s one of the best teams in the NFC. So it’s, you’re absolutely doubting yourself, regardless of the division, because I don’t think Pittsburgh is very good. Cincinnati’s in deep you know what? Right? I mean, well, I think if you

Nestor Aparicio  32:52

get to 10 you win the division, but I don’t, I’m saying, I mean, what the level of confidence is in December to be playing?

Luke Jones  32:57

Well, yeah, exactly. The goal isn’t for this team to win the division. Yes, that’s a goal, let me be clear. And they, they have to think about it in terms of one game at a time. But like, you know, they start one and three and then they win four in a row. After that, is anyone going to say, Oh, well, you know, you’ll say they’re fine in the scope of the playoff race if

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Nestor Aparicio  33:17

they get themselves to five and three or six and four, fair enough, but,

Luke Jones  33:21

but in the but a bit in a big picture sense, how are you going to feel about it? Right? I mean, that, you know, I, as I kind of wrote at Baltimore positive.com I mean, this is the, it’s the blessing and the curse of where the ravens are, right? The blessing is that they’ve been in this, this rare space, regular season wise, where they’ve had these great teams in the regular season, and they’ve won games, and they’ve won divisions, and they’ve had a you know, they’ve been the number one seed a couple times, all that. But the curse is, you don’t have the January resume to back it up. So you go through the regular season, and even with everyone singing your praises, I mean, how many people pick them to win the Super Bowl. They were the very popular pick amongst national media and pundits.

Nestor Aparicio  34:06

Well, dude, if they’re gonna make the playoffs, there better be some sunshine here in October, November. I mean, we better start having some happier Monday mornings.

Luke Jones  34:14

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Yeah, no doubt, no doubt so. And like I said, I mean, if they’re one in three, I still think they regroup to make the playoffs and all that. But, I mean, man, where are they? Where are they going? Is this thing, you know, John Harbaugh likes to, you know, I think it’s an old Bo Schembechler quote, but I think you can attribute it to many people, but he said it over the years, you’re either getting better or getting worse. This team feels like it’s getting worse right now, right and at least compared to what the standard has been in the regular season.

Nestor Aparicio  34:44

Well, you’re asking me whether they’re going to be six and three or six and four or seven and five or whatever they’re going to be that a lot of that to me is, tell me how mad at BKs neck is. That’s fair. That’s fair. I mean, because if they’re going to play the rest of the year without him, and something else is going to go wrong, because. Only they’re not going to be adding players, yeah. And I, you know, I’m waiting for the emerging young players to step up and say, Hey, Wiggins, gonna have to pay him, you know, good Starks. Oh, good draft pick. The way we looked at Hamilton that way, or the way we looked at Marlon animal, or Marlon up for that way early on to say, that’s a good draft pick. That’s an ascending player. I with losses come ascending and descending players too, right? I don’t think Derek Henry slower, not fast, not good, not the fumble thing aside, or even fumble prone, but like, I’m not seeing the offensive line open the holes. I’m not seeing the scheming. I’m not seeing that being generated the last two weeks. And maybe some of that’s just Cleveland being very good and Detroit being very

Luke Jones  35:45

good, yeah, and again, and that’s kind of my point. When you know, going back to the one in three thing, are they a good team like that? That’s kind of my point, considering the competition. But at the same time, look, even Derrick Henry. Look, he can look great running the ball, but if he’s going to put it on the ground every game, that’s a problem. I’m problem. I mean, you can’t have that not saying that means you bench them, but that’s a problem. So, yeah, they’ve got to figure this out. And even I hear what you’re saying about Matt abika, but come on, this team played games without Ray Lewis and Ed Reed when they were in their prime. That doesn’t give you a license to be the worst defense in the league. Then, I mean, come on, you gotta, and I don’t say this to sound tough, because they’re having these conversations. You know, the amongst themselves are saying, We gotta man up, like, give up 230 yards on the ground. I mean, come on now, we’re the Ravens playing at home. How does that happen? So, yeah, they’ve got to figure that out. I mean, and people will point to John Harbaugh and Zach or big time, and look, I’ll hear halls at certain times, or, you know, personnel groupings at certain times, whatever. But go back and watch it. They were physically beaten on Monday night. Guys weren’t getting off blocks. Guys were missing tackles. That’s not all on coaching. You got high priced players planned at every level, maybe not the defensive line now with Matt abika out, but because, you know, I mean, you’re talking about guys that are on rookie deals or veteran kind of journeyman type guys, but I mean, gotta man up. I mean, it hurts not having Matt BK it hurts not having Kyle mannoy again. No one was expecting them to hold Detroit to 13 points. And what’s mahomes gonna do about that? Oh and, but this is where. And, you know, maybe as we kind of look at look forward, rather than keep looking back.

Nestor Aparicio  37:42

Playing the most decorated quarterback or but he’s one

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Luke Jones  37:46

and two, and their offenses looked very, extremely pedestrian so far. I mean, now I’ll point out Xavier worthy was a full participant on Wednesday. He practiced last week. Looks like that shoulder. I think it looks like he’s going to be back in the picture. Well, they need to win. They I mean, they need, they need to, but they need to score points. Because, you know their defense. You know even, even these defenses doing a better job against the Ravens than maybe you anticipate. You know they’re not. The Ravens aren’t getting shut out. So they gotta, they have to score points. But you know their run game. Isaiah Pacheco is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Their run game has been led by mahomes scrambling. You know, that’s, you know, we’ve, we’ve talked about that a lot with Lamar over the years. That’s not tenable in terms of, like, how you want to, that’s the only

Nestor Aparicio  38:34

way he’s getting older, too, and you don’t want him getting gimped up. I mean, he spent the first half his career limping as I remember it.

Luke Jones  38:39

I mean, sure, so, you know, they, they have Hollywood Brown, you know, he’s been okay, Tyquan Thornton’s really been the guy that’s kind of emerged for them the last couple weeks, you know, to actually make some plays. You know, Kelsey has been, Kelsey has kind of been a net negative. Now, will that change against the Ravens? You kind of look at the Ravens defense, and it’s funny, because I wanted to mention this, because he’s going to the Hall of Fame, right? Travis is right, but he’s but he’s not in his prime any anymore at this point in time. But that’s not to say he won’t look like it on on Sunday if the Ravens have issues over the middle of the field like they did this past week. So, but you mentioned Nate Wiggins. There were, in my mind, there were three guys that played well on Monday night on the Ravens defense, John Jenkins, you know, he’s the one defensive lineman who played well. So that was good. At least someone played well in that group. And the other guys I thought played well. Thought Nate Wiggins and euzi A on the outside. I think their outside corner play has been at least fine, and I think it’s been good. You know, I think Nate Wiggins has played well. How about the fact we talk all the time about guys needing to make plays in French time, who was the one guy on the Ravens defense that made a play very late in the game that looked like it might be pivotal for them? Wiggins was the one who broke up that last two point conversion for Buffalo. So he made a play. He made a play when they forced a three at three and out in the fourth quarter. Order, he had the big breakup on second down. I like what I’ve seen from Wiggins, you know what, when we’re talking about this defense right now, and there’s not a whole lot of positive I think Wiggins has played well now that said he’s going to be tested on the outside if Xavier worthy is back, you know, taekwon Thornton is well,

Nestor Aparicio  40:16

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especially if you’re not going to get a pass rush on the homes, right?

Luke Jones  40:20

And that’s the big thing. I mean, you know, we talked about it a lot with

Nestor Aparicio  40:24

golf, right? You give me all that, mahomes, you’ve been scrambling my homes. You better make them scramble.

Luke Jones  40:29

You better make them scram. But the difference, and, you know, we saw this with Josh Allen, you can’t let them get out either. And that’s where I have my doubts about the edge play without van noise. So, you know, they’re, they’re they’re gonna have to, they’re gonna have to score plenty of points. Spag, no, is going to have a plan for them. Their defense is pretty healthy. You know, I think Mike Danna, their defensive end, was the only guy that was even limited in the first practice of the week. So they’re healthy on defense again, look at their statistical profile. They’ve been very middling. Yeah, they’re 17th in total offense. They’re tied for 11th in total defense. Like they, Kansas City’s been very mediocre. You know, they, the Ravens have had the Ravens have been the extremes, right? The Ravens have looked fantastic at times, and then other times you’re like, oh my, what is this? Kansas City’s just kind of looked and, you know, they, it’s not like

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Nestor Aparicio  41:19

the chargers, two and a half point underdog at home.

Luke Jones  41:22

Sure, sure. So it speaks to what Vegas, you know, it speaks to what Vegas still thinks about the ravens, which, as I said, okay, but it, it speaks to where Kansas City is, but this game is at arrowhead. And as I said, as much as we’re thinking the Ravens had this urgency, Kansas City’s urgency level was even higher, because, yeah, the

Nestor Aparicio  41:40

perception is the Ravens have eclipsed them somehow, you know. And I don’t know what they’ve witnessed, other than maybe they watched the first half of the Buffalo game and see that potential for the rain. We all see the potential for the ravens, but they haven’t

Luke Jones  41:53

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done it. Yeah, that’s fair. And I don’t think anyone necessarily thinks that they’ve surpassed, you know, for whatever a line in Vegas is worth. I mean, okay, you know, I it’s

Nestor Aparicio  42:03

worth millions and millions and millions of dollars of confidence.

Luke Jones  42:06

Oh, it was, but, but while they also said that, they also said, uh, the Ravens were favored over Detroit. So what do they know? You know? I mean, so, I mean, it’s, well,

Nestor Aparicio  42:14

the perception is the chiefs are a diminished version of themselves,

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Luke Jones  42:18

and they have been so far, yeah, they’re one and two, and they haven’t looked like, you know, at least in the Ravens case, that Buffalo game was such a freaky low, you know, 1% 1% kind of outcome that had to happen for that to, you know, that was miraculous, borderline miraculous, how buffalo came back in that game. When you think about it’s

Nestor Aparicio  42:40

almost like the Cleveland guardians or something, yeah,

Luke Jones  42:43

exactly, totally, totally, which, we’ll get to that at some point, because that’s just been extraordinary, but, but in the case of Kansas City, like they, you know, they weren’t blown out by the chargers, and they weren’t blown out by the Eagles, but you kind of looked at those games and you’re just kind of like, you’re waiting, like, Okay, are you going to Do your chief stuff, like your voodoo stuff that everyone talks about, like, Hey, you’re losing, you’re losing, you’re losing. And then you, you know, you make a big play. Mahomes does some kind of crazy mahomes Magician thing, and you pull out a three point.

Nestor Aparicio  43:12

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We thought that when the Ravens had a four point lead late in the game the other night, too, right? Yeah.

Luke Jones  43:16

I mean, what? What against Detroit? I mean, yeah. Well, when, lately, while they were trailing by four they, you know, they were, they were leading early in the third quarter, but, but sure, when they got the they made Detroit punt, and you’re thinking, all right, they’ve got the ball. They’re going to drive down the field and at least take the lead, and then we’re going to have a heck of a final six minutes of this game, and then Derek Henry gets the ball. Punch down.

Nestor Aparicio  43:41

I’ll be stunned if the Chiefs think on Sunday, and there’s a lot of three and outs, and there’s eight punts, and the Chiefs score 19 points. I see the over unders, 48 and a half, and I’m thinking, well, the ravens are good for 30 of that. You know, I mean, like as I see it, in a general sense, the Ravens will score on Sunday, I guess, but over under 48 and a half, the ravens are two and a half point favorite, and I’m not one of those guys. We don’t ever, ever talk point spreads around here. It’s not what we do, but it is a perception of where the ravens are and they haven’t been all that impressive, and where the chiefs are, who have not been impressive at all, and where they are at home, and where my homes and Lamar are, where the supporting casts are. And I don’t know, I don’t, I don’t see it this way, but wake me up on Monday morning when the Chiefs just stink, and I’ll say, all right, they’re done in the way that I felt that way about late patriots or any empire when it’s on its way out. You know what I mean? I’ve seen them all in every sport. Pick any sport you want. When the Empire is over with, this is a chance for the ravens to end their empire out there, go out there and beat him 30 to 17 and take the ball away.

Luke Jones  44:53

And that might be a little premature, but, but in terms of them being the number one seed or or in terms of them winning their division, they might have to do. It in, you know, being a wild card, um, you know, I’m not ready to bury that’s it’s either these teams are one in three, like, yeah, they’re in deep trouble relative to what their ultimate goal is to be the number one seed, or, in Kansas City’s case, to still win their division. But I’m not burying the chiefs, even if they’re one in three. I mean, I’m just not in three. I mean, I’m just not in the same way that I’m not going to bury the Ravens in the context of, if they’re one in three, that they’re like, you know that they’re destined to have a seven and

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Nestor Aparicio  45:29

10. I don’t know you to be the apologist, but the lead story to me here, as we wrap this up, and we’ll talk some more about it, we certainly go watch football, is that they’re both good teams on Monday morning, no matter what happens, they’re both good teams, credible teams, Monday morning, no matter the outcome, I don’t disagree with that. Somebody gets their ass kicked on Sunday. You’re gonna have a harder time telling me there’s still a good football team at one and three if they don’t look good in this game, because neither one of these teams have

Luke Jones  45:56

I’m saying that through the lens of 13 games to go, Nestor. I mean, I mean, if you want to say the Kansas City Chiefs are dead when they’re one in three and one in three, I mean, okay, we’ll revisit that in three months, and we’ll see. And same thing for the Ravens. But that said, of course, it’s a very important game. You know, I’m not, I’m not sitting here saying, oh, Whoopty, do. I’m just, you know, it’s also September.

Nestor Aparicio  46:18

It’s September. The differences, if you believe the ravens are going to win their division, then you believe that the ravens are going to have a home game, right? And I can agree. I will agree wholeheartedly

Luke Jones  46:28

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that’s way more about the rest of the division right

Nestor Aparicio  46:32

here, the chiefs will be the team coming here in January. We get a home game. Great. We get a home game. But Patrick mahomes comes in, I wouldn’t get you know, beating them on Sunday has nothing to do much like the bills last year, beating him in late September has nothing to do with January, January. But I like a whole lot better that beating the Chiefs puts them underwater in their own division, takes them out of the idea of the you would have to go there instead of putting on palm trees for an AFC powder puff game with Harbaugh’s brother on a 74 degree day at SoFi Stadium, where, you know anybody on the West Coast can go out and steal a ticket for 100 bucks and go see the Ravens play a championship game. Because the chargers that that would be a that would be a favorable circumstance to see the chargers in an AFC Championship Game, and that’s the best the Ravens can hope for it. One and Two at this point is like, All right, so we go through Los Angeles and not buffalo in January, because that’s all I can talk about, is, who are you playing in January and where not are you one in three on Monday morning, although we will cross that bridge if they get there, if they’re one and one of them still Monday morning, we’re not gonna be talking about talking about January.

Luke Jones  47:44

All of a sudden, one of those teams are going to be one in three. Yeah, and I’m just my, my point about that is, I’m not going to, you’re not going to get me to speak in absolutes about four games into the season, you know, like, I mean, you’re just not

Nestor Aparicio  47:56

what is a good sample size. I’ll just say that. All right, Luke’s going to be watching the game on Sunday. We’re going to be arguing on Monday. We’re going to talk baseball over the weekend as well. My big thanks to curio wellness for sponsoring our 27th anniversary. I’ve even got my logo up now. We’re going to have it on the website. It’s going to be perfect. And we’ve been eating food, and we’re doing the countdown to tasting this. And I’m going to continue to eat food, including crab cakes, the Maryland crab cake to our back out on the road, brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery. Also, GBMC pilot on did a piece this week about diabetes, which, you know my wife and Mark Andrews with the Dexcom and all that stuff going on. We’re gonna get the crab cake tour back at the cost this Coco’s and fade leaves in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to that. We’re also gonna get back over to state fair with EV. We had a great show at the Beaumont last week. If you caught that. All of that is up at Baltimore positive Luke is running around making sure we have everything first on the W, N, S, D, tech service that is brought to you by friends of Cole roofing and Gordian energy injury reports, Nandi, mada, BK, where’s the pass rush coming from? Oh, they’re playing Patrick mahomes in Kansas City, and they’re supposed to win on Sunday. We’ll see. I’m Nestor. He’s Luke. We are W, N, S, D, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, our purple therapy continues. We’re Baltimore, positive. You.