BALTIMORE — One game at a time.
That’s been the message all week for the Ravens, who must put aside thoughts of a Christmas Day showdown with Pittsburgh to take care of the struggling Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon. Likely needing to win the final three weeks to qualify for the postseason, Baltimore can’t afford to overlook a team that’s lost six of seven since a promising 4-2 start.
Of course, the Ravens will be shorthanded in the secondary with cornerback Jimmy Smith sidelined with an ankle injury and already declared out on Friday. The league’s 11th-ranked pass defense has struggled mightily without Smith — giving up their four biggest passing totals in games in which he’s missed significant time this season — but the Eagles have struggled offensively behind rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and an underwhelming group of wide receivers.
After practicing on a limited basis all week, nickel cornerback Jerraud Powers has passed the concussion protocol and is active for Sunday’s game. Shareece Wright is expected to start in place of Smith opposite rookie cornerback Tavon Young in the base defense.
Despite being full participants in practice by the end of the week, both offensive lineman Alex Lewis (ankle) and tight end Crockett Gillmore (hamstring) are inactive. Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith is a healthy scratch for the third time in the last four games, continuing a disappointing season for the 2015 fourth-round pick.
As expected, third-year wide receiver Michael Campanaro is active and will make his 2016 debut as a return specialist for Baltimore. He was promoted from the practice squad this week to replace struggling veteran Devin Hester, who was waived on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Eagles will have wide receivers Jordan Matthews (ankle) and Dorial Green-Beckham (abdomen) on the field despite both being listed as questionable on the final injury report. Matthews working in the slot against Powers could be a problematic matchup for the Ravens defense.
The Eagles deactivated offensive lineman Allen Barbre (hamstring) and will start Stefen Wisniewski at left guard. Rookie Isaac Seumalo will start in place of the injured Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee), becoming Philadelphia’s fifth right tackle of the season.
Eagles running back Darren Sproles (concussion) was ruled out on Friday.
The Ravens and Eagles will be meeting for the fifth time in the regular season with Philadelphia holding a 2-1-1 advantage. Baltimore will be trying to avoid going 0-4 against the NFC East this season, but is 13-7 at home in the month of December under ninth-year head coach John Harbaugh.
The forecast for Sunday’s game calls for light rain and cloudy skies with temperatures starting in the high 50s and dropping into the 40s later in the afternoon. There will also be winds up to 17 miles per hour, which could present an issue for the passing and kicking games.
It will also be interesting to see how the grass surface holds up after there were complaints about the footing from the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago.
The referee for Sunday’s game will be Craig Wrolstad.
The Ravens will be wearing black jerseys with black pants while Philadelphia dons its white tops with green pants.
Below are Sunday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
CB Jimmy Smith
RB Buck Allen
LB Lamar Louis
OL Ryan Jensen
OL Alex Lewis
TE Crockett Gillmore
LB Za’Darius Smith
PHILADELPHIA
WR Paul Turner
CB Dwayne Gratz
RB Darren Sproles
DE Steven Means
OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai
OL Allen Barbre
DT Taylor Hart
