The Ravens are taking their improved show on the road.
Winners in four of their last five games and coming off their most impressive performance of the season, the Ravens will try to carry over their recent success to the road as they seek their first victory away from M&T Bank Stadium since Sept. 25. Of course, facing the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium is as challenging as it gets in the NFL.
A win would move Baltimore back into the No. 3 spot in the AFC playoff picture while dropping Pittsburgh to the final wild-card spot. A loss leaves the Steelers in sole position of first place in the AFC North and puts the Ravens in the eighth spot in the conference with three games remaining.
There weren’t any major surprises among the Ravens’ inactives as the status of guard Marshal Yanda (shoulder) was never in doubt despite him being listed as questionable on the final injury report. As expected, rookie guard Alex Lewis (ankle) was deactivated after practicing on a limited basis this past week and being listed as doubtful to play.
Rookie linebacker Kamalei Correa is active after being inactive two straight weeks while second-year outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith is a healthy scratch against New England. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees likely views Correa as a better option in pass coverage to potentially match up with Patriots running backs in certain sub packages.
The Ravens also deactivated Buck Allen, leaving starter Terrance West and rookie Kenneth Dixon as their only active tailbacks. Third-year tight end Crockett Gillmore will miss his sixth straight game with a hamstring injury suffered during the bye week.
Meanwhile, the Patriots deactivated cornerback Eric Rowe after he was limited in practices all week with a hamstring issue. His loss is significant after the former Philadelphia Eagle had played well in the New England secondary in recent weeks.
Wide receiver Danny Amendola (ankle) was officially declared out over the weekend.
The referee for Monday’s game will be Ed Hochuli.
Monday marks the ninth regular-season meeting between these teams with New England holding a 7-1 advantage. Of course, the teams are tied 2-2 over four postseason encounters — all played in Foxborough — but the Ravens will be aiming for their first win over the Patriots since the 2012 AFC championship game.
According to Weather.com, the Monday forecast calls for clear skies with temperatures in the low 30s and winds up to eight miles per hour.
Baltimore will wear white jerseys with black pants while the Patriots sport navy blue jerseys with silver pants.
Below are Monday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
CB Chris Lewis-Harris
RB Lorenzo Taliaferro
RB Buck Allen
G Ryan Jensen
G Alex Lewis
TE Crockett Gillmore
LB Za’Darius Smith
NEW ENGLAND
CB Eric Rowe
OT LaAdrian Waddle
DT Woodrow Hamilton
S Jordan Richards
RB D.J. Foster
WR Griff Whalen
WR Danny Amendola
