With the Ravens aiming to improve to 7-2 in a Sunday night trip to Foxborough, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Lamar Jackson’s comments to Rich Eisen have attracted much attention with various thoughts from ex-players and experts. Assuming opponents who tirelessly study aren’t going to recognize tendencies is naïve, but Jackson didn’t really soften his stance when given the chance. Far from a crisis, but I wouldn’t call it nothing.
2. After the Patriots defense made the lowly Jets look good, the pressure is on Jackson and the Ravens to pick up where they left off last week. Especially if Stephon Gilmore doesn’t play, there’s no excuse not to have success against a defense surrendering a league-worst 8.8 yards per pass attempt.
3. Jakobi Meyers is an underrated option from the slot, but, much like Indianapolis, New England doesn’t have the wide receivers to create much anxiety in a Baltimore secondary that will have Marlon Humphrey back. Cam Newton is dealing with the same problem Tom Brady had last year.
4. The expected absence of Calais Campbell is a concern for the run defense, however, with the Patriots having one of the better rushing attacks in the league and the Sunday night forecast calling for rain. Rookie Justin Madubuike continues to flash and needs to step up in Campbell’s absence.
5. The Ravens rank an underwhelming 20th in yards per carry allowed, but Football Outsiders places them first in its rush defense efficiency metric. Yes, Wink Martindale’s unit has given up its share of chunk runs, but it’s been quite strong from a situational standpoint.
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6. Despite a diverse range of January memories, the Ravens will be seeking their first regular-season win at Gillette Stadium, which won’t be hosting any fans. Travel still presents a challenge, but we probably need to cease conventional discussion of home-field advantage when 2020 home teams are 65-68-1 through Thursday.
7. Though chatter about Jimmy Smith playing the best football of his career is probably overblown, the 32-year-old has played very well despite having appeared on the injury report in all but one week with various ailments. Injury histories don’t improve with age, which made the Tramon Williams signing even wiser.
8. According to Pro Football Focus, J.K. Dobbins ranks third in the NFL at 7.2 yards per carry and Gus Edwards 11th at 5.4 when there are seven or fewer defenders in the box. It’s another reason why I’d like to see more up-tempo passing to set up the run early.
9. Playing in an era in which interceptions are increasingly rare, Marcus Peters has the ninth-most picks through a player’s first 85 games since the 1970 merger. His 30 are just two shy of how many interceptions Ed Reed had at that point in his career. What he’s doing is special.
10. There’s no shortage of ex-Ravens on New England’s roster, a list including Lawrence Guy, Carl Davis, John Simon, Terrence Brooks, Justin Bethel, and Jermaine Eluemunor. I sometimes wonder how Brooks’ career might have turned out had the 2014 third-round pick not injured his knee late in his rookie season.
11. Watching the Ravens from the moment Jackson took over has been remarkable, but am I the only one who thinks hype about the streak of scoring 20 or more points rings a little hollow when Baltimore failed to do that in either of the two playoff defeats over that time?
12. The Ravens are the better team and the Patriots don’t really look like the Patriots anymore, but Bill Belichick is preparing for a Jackson-led offense he’s already seen. Baltimore needs to be ready to adjust to wrinkles even if New England lacks the talent to sustain it for 60 minutes.
