With the Ravens trying to keep their playoff hopes alive and avoid their longest losing streak since 2007 against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, below are a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less, as well as a score prediction:
1. A loss drops Baltimore’s playoff chances below 10% with some elimination scenarios also possible. In other words, the Ravens must find a way to survive their one-game season before any talk about a two-game season. Meanwhile, the Rams will try to clinch the NFC West title.
2. Lamar Jackson limped so dramatically Wednesday that a small part of me wondered if we were seeing some gamesmanship and acting for the media if the Ravens were serious about him playing. With Tyler Huntley not back at practice until Thursday, I suppose it didn’t hurt to gauge Jackson’s progress.
3. Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald was largely a non-factor in Baltimore’s blowout win two years ago, but his 81 pressures this season — 34 over the last four games — lead all interior players, according to PFF. Huntley will need a big day from his offensive line.
4. Mark Andrews needs 15 receiving yards to break Michael Jackson’s single-season franchise record (1,201), seven receptions for the second 100-catch season in team history, and 11 grabs to break Derrick Mason’s single-season team record (103). Given Jackson’s difficult second half, Andrews is the 2021 team’s MVP, and it’s not close.
5. Meanwhile, Marquise Brown is 47 yards away from giving Baltimore two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season for the first time since Jackson and Derrick Alexander in the inaugural 1996. You can always improve at any position, of course, but I welcome an offseason without receiver being a top priority.
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6. Speaking of receivers, Cooper Kupp has an extraordinary 132 receptions for 1,734 yards and 14 touchdowns. I have no idea how Baltimore will keep him from wrecking the game without allowing Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson to go off, especially with top remaining cornerback Anthony Averett not playing.
7. It’s another week and another quarterback who burns the blitz with Matthew Stafford third in the league in completion rate and seventh in yards per attempt with 11 touchdowns and one interception when the opponent blitzes, according to Sharp Football. That makes Odafe Oweh’s foot injury even more concerning.
8. The Ravens have allowed 17 more sacks than they’ve collected while the Rams are the opposite. That isn’t solely about offensive line play, but Los Angeles started the same five for 11 of the season’s first 12 games and should have that entire group on the field Sunday. Continuity helps.
9. I’m interested to see what safety looks like with Brandon Stephens demoted in favor of Tony Jefferson in Cincinnati. John Harbaugh said, “It’s our job to bounce back from it, so that’s what it was. You learn from those things.” The Ravens need more playmaking ability at the safety spots.
10. Sunday’s kickoff being moved to 1 p.m. is helpful hosting a West Coast team, but the Rams are 4-0 when playing at that time with wins at Indianapolis, the Giants, Houston, and Minnesota just last week. The Rams having long flights in back-to-back weeks could be the bigger factor.
11. While Baltimore’s chances appear bleak, I’ll never understand those claiming to already be in “draft mode” and citing the advantages of losing out. The unpredictable COVID-19 situation alone leaves no guarantees. The offseason is too long and a few middling draft spots aren’t so important to wish away more football.
12. John Madden and Pat Summerall calling Ravens-Cowboys in 2000 felt like a rite of passage for an upstart franchise as those two were the football soundtrack of a generation. I admittedly was in awe seeing Madden up close when he visited training camp in Westminster years ago. What a legacy.
Prediction: The thought of a healthy Jackson returning to play against the 11-4 Rams felt like it could revitalize the reeling Ravens for a must-win game, but his status became evident with the dynamic franchise quarterback not looking close to himself in a single limited practice before sitting out the final two workouts of the week. Though an improved COVID-19 picture from the previous two games helps Baltimore’s chances, asking the secondary in its current state to slow down this Los Angeles offense is a tall order. This is also the best defense — sixth in DVOA — the Ravens have faced in several weeks, which won’t make matters any easier for Huntley coming off the COVID-19 list. Even after the blowout loss to the Bengals, I’d never count out the Harbaugh-led Ravens completely, especially playing at home. But it just feels more and more that a team enduring more injuries than any contender could reasonably be expected to overcome has passed its breaking point. I’ll take the Rams winning a 30-20 final.
