With the Ravens aiming to improve to 2-1 in a Monday night showdown against Detroit on Monday Night Football, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Two years ago, the upstart Lions came to town for what many hyped as a potential Super Bowl preview. Baltimore then scored four touchdowns in the first 23 minutes and piled up 355 yards by halftime in a total beatdown. Of course, much has changed for both sides since then.
2. There should be no shortage of points scored with the Ravens ranking first in the NFL scoring a touchdown on 39.1% of their drives and Detroit second at 38.1%, per Sharp Football. Neither of these defenses are close to full strength either.
3. Concerns about Nnamdi Madubuike’s neck injury go beyond him being out for this week. It’s the latest reminder of how remarkably healthy Baltimore managed to stay over the course of last season and how frustrating it was not to take better advantage. This is such a tough sport.
4. Jared Goff was better on the road last season than he’s been over his career, but it’s no secret how dramatically pressure hinders his performance compared to when he plays from a clean pocket. That the Ravens are down Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy is bad news on that front.
5. While the focus will be on Baltimore’s pass rush, the Lions offense is at its best mixing and matching with two standout running backs.You hope counting on younger players to pick up the slack with the pass rush doesn’t lead to compromising too many run fits.
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6. The lack of familiarity is already a big challenge for NFC opponents facing the Ravens, but Detroit has two new coordinators still finding their identity as play-callers. Coaching was a hot topic after the Week 1 meltdown, so Baltimore needs to show its edge with its continuity.
7. Credit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard for his candor about preparing for Lamar Jackson. “What does Lamar do well? Everything. What does he not do well? Nothing. … I’ve gotten a lack of sleep this week due to him, so I’ll make sure I’ll let him know that after this game.”
8. For all the fan discourse about Daniel Faalele, Andrew Vorhees has been worse through the first two weeks. Nobody’s panicking with the offense still lighting up the scoreboard, but the Ravens need better from both guards and their offensive line as a whole than what we’ve seen so far.
9. Roquan Smith had arguably his best game as a Raven and Teddye Buchanan leapfrogged Trenton Simpson against Cleveland, but keeping Jahmyr Gibbs from wrecking the game in space this week is why you pay Smith the big bucks. This isn’t a great matchup for either team’s linebackers.
10. It doesn’t get much better than a matchup between Marlon Humphrey and Amon-Ra St. Brown. It’s hasn’t been the greatest start to 2025 for Humphrey, but he practiced fully all week after exiting the Cleveland game with a groin issue. St. Brown is as tough as slot receivers come.
11. John Harbaugh echoed Saturday that Jaire Alexander will be playing “sooner rather than later.” He may not be in the defensive plans for a second straight game, but I’d prefer at least having Alexander active for depth purposes after Humphrey and Nate Wiggins worked through groin issues this past week.
12. This is Baltimore’s first Monday home game since Week 5 of 2021 when Jackson went full “Dan Marino” to throw for four touchdowns and a career-high 442 yards to erase a 22-3 deficit late in the third quarter. I’d say ESPN would appreciate something resembling that one on Monday night.
Prediction: There are so many impressive — and arbitrary — stats thrown out there pertaining to Jackson, but the Ravens’ 24-2 record in games he’s started against NFC opponents really does encapsulate how unique he is and how much more difficult preparing for this offense is when you don’t see it very often. The absences of Madubuike and Van Noy are far from ideal with one of the league’s most explosive offenses coming into M&T Bank Stadium, but even with Aidan Hutchinson back on the field, this Lions’ defensive front won’t present as many problems as Cleveland did last week. At less than 100%, the Baltimore defense will have its hands full against one of the deepest collections of offensive skill players it’ll see all season, but I’m not betting against Jackson on the prime-time stage. This one won’t be quite as crazy as the Buffalo game, but the Ravens win 31-27 on a late touchdown from Jackson to Rashod Bateman.
