The RSR Staff give their Week 2 predictions below:
Tony Lombardi
If you ask John Harbaugh whether or not this week’s game against the Raiders is a must win, he’ll probably tell you that every game is a must win. And while there’s a degree of truth to that, this week without a doubt is a must win for the Ravens. Eighty-eight percent of teams that start a season 0-2 do NOT go to the post season.
And after last week’s offensive showing there’s cause for concern. Despite the wretchedness of Joe Flacco & Co. in Denver, Sports Betting Odds list Baltimore as a 6 to 6.5 point road favorite and that has everything to do with how bad the Raiders are.
The final score will indicate otherwise but this will ultimately be an ugly 26-9 Ravens win. Joe Flacco will remain unsettled in the pocket as Khalil Mack proves to be a nemesis (thanks again James Hurst) but he’ll do enough to win. Dean Pees’ aggressiveness soars after last week’s performance against Peyton Manning. Derek Carr will eventually regret that his thumb isn’t still swollen. (Perhaps other body parts will be).
Tim Jernigan registers 1.5 sacks, Crockett Gillmore scores both Ravens TD’s and Daryl Smith atones for his dropped INT last week and gets a pick in The Black Hole that results in a Justin Tucker field goal.
Ryan Jones
Ravens 24 Raiders 14
No one feels great about how the Ravens looked last week but this is the Raiders. Under Harbaugh the Ravens have a history of bouncing back after disappointing losses and that will be the case this week, although I think the Raiders will have us sweating at halftime. Regardless of who starts under center for the Raiders the Ravens will continue to look dominant on defense and they’ll be efficient enough on offense to get the W.
Drew Forrester
This will be like the scene in the movie “A Few Good Men” when the soldier says to Kevin Bacon, “Well, you see sir, there was this blowout.”
Sunday’s game in Oakland will be a blowout. First, the Raiders stink. Second, the Ravens almost never lose one of these lay-up games. It might be close in the 3rd quarter, but the Ravens will score 21 unanswered second half points and win going away 38-16.
Flacco hits Steve Smith for two TD’s and throws another to Crockett Gillmore…ironically both of the guys who couldn’t come down with the ball in the waning moments in Denver with the game on the line.
Derek Arnold
We all remember how how Jack Del Rio’s Jaguars gave the Ravens fits back in that Monday Night Game in 2011. His Broncos defenses, aside from in the most important game, held the Ravens down pretty well in 2012-13 as well. I don’t know that Del Rio “has the Ravens’ number” or anything like that, but I just don’t have the warm & fuzzies about facing a Jack squad on the West Coast. I think the Ravens win, but I think it’s a bit closer than we’d all hope to see.
Ravens 20 Raiders 17
Mike Fast
Flacco throws another pick, but this time, he counters that with four touchdown passes (all in the first half). Steve Smith, Sr. scores twice, and Crockett Gillmore and Justin Forsett catch a TD each in the first 30 minutes on Sunday.
Forsett and Buck Allen hammer Oakland on the ground in the second half to solidify a 34-10 win for Baltimore.
Matt Schaub sees about six or seven minutes of playing time against his old club, giving Flacco some rest before the home opener versus Cincinnati.
Tyler Lombardi
Joe Flacco will have a modest first half, but in the second, he will have at least 250 passing yards. The defense will squander at least one opportunity for a turnover, but will still manage to score a touchdown. Either Buck Allen or Justin Forsett will have over 125 yards from scrimmage and one of them will have at least one receiving touchdown. At some point, Derek Carr will be pulled from the game, either due to an injury or poor play.
Ravens win by scoring at least 30 and allowing under 20.
Brian Bower
Trestman gets the offense back on track on Sunday with a 28-14 victory over Oakland and the Ravens improve to 29-10 in games following a loss under John Harbaugh.
Joe Flacco throws for over 300 yards and tosses three touchdowns against a very suspect Raiders secondary. Rookie tight end Maxx Williams records two touchdown receptions while Justin Forsett rushes for 80 yards and a score.
The defense picks up where they left off and second year linebacker C.J. Mosley gets another two sacks this week.
Joe Polek
After the offense struggled so much in Week 1, the Ravens march right down the field on the opening drive for their first offensive touchdown of the season. But then the team struggles to get into the end zone the rest of the first half. The Raiders are able to hang around until halftime. But in the second half, Will Hill gets an interception which the Ravens offense is able to put into the end zone. Justin Forsett also gets into the end zone for the first time as the Ravens open up a big lead in the second half and win pulling away, 34-13.
Kenny Miller
The Ravens get a bit more production from the offense on Sunday as Crockett Gillmore and Michael Campanaro step up. Look for the offense to throw deep a few times as well . Joe Flacco still feels a bit of uneasiness on his blindside as protection falters. The game is still a bit ugly, but the Ravens win comfortably 26-13.
Kyle Casey
Luckily for the Ravens, there are few bounce-back opponents more suitable than the Oakland Raiders.
Despite the Suggs loss, the defense is more than capable of handling Oakland’s offense as the Ravens manage a 27-13 victory in the Bay Area.
The running game gets going as Justin Forsett tops 100 yards and scores two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the passing game continues to struggle as Joe Flacco throws for less than 200 yards with zero touchdowns.
Adam Bonaccorsi
The Ravens get back on track with a 31-13 win over the Raiders in what could potentially end up being their last game ever in the Black Hole. ‘Joesus in Cleats’ gets in a good rhythm with his tight ends, hitting Gillmore and Williams for a touchdown each, while the defensive line spends the afternoon hanging out in the Raiders backfield making pancakes with Carr/McGloin.
Let’s call it 400+ yards of total offense, defense with 4 more sacks and a couple of picks, and topped with a rare Steve Smith Sr. touchdown…. On special teams!
Brian McFarland
Thankfully for the Ravens, they have always bounced back well from defeats and, even more thankfully, they play the banged up Oakland Raider team that was horrible last weekend.
In what has essentially become a must-win, I expect this to be the typical, frustrating Ravens game, but they will pull away late to secure victory. As they can often do, they’ll start slow and let Oakland hang around until well into the second half before turning it on and winning by 13.
Final Score: Ravens 23, Oakland 10.
Bold Prediction: Kamar Aiken leads the team in receptions and scores both TDs.
Kyle Rate
On Sunday in Oakland, the Ravens earn something that has become increasingly rare in today’s NFL: a shutout. The Raiders are one of the league’s worst teams, and will provide Baltimore their only pencil-in victory of the season. The offense again struggles to move ball early, but eventually the line blocks better and Flacco can open up the field a bit. Two touchdowns to Gillmore against a defense that refuses to cover tight ends.
Everybody will be nervously watching the slightly new-look Baltimore pass rush, which will record 4 sacks. The defense creates 3 turnovers, including a C.J. Mosley interception.
24-0.
Ken McKusick
Ravens 24-6.
This is the coming out party for Maxx Williams and Crockett Gillmore who will both make some plays over the middle with the Raiders missing 1 or both starting safeties. The defense continues to stop the run and other teams start to worry about how to stop Davis, Williams, and Jernigan without having everyone around them make plays.
