We should get a better gauge of the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary against the Detroit Lions.
After feasting on a steady diet of backup quarterbacks, the Ravens will face a tougher test against the Lions’ Matthew Stafford. The nine-year veteran was listed on the the injury report this week with an ankle injury, but he was a full participant in practice and will likely start Sunday.
Stafford is more much experienced and poised than most of the quarterbacks that Baltimore has faced this season. He is ranked fifth in the NFL with 3,010 passing yards. He is also fourth with 21 touchdown passes and has just six interceptions.
The Ravens’ secondary has been the strength of the team and leads the NFL with 18 interceptions. Baltimore is also ranked second overall against the pass. However, that unit showed some weaknesses Monday night against the Texans and backup quarterback Tom Savage.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh expects an even tougher test against Stafford and the Lions.
“Matthew Stafford is an excellent player,” Harbaugh said. “He’s one of the top quarterbacks in football, without question. He throws it the most of any quarterback in football. They throw the ball a lot, and do a great job with it. They have a lot of really good … Every one of their guys is a playmaker. I think they lead the league in big-play passes – in the National Football League. It’s spread out pretty evenly.”
Stafford’s favorite targets are receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate. Jones has eight touchdown receptions, second best in the NFL. Tate has 698 receiver yards and three touchdowns. Tate has been targeted 84 times by Stafford, compared to 81 targets for Jones.
This could create a matchup problem for cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr.
Smith was man-handled by Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who caught seven passes for 125 yards. Carr was flagged for both pass interference and holding in that game. Stafford has surely watched the tape of those struggles and will look to exploit any weaknesses.
Still, the Ravens retook the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC with the victory over Houston. So, this game is critical to Baltimore’s postseason chances.
As a result, quarterback Joe Flacco softened his stance about being more aggressive and taking more shots downfield. Over the previous weeks, Flacco said the vertical passing game needs to improve to make any type of substantial run in the postseason.
However, Flacco backtracked Wednesday and said he is willing to be more of a game manager if that’s what it takes to win.
“You do what you have to do to win football games, especially in the second half when we get up on teams and our defense is turning the ball over,” Flacco said. “You get to a point in the game, where it is like, ‘Alright, we have this game won, unless we do something crazy.’ And we have been able to do it.’
“Obviously, we are a 6-5 football team, so we have not been able to do it to the point where we have been quite consistent enough, but there have been some games where that is what we have had to do, and we have done a good job doing it.”
So, don’t expect a bunch of offensive fireworks on Sunday, at least from the Ravens’ side. At this point, though, the goal is to reach the postseason.
Flacco and the rest of the team are prepared to reach that goal any way they can.
