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Ravens (6-5) vs. Lions (6-5)

Ravens v. Lions
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Russell Street Report staff predict what we will see on Sunday as the Detroit Lions come to town to play the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Tony Lombardi

This is a battle of evenly matched (6-5) teams yet their respective strengths are practically opposites. The Lions can’t run, the Ravens can. The Lions can throw, the Ravens can’t. The Lions can’t stop the pass, while the Ravens defend it better than 30 other teams. The Lions have a top 5 scoring offense while the Ravens field the league’s 2nd-best scoring defense.

Something has to give.

Against the Texans, the Ravens failed to contain DeAndre Hopkins despite the former Clemson Tiger being their only formidable offensive threat. The Lions don’t have a Hopkins-type receiver per se, but Matt Stafford is light years ahead of Tom Savage and regularly takes shots down the field. The Lions have produced 42 plays of 20+ yards this season (almost 4 per game) and 10 plays of 40+ yards (nearly 1 per game). Comparatively speaking, the Ravens have produced 15 and 3, respectively.

So the game comes down to this.

Will the Ravens bad offense outperform the Lions bad defense?

Here’s what you can expect:

— Alex Collins will get his second 100-yard rushing game and top his previous best of 113 yards v. Miami

— Jeremy Maclin will snap out of his funk and haul in 7 passes for 90 yards

— Matt Judon adds 2 sacks to his resume

— Brandon Carr will get beat deep twice, both times the safeties will be late in support

— Stafford will nearly double the passing yardage of Joe Flacco

— Ravens will tighten up in the red zone 3 times to force Matt Prader field goals

— Ravens give up a late 20-19 lead and fall to (6-6).

Lions 26, Ravens 20

Todd Karpovich

— The Ravens’ secondary faces one of its toughest tests against Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is ranked fifth in the NFL with 3,010 passing yards. He is also fourth with 21 touchdown passes and has just six interceptions. Stafford should be able to move the ball against the Ravens secondary and will look to attack them with deep balls downfield. However, the Ravens lead the league with 18 interceptions and will be prepared for this challenge.

— The Ravens cannot get into a shootout against the Lions. This means plenty of carries for Alex Collins and Buck Allen, along with short passes to Danny Woodhead. Baltimore will be able to gain yards against the Lions run 22nd-ranked defense and will rush for at least a total of 130 yards, which is their recipe for success. This could be the difference in this matchup. especially if Baltimore can control the clock.

— This is a critical game for both teams to keep pace for the playoffs. There will be a charged atmosphere … at least with the players. The Ravens eek out the win at home.

Ravens 26, Lions 24

Derek Arnold

There are plenty of conflicting things to not trust in this game. On the Ravens side, Dean Pees vs. a legit NFL quarterback. On the Lions side, said legit NFL QB vs. a winning team (the Ravens, technically, qualify) on the road – coming into 2017, Stafford’s record against winning teams was 5-46. In road games, he is currently 24-38.

So which do we put more faith in? I’ll split the difference and say that Stafford will make some plays, but also turn the ball over twice. One of those will be a pick-6 by Terrell Suggs on a screen pass. So that’s 7 for the good guys. This sorry excuse for an offense will manage 13 of their own. 20 for the good guys.

Will that be enough?

/flips coin

They’ll squeak it out.

Ravens 20 Lions 17

(Another random prediction: Jim Caldwell will walk away shaking his head at the husk of his former self this franchise has turned Joe Flacco into.)

Ryan Jones

The Lions can’t stop the run and they can’t run the ball, so the Ravens best chance of winning this game is controlling the clock with a steady dose of Alex Collins and Buck Allen. But the Lions know that and they’ll frequently crowd the box and make Joe Flacco beat them through the air.

Each week we’ve wondered if that could be the week the offense breaks out of its slump but each week we’ve witnessed the same inept unit. Predictable play calling, passes behind the line of scrimmage and no downfield passing game. The Ravens can claim that their formula for success is leaning on their defense to provide good field position and for their special teams to be flawless, but the defense will get worn down against a competent opponent and you can’t run a fake punt every week.

-The offense resembles the exact same unit we’ve become accustomed to and Joe Flacco finishes the game completing 20 passes for less than 180 yards.

-The defense forces four turnovers including two interceptions and another strip sack by Terrell Suggs.

-The Ravens try to run a fake field goal this week but it gets sniffed out by the Lions.

-The team with the better quarterback wins.

Lions 24
Ravens 13

Ken McKusick

— Tim Williams will record his first NFL sack

— The Ravens defense will intercept Stafford twice

— The offense converts 2 short-field opportunities for TDs plus generates a long drive of its own

— The Ravens rush for over 120 yards

— Willie Henry has another big game including a play that directly impacts a turnover.

Ravens 27, Lions 17

Adam Bonaccorsi

The Ravens secondary finally gets a tough matchup, and probably the best passing attack they’ve seen all season, sans their 26-9 loss to the Steelers. Will they prove that they are truly a top-5 unit? Or will they prove the narrative of “blame the backup QBs” to be accurate?

Stafford surely isn’t a backup QB, and will use his decision making, accuracy, and ability to read defenses to pick apart the Ravens secondary. You also have a Lions offense that can’t run the ball, so I expect a heavy dose of passing plays, and the Lions to force the Ravens into a shootout.

Unfortunately for Baltimore, a shootout is exactly what they don’t want, as their gimmick plays and reliance on the defensive turnovers is not exactly an ideal counter-punch in this game…

A shootout puts the game on the shoulders of Flacco, who appears to be nothing more than a shell of a former Super Bowl MVP, and quite honestly the weakest link on offense right now (QB-WR-TE-OL-RB in that order). I expect a trio of picks from Flacco this week, forcing errant throws as the Ravens play most of the game from behind. Even when the offense manages to score, Stafford will march it back down the field on the defense, and M&T Bank Stadium will be half emptied out by the 4th quarter.

Well… it’s likely half empty at kickoff, so halve that. Quarter-full. There ya go.

Flacco finishes with 220 yards, 1 TD (Danny Woodhead), 3 INT’s, while the Ravens will abandon the run playing from behind, leaving Alex Collins just shy of the 50 yard mark on the day.

The Ravens defense will have a pair of turnovers as well (Jimmy Smith interception, Matt Judon fumble recovery), but ultimately Stafford spends the day picking on Brandon Carr and the linebackers, and it’ll be too much to overcome.

BAL 13
DET 27

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