The Ravens welcome the former occupants of the Baltimore NFL franchise to town when the Colts come in on Saturday. Can the Ravens keep their late-season surge to the postseason going? RSR staff predict what we’ll see here…
Tony Lombardi
This game has all the makings of a blowout. BUT…
The weather looks like it will be a factor and that could slow down the Ravens defensive speed and make the game a bit closer than it otherwise should be. The game’s biggest drama won’t take place on the field. It will likely take place at LaScala’s Ristorante tonight where John Harbaugh and Chuck Pagano will dine to determine if the Colts’ skipper is willing to be the Ravens defensive coordinator next season. Let’s hope so…
— Joe Flacco will throw for 250 yards with a pair of TD’s and eclipse the 100.0 passer rating mark.
— Buck Allen will lead all rushers with 75 yards and a score.
— Breshad Perriman gets off the schneid when he hauls in a TD from 40+ yards out.
— Matt Judon scores a pair of sacks to lead the pass rush charge. The Ravens will drop Jacoby Brissett 5 times.
— Ravens move their turnover ratio from +17 to +20, courtesy of a strip sack and two interceptions
Ravens 30, Colts 13
Todd Karpovich
— The Ravens are going to maintain their workmanlike approach that has been effective over the past five games. Statistically, the Colts are worse than the Browns and the Ravens will attack them multiple ways.
— Quarterback Joe Flacco is going to take shots downfield against Indianapolis’ 30th-ranked pass defense. Alex Collins and Buck Allen will run at the Colts’ 29th-ranked run defense. Indianapolis is allowing 381.5 yards and 26.3 points per game.
— Since their bye in Week 10, the Ravens have scored at least 23 points each game, and won four of five matchups. Look for that trend to continue.
— The Colts offense is worse than their defense and is ranked 31st in the league. Baltimore gets to line up against another backup quarterback in Brissett, who has thrown for 2,769 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has also been sacked a league-high 49 times. Brissett will hold onto the ball rather than force an ill-advised throw. So, the Ravens are going to pressure him all afternoon. Baltimore’s turnovers might be down, but the sacks will be up this game.
— The Ravens are a whopping 13.5-point favorite. Still, they won’t take the Colts for granted. Baltimore is just 3-8 against a team that used to play its games at Memorial Stadium, just a few miles from the Ravens’ home downtown. Nonetheless, there is too much at stake for Baltimore, which is treating this game with a sense of urgency to maintain a run to the postseason.
Ravens 30, Colts 10
Ken McKusick
The Ravens, playing at home, will not let their foot off the gas pedal in this one, but they’ll try to follow the standard model for a win…
1. Take the lead in the 1st half
2. Adopt a more conservative 2nd half offense when up 2 scores
3. Frustrate Brissett with pressure
4. Exchange field position well with offense, defense, and special teams all playing a role
5. Force at least 2 turnovers
Because the Colts will try to run more, I expect Willie Henry to reemerge with nice pocket compression on the (fewer consecutive) downs he plays including at least 2 events among PDs, QHs, sacks, participation in turnovers. With Anthony Levine not at 100%, Chuck Clark will play enough dime snaps to make a big play. Ben Watson will again be the biggest receiving threat in a game where play action will be effective. Joe Flacco will be sacked no more than once as the OL again does the job. The Ravens will get their collective backs up from the start and stop the run effectively for 3.4 YPC or less.
Ravens 27 Colts 9
Ryan Jones
This Colts have been completely depleted with injuries on both sides of the ball. That includes adding their starting center Ryan Kelly and leading tackler Jon Bostic to IR this week. They rank at the bottom of the league in both total defense and offense and outside of T.Y Hilton and Jack Doyle they lack any real playmakers.
The Ravens are playing with more focus than they have all season and this game can serve as a confidence booster as they head into a season finale that’s not as much a layup as some people are making it out to be.
-Joe Flacco continues his streak of solid performances and cracks the 300-yard mark for the first time all season.
–Terrance West is active for the first time in ten weeks and reminds us why he was the starter at the beginning of the year running for over 75 yards on less than 15 carries.
–Chris Moore continues to build on the last couple weeks and catches five passes including a touchdown that goes for over 50 yards.
Ravens 31
Colts 13
Adam Bonaccorsi
Pay attention to the forecast in this game – it looks to be a wet one in Baltimore, which could turn this game into more of a ground & pound affair, benefiting the home team against an atrocious Colts run D (their pass D is equally awful).
I expect a close, conservative, low scoring game until the 2nd half when the Ravens outscore Indy 17-0 in the 3rd quarter alone, and never look back.
–Alex Collins will relinquish more carries than usual in this game, but will still break a few 20+ yard carries and end with 120 yards on the ground with a TD.
-The Ravens offense will total 400+ yards on the day with 3 TDs (all via run) and no turnovers.
-Baltimore’s defense is all about the 3s: 3 sacks of Jacoby Brissett, 3 forced turnovers (2 picks, 1 strip/sack), and 3 POINTS ALLOWED.
BAL 27
IND 3
John Darcey
The Ravens know the scenario: win the next two and you are in the playoffs. The defense (with the exception of the Steelers game) has been dominant and the offense has come on as of late with the return of ‘January Joe’. I don’t know about everyone else, but this team reminds me of the 2012 Super Bowl team, hitting their stride at the right time. While the weather will be a factor, I have not been this confident in the Ravens to win a game in a long time!
— With the rain, Flacco will throw less, but will still have a quality game with a passer rating over 100 and while tossing a TD en route to a 180-yard performance.
— Most of the damage will be done on the ground. Alex Collins and Buck Allen will combined for 125 yards rushing and two TDs.
— The defense will wreak havoc on Brisett, sacking him six times and picking off three passes, including a pick six by Marlon Humphrey.
— Frank Gore and Marlon Mack will be held to under 40 yards combined.
— I am going all in and predicting the Ravens get their fourth shutout of the year, inching one step closer to the playoffs!
Ravens 24 Colts 0
Derek Arnold
The weather plays a part in this game, as the teams combine for five fumbles (two by Brissett, one by Flacco, one by Mack, and one by Collins), but fumble luck favors the Ravens and they still win the turnover battle by two. The rain, though, doesn’t deter January Joe from slinging the rock around, as he completes 80% of his passes for 150+ yards and a touchdown to…yep, Breshad Perriman. Why so few yards? Well…
The Ravens are hot, motivated, and relatively healthy (for them, at least). Indy is scuffling, decimated by injuries, and have nothing to play for. Once the Ravens get up by double-digits, they’ll mail it in. Baltimore goes up by 20+ late in the third, and Ryan Mallett plays the majority of the fourth quarter under center for the good guys.
The Colts score a junk time TD against a bunch of Baltimore backups to make it look a little closer. Christmas 2017 is much more festive for Baltimore football fans than was Christmas 2016.
Ravens 30 Colts 13
