Hot take #1:Â Marquise Brown is a top 10 WR in the NFL right now.
Entering this week’s game, Marquise Brown is 6th in the league in receiving yards, tied for 7th in receiving TDs and 16th in receptions. Oh, and this is with a lot of guys around him still having played one more game. Amongst WR, he is also 10th in YAC, 10th in Air yards, 7th in broken tackles and 4th in receptions of 20+ yards. His PFF score is 80.2. He had the drops in the Detroit game but outside of that, he isn’t dropping the ball and he is playing at a very high level. I don’t think he is as talented as Rashod Bateman is going to be but he is really good right now and the team has to start thinking about whether or not they can afford to keep him long term.
Hot take #2: Â Devonta Freeman may be able to save the running game after all.
The Ravens rank #1 in the NFL in terms of rush yards per game, so talk of saving the run game may sound odd. But, as we have discussed in the recent weeks, the running backs are an issue with their inability to make plays and be explosive. Devonta Freeman may be changing that. He still looks like he has a lot left in the tank and he was able to challenge the perimeter of the defense on Sunday. That is not something that we have seen from the backs this year. But if he can bring that aspect of the running game to the field and the Ravens can use Latavius Murray and Le’Veon Bell to get the tough inside yards, the team may be able to put together enough of a running game, by the running backs (ie, not just Lamar Jackson) to keep teams off balance and not just expecting inside runs.
Hot take #3: The AFC North will come down to the Ravens and Steelers.
The offseason talk was that Cleveland was the team to beat and that Pittsburgh was going to struggle. And while the Steelers offense isn’t that good, their defense is very good and, much like the Ravens, they are winning games that it looks like they will lose. It’s no secret as to why either. These are teams that know how to win. They are coached well and not scared of any moment. All of these teams have injury issues and tough schedules to close out the season, so I don’t think anyone is running away with the division. But I think the Ravens will be fighting Pittsburgh, not Cleveland or Cincinnati, for the division title.
Hot take #4:Â The Ravens better not overlook Miami this week.
The Dolphins are probably the biggest underachiever of the year, although I personally felt they were being overrated. They haven’t been good but Thursday night road games can be very tricky. Their offense is terrible and they may be without Tua again this week. The defense has been poor most of the year but they hung in there with Buffalo a few weeks ago and held Houston to nine points on Sunday. I know Houston isn’t good but still, Miami’s defense played pretty well.
The Ravens should win this game big and they seem to have no issues playing in Miami but don’t overlook a struggling team while looking ahead to your mini bye and Lamar’s jersey retirement in Louisville. We just saw this past weekend that the underdogs are still playing hard and fighting for wins and we saw a lot of upsets.
This isn’t a game the Ravens can afford to lose.
Hot take #5:Â The Ravens need Odafe Oweh to step up.
You hate to put a lot on a rookie and Odafe Oweh started off on fire but he has been pretty quiet the last several weeks. But they need him to get pressure on the QB and get in some hits and sacks. It seems like a lot of the vet guys have hit a wall this year. Players like Pernell McPhee and Brandon Williams haven’t done much at all. Derek Wolfe has been a big loss and it doesn’t seem like he is coming back anytime soon, if at all. The pass rush hasn’t been good and rookie or not, Oweh is arguably our best pass rusher. The Miami offensive line has three guys that are amongst the top three offensive linemen in the league at allowing pressures. If Baltimore can’t get after the QB this week, the problems are even bigger than we may realize.
