It’s Kickoff Weekend and as such, we’re back with Bold Predictions for each of the Ravens 17+ games during the 2022 season. Here’s how the guys seeing Game 1 at the Jets playing out in the Meadowlands.
Tony Lombardi
The Ravens own an all-time series edge over the Jets with a (9-2) record, (4-1) during the John Harbaugh Era. The Ravens are (3-2) in games at NYJ (1-1 under Coach Harbaugh) and oddsmakers have the visitors listed as 7 point favorites this time around.
The Ravens opened the 2010 season at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night against Rex Ryan and the Jets, the first time Gang Green hosted a team for a regular season game at the venue. The Ravens won that defensive struggle (10-9) as Joe Flacco, while wearing the purple and black, went 20 of 38 for 248 yards and a pick. The game’s only TD was scored by Willis McGahee on a 1-yard plunge. Can Joe enjoy greater success against his former employer?
In a word – NO!
• Joe Flacco will be sacked 4 times, fumbling once while throwing a first half pick that sets up a Ravens touchdown. He’ll throw for 210 yards, most of which will add up late in the game with the Ravens holding a 23-6 lead. Eventually he’ll connect on a mop up duty touchdown. The Jets will have less than 250 net yards of offense.
• Flacco’s former understudy won’t be perfect but he’ll do enough to get the dub. Lamar Jackson will connect for 250 yards and two scores – one to Mark Andrews and the other to Devin Duvernay.
• Rashod Bateman will be covered in Sauce all afternoon – the Gardner variety. He’ll haul in 4 passes for 41 yards. One of his targets will be intercepted by the impressive rookie CB.
• The Ravens rushing attack will run into tough sledding but with the help of Lamar’s scrambling, they’ll eclipse the century mark. He’ll lead the team with 52 rushing yards.
• At the end of the day, the Ravens get in some work, show signs of what will be a promising season and get the all-important conference road win to start the season.
FINAL SCORE: Ravens 23, Jets 13
Darin McCann
I’ve developed the general opinion that the Ravens of 2022 will be better at the end of the season than the start, due to players recovering from last year’s rash of injuries at different schedules and some tweaking that I suspect will go on all last season on defense.
That being said, this is a pretty good draw for the Ravens to start the season.
Here are a few predictions for Sunday’s game against the Jets:
- The run game has a relatively tough time, putting up 120 yards on the day. However, the pass game will get off to a good start, putting up more than 270 yards — paced by Devin Duvernay’s 110 yards on three catches.
- The pass-rush manages only one sack, but the defense keeps the Jets under 300 yards on the day.
- Marlon Humphrey will grab a pick and force a fumble.
- Our good friend Joe Flacco doesn’t have a great day, with two picks and a fumble, but he does draw a 45-yard pass interference penalty on an under-thrown deep ball that satisfies the nostalgia senses.
Ravens 30 Jets 16
Rob Shields
My bold prediction for this game is that it will be closer than most think and Ravens fans want it to be.
You have the Flacco factor (yes, he’s starting, not Wilson). You know he’s going to want to ball out in this game.
But bigger than that is that I think the Ravens are going to look a lot better in 4-6 weeks than they will now. They have guys still hurt and guys who are coming back. They also didn’t play many players in the preseason. So, you have a combo of rust and health early on. Now, it helps that the Jets aren’t good but the Jets do have some good running backs. They do have some weapons at WR that can hurt you. It won’t surprise me if the Jets offense looks relatively decent.
The Ravens are thin at OLB but they also won’t have Travis Jones, who will provide pass rush up the middle. Everyone’s focus is on OLB but the Ravens have some very good interior pass rushers that can balance that out but you don’t have one of them in week 1.
I think the Ravens ultimately win because Lamar Jackson has a big game. While I am
worried that the contract will be in his head, I think he ultimately can put that behind him and put up a big game.
Ravens win 27-20
Derek Arnold
Looking at what’s now 14 years of John Harbaugh opening games reveals some interesting tidbits. There have been runs of close wins (2008-10) and blowout wins (2011-12, 2017-20), some nailbiter losses (2021 @ Vegas, 2015 Darian Stewart last-minute end zone INT at Denver), and a blowout loss (the 2013 post-Super Bowl hosing at Denver). Overall in Week 1, Harbaugh teams are 10-4; 7-1 at home and 3-3 on the road. Two of the road wins weren’t competitive (2017 at Cincy, 2019 at Miami), while the other was, interestingly, against Gang Green (2009 – Ray Lewis meets Dustin Keller game).
Since Lamar Jackson became the starter, he’s beat up on Miami and the Browns, but lost in OT last year. So basically, he’s perfect so far when his tackles aren’t turnstiles. Can we count on Morgan Moses & Ja’Wuan James to be better than Alejandro Villanueva & a hobbled Ronnie Stanley were last year? I think they’ll be decent, but not good enough for Lamar to really operate a la the 2019-20 openers (combined: 37-45, 599 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks). The running game will suffer from the same lack of juice it did last year, unfortunately, at least until Dobbins & Gus Edwards return. That’ll lead us to another of those early-Harbs nailbiter wins, this time with Flacco as the opponent.
Marcus Williams plays the Darian Stewart role this time, sealing it with an interception deep in Ravens territory late in the game.
Ravens 23 Jets 17
Chad Racine
The New York fan base should be fired up to play on 9/11 at home. Combine that with Joe Flacco will be the likely starter facing his former team for the first time, MetLife stadium will have some energy.
-Sauce Gardner will give up his first NFL touchdown in week 1 to Rashod Bateman.
-C.J Mosley will be picked on in coverage by Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely
– Joe Flacco will have an up-and-down day throwing both 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He will also get sacked once.
– Lamar Jackson will throw 2 touchdowns. He’ll throw for 250 yards and rush for 50 yards.
– Rashod Bateman will have a touchdown and 75 yards.
-Isaiah Likely will have his first touchdown and 50 yards.
-Marcus Williams will have an interception.
-Odafe Oweh will have one sack.
Ravens 24-13 Jets
Kevin McNelis
Here we go. We all know the Ravens have a track record for coming in hot out of the gate, and I don’t anticipate this matchup is any different.
– With the Jets fielding a talented corner pairing in Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed, Baltimore relies on their distinct advantage: the walking mismatches that are their tight ends. Mark Andrews carves the Jets up over the middle of the field, and Isaiah Likely proves he’s not just a preseason star. Likely hauls in 5 catches for 75 yards and a score.
-Joe Flacco’s reunion with his old pals does not bring a happy return. Odafe Oweh records a strip sack, and the revamped secondary forces at least one interception. The defense will bend, but not break, allowing only one trip to the endzone for the Jets.
-New York’s defense allowed more yardage to opponents last season than any other team, and while they’ve made an effort to address that side of the ball, it will take a while to adjust, and it won’t happen in Week 1. Baltimore posts 375 yards of total offense in a romp, with at least 150 on the ground.
Ravens 31, Jets 10
Ron Toothe
It’s official, week 1 will be the Baltimore Ravens vs the New York Joe Flaccos (and company). After some vintage NFL head coach deception earlier in the week, Robert Saleh confirmed on Wednesday that it will indeed be our old friend lining up under center on Sunday. Let’s dive into some quick predictions.
– Flacco starts off hot, connecting with Elijah Moore for a long touchdown to put the Jets on the board first while the Ravens defense works out some early kinks.
– The Ravens offense has a tough time in the first quarter before tying the game at 7 near the start of the second, from there they don’t look back.
– Isaiah Likely catches his first real NFL touchdown in the red zone
– Running backs will struggle on both sides
– Odafe Oweh forces a strip sack that firmly turns the tides in the Ravens’ favor in the second half
– Marcus Peters will have a 4th quarter interception
Final score: Ravens 27 Jets 13
Aidan Griesser
The Ravens open their season against a familiar face, and it’ll be riveting to watch as a fan. What’s more riveting is that football is finally back!
— Joe Flacco opens the scoring against Baltimore with a shocking TD drive on the first Jets possession. That’ll be Flacco’s only TD on the day.
— Lamar Jackson shows he’s playing for a contract (if it doesn’t get done before), and shows he’s improved yet again as a passer, tossing 3 TDs to Bateman, Andrews and Proche.
— After his hot start, the Ravens defense smothers Flacco. They won’t get too many sacks, but both Marcus Williams and Marlon Humphrey intercept the former Raven in the second half.
— After taking a commanding lead, Baltimore runs the ball down NY’s throat, controlling the clock and not letting the Jets past midfield after halftime.
Final: Ravens 27, Jets 13
Chris Schisler
The Ravens will be tested by a New York Jets team that has some playmakers and the hope of a new season. This is the first look at the 2022 Ravens and I don’t anticipate a perfect showing.
The Ravens will get a win. They’ll beat their former franchise quarterback, Joe Flacco. It will be a close and contested start to the game. The better team will pull ahead. Give me a 10-10 score at the halftime intermission. Put the Ravens down for a second half shutout and a 20-10 win over the Jets.
Once Lamar Jackson and the Ravens find their groove they will control the clock and hog the ball. A few long drives will put the game away. The defense will find answers in the second half. It will be an interesting start and a convincing finish.
Ben Dackiw
We made it, ladies and gentlemen.
No matter who lines up under center for the Jets, the Ravens win this football game. I’m tired of the chicken little “the sky is falling” act that this fanbase has been doing since training camp started. The Baltimore Ravens are a very good football team with ambition. They’re not losing to the Jets.
Lamar begins his fifth season by putting on a clinic in New Jersey. He’ll throw for three touchdowns and rush for another.
The new O-Line gets started off on the right foot, not allowing a single sack.
Osage Oweh begins his second year with a sack and a forced fumble.
Let’s have some fun.
Ravens 35 Jets 10
Brennan Stewart
A story-book opener for Ravens fans in this Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets. Lamar Jackson vs Joe Flacco. Here’s how things might play out:
Flacco will be better than most expect against his former team. His total passing yards will fall somewhere around 250. With rookie talent Garrett Wilson to throw to at wide receiver, Flacco could easily have two to three completed attempts in the endzone.
Baltimore’s defense will still be too much for the Jets. An early interception will be enough to kickstart a dominant defensive performance. Odafe Oweh will be the star of the show, raking in at least six combined tackles.
The Ravens might have to rely on a run-heavy offense with the likes of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed at cornerback. The rushing yards will total between 175 and 200, but J.K. Dobbins will likely not be there due to his injury. Perhaps we will see an incredibly mobile Lamar Jackson on Sunday.
Ravens 32 Jets 17
Jared Pinder
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Joe Flacco would be the starter for this game. While this may lead to more emotion for this game, I still think Ravens will be able to pull this out. The Jets have a good run defending unit up front, which might be hard for the Ravens, but the secondary for the Jets is filled with nothing but young pieces that haven’t had a lot of time together. I think the wide receivers have a huge day against the young secondary for the Jets, including the Tight Ends. The Jets linebackers do not cover well, and Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely will have a big day. This leads to Lamar Jackson putting up some huge numbers for week one and will help his potential MVP case against a lousy opponent, like in 2019. Ravens receivers will lead to a dominant win over the Jets.
As for the Defense against the Jets offense, the Jets offense will struggle due to the constant pressure against Joe Flacco. The Jets offensive line is hurting at tackle right now, so I think Odafe Oweh will have a good game, record at least one sack, and get at least four pressures. As for the second level of the defense, with the pass rush doing their job, the secondary will force at least one pick with one of the safeties recording it. The defense will be in the face of Joe Flacco all game and will make mistakes because of it. Ravens’ defense dominates the young receivers and bad tackles for the Jets on Sunday.
This should be easy for the Ravens, even if they can’t establish their run game as they want.
31-14 Ravens
