The Road to Perdition: Baltimore Ravens Week 2

The Baltimore Ravens drafted a WR and Edge Rusher in the first round of April’s draft. They added a former top 5 pick in Sammy Watkins and a man with 97.5 career sacks in Justin Houston. Their MVP spent the offseason working with a QB coach and looked better than ever this summer. Expectations were high for the Ravens ahead of their Monday night debut against the Las Vegas Raiders, unfortunately Alejandro Villanueva stole the show. Villanueva was thoroughly outplayed by Maxx Crosby and Vegas’ other pass rushers and played a pivotal role in the Ravens loss. He wasn’t alone though, as Ronnie Stanley routinely allowed pressure, Lamar lost two fumbles, and the defense surrendered 33 points. Baltimore suffered several major injuries Monday night, with starting LG Tyre Philips and reserve CB Chris Westry heading to IR and LT Ronnie Stanley out for week 2 and possibly beyond. This, after enduring season ending injuries to every RB on the roster, Marcus Peters, and LJ Fort before the season even began. In short, the Ravens are in hell, and in week 2 they’ve been summoned to Pergamon for judgment by Andy Reid and Pat Mahomes.

The Chiefs come to town remarkably healthy and riding the high of their comeback victory over the Cleveland Browns. In week 1 the Chiefs were without stars Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu. Their defense was roughed up a bit by the Browns ground game, they allowed 153 yards and 4 TDs with a robust 5.9 YPC. The back end didn't fare much better allowing over 300 yards on 28 attempts. With two of their three best players back in the lineup the Chiefs defense will likely be a different beast on Sunday night. Clark in particular must be salivating at the prospect of going against Villanueva and new RT Patrick Mekari. The Ravens offensive line was abysmal in week 1 and will be lining up with new starters at 3 positions while facing bigger threats in Clark and Jones. I'm not holding my breath for a great performance from that unit.

Mark Andrews’ tendency to underperform in big games showed up again with a critical drop against the Raiders, paired with Hollywood Brown’s injury concerns and it looks like Baltimore will need to lean heavily on the run game to keep it close this week. That shouldn't be a problem as second year back Ty'Son Williams impressed in his first NFL action with 12 touches for 94 total yards and a TD. It should have been more but in the 2nd half Baltimore inexplicably went away from Williams in favor of the far less effective Latavius Murray. OC Greg Roman argued that the days of one RB playing the whole game are over, which is demonstrably false and a weak attempt to cover poor coaching decisions. Help is on the way this week in the form of Devonta Freeman, the former Falcons star is hoping to turn back the clock and provide a safety valve for Lamar Jackson in the pass game. This, to me, doesn't seem like the best plan but it's more than Roman's “do better” advice for the offensive line so...here's hoping.

There should be more optimism on the defensive side, yes the Raiders scored 33 and the defense allowed several big plays, but at least on the defense, we know they have the talent. The defense did have a few bright spots as well, first round pick Odafe Oweh got his first career sack and hurried Carr on what was (at the time) a game saving interception. Another rookie, Brandon Stephens, played well for the most part considering his lack of experience at the position. This is where Roman’s advice should have been directed. The defense needs to, and I think will, play better. They've been hit with injuries and the Chiefs bring one of the best offenses in football but this is why Baltimore made such heavy investments on that side of the ball. It's time for their veteran leaders to step up and play to the standard they've set over the last few years. To give them the best chance to be successful this week I think DC Martindale needs to tone down the blitzes. It's unlikely you'll be able to get home against Mahomes and they'll need the extra help in coverage with Peters and Westry out. Baltimore needs to rely on Oweh, Houston, Madubuike, Bowser, etc to generate pressure without the help of the LBs and DBs. If they're able to do that, they'll have a chance to slow down KC, if not things may get ugly.

This is especially true when it comes to Travis Kelce. The Raiders have an elite TE in Darren Waller and Baltimore struggled mightily defending him. He was targeted 19 times and made 10 catches for over 100 yards and a TD. Nearly everyone in a Ravens jersey had their turn trying to slow Waller down and they were simply unable to do so most of the night. Kelce may be even better and his partner out wide, Tyreek Hill, is leagues better than anyone in Vegas. No one expects perfection going against the Chiefs offense but Queen, Clark, Stephens, etc need to be on top of their game in limiting Kelce. He's one of the best in the league at catching and quickly turning up field, being there and ready to tackle at the catch point could be the difference between getting off the field and a fresh set of downs for the Chiefs.

I hate to say this as I am an advocate for aggressive offense and scoring as much as possible, but for Baltimore, this game will come down to their ability to control the ball and shorten the game. They have 3 RBs on the active roster, along with Jackson who's rushed for over 1000 yards the last two seasons. They have an offensive line that proved incapable of providing pass protection against a weaker front in Vegas, and they have injury issues at the WR spot. Baltimore needs to grind out yards 3-4 at a time and hopefully wear down the Chiefs defense but more importantly, keep Mahomes on the sideline as much as possible. This doesn't mean foregoing aggression, the Ravens can't afford to settle for field goals, they'll need to maximize every scoring opportunity to keep the game competitive. Unfortunately, I don't see them being able to do that, I believe they'll fall behind early and any comeback attempt will be thwarted by the makeshift offensive line. Chiefs by double digits.