The Ravens won't suit up this weekend, but that doesn't mean Week 8 isn't vitally important to their playoff chances. The Ravens are still in the hunt to win their division, but they've found themselves two wins behind the Bengals and dead even in the loss column with the Steelers. With that said, the Steelers still only have two wins, but that could all change tomorrow. The Steelers are 1-2 versus the Raiders since 2009, and there's actually a solid chance that the Raiders could once again take down Big Ben and company in Oakland on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bengals play the Jets in Cincinnati. Both teams are coming off of close wins, but the Bengals have won 5 of their last 6 while the Jets have followed each one of their wins with a loss thus far this season. The Browns appear to be finished as they will start Jason Campbell in place of Brandon Weeden, but the Browns still possess an impressive defense that could make things tough for a relatively lackluster Chiefs offense.
Equally important to how the Ravens rivals fare during Week 8 is how the Ravens recover during their time off. The Ravens made some strides in a number of areas despite their loss to the Steelers. The offensive line looked improved even if the Ravens offense didn't look particularly explosive. One must remember that AFC North teams always play each other closely regardless of their overall records, and the Steelers still possess an elite pass defense. The Steelers also appear to have made strong adjustments as they've won their last two games against at least somewhat legitimate teams.
The bye week will allow the Ravens to get healthy and make further adjustments to revert further back to their old style of blocking and running from before Juan Castillo took over the offensive line. I'm no longer optimistic to the point of bias about the Ravens chances to get to the playoffs, but I still believe there is hope. I refuse, however, to become hopeful unless the Ravens win their next two games. If the Ravens lose to the Browns, Bengals, or both, there is little reason to believe they'll make the playoffs. One huge factor is that Dennis Pitta is on schedule to return sometime before the end of November. If the Ravens lose their next two games, they'll fall to 3-6 and Pitta will be told not to even attempt to return this season. If the Ravens can win their next two games, then one of Joe Flacco's favorite targets will return to provide a huge boost to the Ravens offense in time for mid-late season push for the playoffs. In this way, winning will beget more winning.
The biggest key to winning will be offensive production. If the Ravens can fix their running game and find ways to play with a lead, their defense will prove far more effective. Right now, the teams have typically played with a lead over the Ravens, and this has meant that opponents tend to run the ball far more against the birds. The Ravens have struggled to defend the run, but they excel at rushing the passer. If the Ravens can run the ball well and once again unleash a balanced offensive attack wherein they find the end zone early, then opposing teams will be forced to pass against the Ravens far more and will find themselves under siege by Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Arthur Jones, and company.
As I said earlier this week, the Ravens defense has allowed only 4 touchdowns in their last 6 games. They struggle to stop teams from going on long drives late in games, but they typically hold teams out of the endzone and make opponents settle for field goals. The Ravens simply have to score touchdowns instead of field goals, and they'll win many games going forward. Ok, enough about the Ravens, let's get to the Week 8 NFL PREDICTIONS!
WEEK 8 NFL PREDICTIONS
COWBOYS AT LIONS- These teams are incredibly similar. They both possess top 5 pass offenses and horrendous pass defenses. The Cowboys are coming off of a win over a sorry Eagles team, while the Lions lost a hard fought win to the Bengals last week. The Cowboys are 1-2 on the road this season and the Lions are 2-1 at home...I know that's not exactly complicated analysis, but I simply couldn't find enough else to tilt this game in favor of one team or another. The Lions defensive line should give Romo problems. This is going to be a shootout with VERY little defense played. This one could go either way, but I'm going with the home team here. LIONS 42-38.
BROWNS AT CHIEFS- Hmmmm, Jason Campbell throwing against the Chiefs defense in Arrowhead Stadium. One the one hand...wait no there's only one hand. The Chiefs won't break their winning streak against a Browns team with this joker starting, but this also won't be a blowout win as the Browns defense is serious. CHIEFS 20-13.
DOLPHINS AT PATRIOTS- I would LOVE to see the Dolphins beat the Patriots, and they might do so this season, but not in Foxboro. Gronk is back in a big way and he'll be on the field on Sunday, that's enough for me. I am curious to see how Bryant McKinnie does for the Fins, but I don't think he'll be enough protection to win this game. PATRIOTS 24-17.
BILLS AT SAINTS- The Saints are looking quite impressive this season, I can't see any scenario where the Bills upset them at home unless Drew Brees is somehow taken out of the game. SAINTS 35-21.
GIANTS AT EAGLES- I don't have much faith in the Eagles, but I have less faith in the Giants on road this season. I would call this the "who cares bowl" except that the NFC East is so bad that this game actually somehow means something. Michael Vick will be back and that should be enough to take down the Giants. EAGLES 33-23.
49ERS AT JAGUARS- At what point will the Jags simply forfeit games? They might as well do so this week. 49ERS 36-10.
JETS AT BENGALS- The Jets won a huge game against the Patriots last week, but they simply can't seem to string together two wins in a row and they've only won a single road game thus far this season against an extremely weak Falcons team. I like the Jets defense and running game, but Geno turns the ball over too often and the Bengals will capitalize since they have quite an impressive defense and running game themselves. This Bengals team is strong in every phase of the game and they won't lose at home to the Jets...I really hope they do though. BENGALS 24-23.
STEELERS AT RAIDERS- I was impressed with the Steelers over the last two weeks. This is not the same team that went 0-4 in the first month of the season. The Raiders' offense is simply too one-dimensional and that will be easy for Dick LaBeau's guys to stop. The only things the Raiders have going for them are the facts that they're coming off of a bye week and will be playing at home. STEELERS 21-16.
REDSKINS AT BRONCOS- What an incredible mismatch. The Redskins have a terrible secondary and Peyton Manning is the greatest regular season quarterback in a generation. BRONCOS 45-31.
FALCONS AT CARDINALS- Bravo Falcons, you beat one of the two worst teams in the league last week. You will lose this week, but who even cares? CARDINALS 30-20.
PACKERS AT VIKINGS- The Packers have numerous injuries to their top receivers, but the Vikings simply couldn't be a worse team with Josh Freeman starting at QB. Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers and Adrian Peterson is suffering from hamstring issues. PACKERS 35-10.
SEAHAWKS AT RAMS- The Rams tend to play divisional opponents tough...but not without Sam Bradford. SEAHAWKS 27-13.
As I said before, there is still hope that the Ravens can get healthy, make the correct offensive adjustments, and then explode into the late part of the season once Dennis Pitta comes, back, but they first must win the next two games against divisional opponents. I will no longer give them the benefit of a doubt, but the Ravens tend to come out swinging after a bye week. One other side note: the Bengals lost Leon Hall with an achilles injury. This could make a trip to Baltimore in two weeks MUCH tougher as the Bengals will no longer have a shutdown corner to stick Torrey Smith all day. That will still undoubtedly be a tough, hard-fought game, but the Ravens will definitely gain an advantage since the Bengals will be without their top defensive back. Stay optimistic, Baltimore, but let's just be happy Ray and the boys won the Super Bowl last season.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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