I've been told by a close friend that I'm nuts to believe there's a decent possibility the Ravens can make the post season just because of their comparatively easy second-half schedule and because of the fact that the rest of the wildcard contenders should falter to a significant degree based on THEIR comparatively TOUGH second-half schedules. Well Monday night was just one first step in the direction of proving my point. The Buffalo Bills aren't a great team, and they weren't favored to beat the Jets in New Jersey. Divisional games, however, are often incredibly difficult to predict, and upsets are frequent between teams with an advanced level of familiarity such as the Bills and Jets.
This weekend is filled with opportunities for the Ravens to gain ground on the teams that sit ahead of them in the wildcard race. Buffalo's victory over the Jets means that the Jets are just one loss closer to only finishing 8-8 or 9-7 despite a red-hot start to the regular season. The teams that remain ahead of the Ravens are the Bills, Jets, Steelers, Raiders, Chiefs, Dolphins, Texans, and Jaguars. The Ravens can knock the Jaguars basically out of any semblance of contention by handling business against them at home on Sunday, which I fully expect them to do coming off of a bye week. The Ravens offensive line is mostly healthy with Eugene Monroe slated to play, and we should expect a good amount of time in the pocket and numerous shots downfield to some of Joe Flacco's newest speedy weapons, Chris Givens, Jeremy Ross, and Joe Morgan.
The Texans travel to Cincinatti on Monday night, and any rational mind has to predict that will be a loss for J.J. Watt and company. The Dolphins will play the Eagles in Philly, and while the Dolphins could pull an upset there, the Eagles should win that game now that Cameron Wake is on injured reserve for Miami. The Chiefs will face Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Denver, and the addition of Vernon Davis should help to fill the void that Julius Thomas left when he departed for Jacksonville. The Chiefs should make it interesting, but they're probably not winning that game. The Raiders will face a difficult task when Adrian Peterson comes to town as the Vikings, though they don't put up monster score totals, can suffocate teams with defense and control the clock with a thunderous running game. The Raiders still have a good chance to win this game, but it certainly won't be easy, especially with the emergence of Stephon Diggs and a Raiders secondary that allowed a single receiver to catch for 284 yards last week.
That leaves us with the Steelers as the only other wildcard contender that has yet to play this week. The Steelers will be without Big Ben, and they are, of course, without Le'Veon Bell. Pittsburgh hosts the Browns, and those Browns will likely start Johnny Manziel at quarterback. Landry Jones is a capable enough backup that I still expect a Pittsburgh win here, but the Browns have been known to beat the Steelers from time to time. James Harrison will also not play, and that could hurt the Steelers' ability to generate a pass rush on a relatively mobile, young QB. The Browns certainly have enough weapons to beat a team decimated by key injuries, and Joe Hayden should be able to at least somewhat limit Antonio Brown.
If the Browns find a way to upset the Steelers, the Vikings handle their business against the Raiders, and every other favored aforementioned team wins this weekend, the Ravens will actually have gained quite a bit of ground in earning a wildcard spot. Regardless of how the Raiders or Steelers do, the Ravens SHOULD leapfrog the Jaguars, Texans, Dolphins, and Chiefs in a single weekend based on divisional records. Things then become trickier as the Ravens have to beat more difficult teams and hope any three of the four remaining teams in front of them (the Bills, Jets, Steelers, and Raiders) falter under the weight of their remaining respective strengths of schedules. As we examined a week ago, all four of those teams will have a tough time getting beyond 8 or 9 wins, and this leaves a glimmer of hope for Ravens players, coaches, and fans that Baltimore can go on a run and make it to the 9 wins I believe it necessary to squeak into the playoffs this season. One way or another, because of the utter disappointing play of nearly all of the teams in the AFC, this will be quite a wild ride. With that said, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 10 NFL PICKS
LIONS AT PACKERS- This should be a nice bounce-back game for Packers team that has struggled in recent weeks despite heroic play by Aaron Rodgers. Eddie Lacy needs to get into better shape, but Starks will tote the rock instead. The Lions are atrocious, so this shouldn't be too interesting unless you're starting Rodgers as your fantasy QB. PACKERS 31-17
COWBOYS AT BUCCANEERS- The Cowboys have played their last 3 games insanely closely against 3 contending teams. I don't consider the Buccaneers to be any type of contending team even though they DID have one quality win over the Falcons in Atlanta two weeks ago. With that said, the Buccaneers simply don't have enough defensive power to stop the likes of Darren McFadden running behind strong Cowboys O line nor do they have anyone who can cover Dez Bryant. This is the week the Boys finally get a win. COWBOYS 28-24
PANTHERS AT TITANS- The Titans can upset a team with poor defense, but that's not the Panthers. The Panthers will lose at some point this season, but it won't be this week. PANTHERS 28-21
BEARS AT RAMS- If this game were going to be played in Chicago, it might be more interesting, but the Rams play suffocating defense at home, and Todd Gurley should absolutely run roughshod over a poor Bear's defense. Injuries to Alshon Jeffrey, Matt Forte, and Pernell McPhee make this a game the Bears simply won't win. RAMS 33-20
SAINTS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins are 3-1 at home, and the Saints are 1-3 on the road. The Saints defense is waaay too crappy on the road to overcome a Redskins offense that will get DeSean Jackson back this week. The Redskins defense has allowed less than 20 points per game this season, and the Redskins offense has scored an average of exactly 22 point per game at home this season. This should be close, but I'm gonna go with the home team here. REDSKINS 27-24
DOLPHINS AT EAGLES- With Cameron Wake still healthy, the Dolphins could have pulled off a win here. Without him, the Dolphins' pass rush, as I mentioned above, is only a fraction as effective. EAGLES 34-23
BROWNS AT STEELERS- The Browns COULD pull off an upset here if Josh McCown was starting--but he will not. Landry Jones is good enough, and D'Angelo Williams has been so effective running the football that I can't see many scenarios were Johnny Manziel is able to pull this one out on the road as much a I would LOVE to see that. STEELERS 28-17
JAGUARS AT RAVENS- This is not a game the Ravens should lose at home coming off of a bye week. The Jaguars, however, are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to big plays of over 20 or more yards. Blake Bortles is unquestionably better than Blaine Gabbert, but the Jaguars are still only putting up 21 points per game and allow and average of 29 points per game. To make matters worse, wide receivers Allen hurns and Marquise Lee are questionable for Sunday's game. Hurns is dealing with a foot sprain and deep thigh bruise from last week's game, and Marquise Lee is dealing with a hamstring injury. I expect both to try to play, but there's no way either will be close to 100%. The Ravens will have a relatively healthy, well-rested offensive line, and that will prove the difference-maker in this game. Flacco now has downfield threats and an offensive line that should give him ample time to hit them in stride. Expect a big day on the ground from Forsett and Buck Allen, and we should expect Flacco to get the ball to his trio of big tight ends after deep threats and the running game open up the middle of the field for them. This isn't a bad Jaguars team, they've played a lot of decent teams closely, but they're banged up and playing the Ravens at the wrong time. RAVENS 30-24
VIKINGS AT RAIDERS- The Vikings are lucky that Teddy Bridgewater isn't out this week with the lingering effects of a concussion. Derek Carr has looked incredibly impressive this season, and I have a hard time believing he'll be held under 20 points in this game. The Vikings COULD control the clock and limit the Raiders' opportunities, but their only road wins have come against incredibly weak teams, and those wins weren't particularly convincing. I'll be rooting eagerly for the Vikings, but the Raiders should simply be too difficult to slow down or match in production. RAIDERS 28-23
PATRIOTS AT GIANTS- The Giants have won nearly all of their matchups with the Patriots in recent years, but Giants team lacks something required to beat this Patriots team: defense. It's not that the Giants couldn't have a big deal through the air and go toe to toe with the Patriots, but in the end, the Patriots simply have a more effective offense and a better defense. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see the Giants run the Patriots' day on Sunday, but until Victor Cruz gets back, I can't see the Giants being able to overcome their defensive deficiencies to a degree that they could outscore the Patriots. The Patriots, after all, average 34 points per game, and they've only been held under 30 points once in the last 7 weeks. C'mon, ODB, make some circus catch with the small of your back or your armpit to ruin the Patriots undefeated season. PATRIOTS 35-27
CHIEFS AT BRONCOS- This could get interesting with Aqib Talib's suspension and DeMarcus Ware's injury, but the addition of Vernon Davis should give Manning the firepower he needs to outscore the Chiefs at home. BRONCOS 27-23
CARDINALS AT SEAHAWKS- I don't care that this game is in Seattle. The Cardinals have a good enough defense to severely limit the Seahawks, and Carson Palmer has enough weapons to make even the famed Legion of Boom look weak at times. If the Seahawks can only barely put up points against the Cowboys, they're truly going to struggle against the Cardinals. CARDINALS 24-17
TEXANS AT BENGALS- This doesn't require a tremendous amount of explanation. The Texans are really bad and the Bengals are really good. The Bengals are also going to take out their frustrations from previous years of being bounced from the playoffs by the Texans in what SHOULD be a blowout win. BENGALS 42-21
THIS IS THE EASIEST WEEK THE RAVENS WILL HAVE FOR THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON, SO LET'S HOPE THEY CAPITALIZE. LET'S ALSO HOPE JOE DEMONSTRATES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IN CHEMISTRY WITH HIS NEW, YOUNG WEAPONS. IF THE RAVENS CAN FINALLY HANDLE BUSINESS AND GET ON TRACK, THE REST OF THE AFC WILDCARD CONTENDERS ARE WEAK ENOUGH TO GIVE BALTIMORE A SHOT AT A PLAYOFF SPOT.
DON'T LOSE HOPE NOW, BALTIMORE
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
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