I would be lying if I claimed that Thusday night's 40-0 win over the Dolphins didn't rekindle my hope that the Ravens could find a way to right the figurative ship and earn a playoff berth this season. The Ravens defense suffocated a Dolphins offense that, while statistically dead last in the league, performed well enough to earn three consecutive wins over the Titans, Falcons, and Jets before Thursday's matchup. No one should be particularly shocked that the Ravens defense returned to form against a bottom-feeding offense, but everyone should recognize that the Ravens OFFENSE returned to form against the Dolphins' 6th ranked defense.
Alex Collins ran roughshod over a Dolphins run defense that currently ranks 9th in the league in average rushing yards allowed per game. Even when Terrance West returns to health, Collins must get the lion's share of carries among the Ravens running backs while Buck Allen, West, and ultimately Danny Woodhead should comprise a supporting cast. Woodhead and Collins could actually find themselves on the field at the same time with Woodhead lined up in the slot. Whatever the breakdown in touches may be, Collins has demonstrated a level of elusiveness burst, and top speed that none of his backups can match. He is a true starting-caliber back, and has demonstrated easily the most talent at the position since the decline and departure of Ray Rice--oh, and the Ravens didn't even have to spend a draft pick to acquire him.
Alex Collins leads the NFL in average yards per carry (6), but he has done so by breaking off some pretty impressive long runs. It's not uncommon to see the young back zig-zag his way up field for 20, 30, 40, or even 50 yards, and that's something else that the Ravens haven't consistently enjoyed since Ray Rice's prime. One major difference between Thursday's win over the Dolphins and the two losses immediately prior to it is the health of Matt Skura. The Ravens coaching staff appeared to prefer Skura to step in for Marshal Yanda after the all pro guard was placed on injured reserve in Week 2. Jermaine Eluemunor stepped in for Matt Skura when Skura became injured, but Eluemunor struggled to protect Flacco and open up running lanes during that time. None of the Ravens backup offensive linemen are even remotely one Marshal Yanda's level, but it's no shock that the return of Matt Skura against the Dolphins was accompanied by the most dominant offensive performance the Ravens have produced since hanging 31 points on an abysmal Raiders defense 3 weeks ago.
Some may question how Ravens players and fans could possibly feel excited after a game wherein Joe Flacco took a violent blow to the head that left the 10 year veteran concussed. The fact that the Ravens last game took place on a Thursday means that Flacco will have a full 10 days to pass concussion protocol and get ready to face an uneven Titans team in Tennessee. Concussions are all different, and there's no one set recovery time as they all vary in severity and what parts of the brain were affected. Ten days, however, gives Joe a strong chance to return for the next game, and Mike Wallace will hopefully be ready by that point too.
It must be noted that thumping the Dolphins in no way indicates the Ravens have officially and permanently turned their season around. The Ravens dominated the Dolphins last season in similar fashion, and Joe Flacco has never lost to Miami in his career. Sometimes a team simply matches up and game-plans well for a particular opponent. Baltimore outscored the Dolphins 78-6 in the last two meetings between these two teams. That doesn't mean that the Ravens are amazing or that the Dolphins are bad. The Ravens are 12-12 in their last 24 games without a playoff berth in since 2014. The Dolphins actually made the playoffs last season despite the loss of their starting quarterback. With that said, it sure is good to know the Ravens took care of business a team that has been red-hot as of late.
For all of John Harbaugh's publicly perceived faults, the Ravens have typically managed to hit their stride in the second half of seasons. For all the criticism Dean Pees has received over the years, the Ravens rank 6th in points allowed per game this season. Oh, and despite the claims that the Ravens offense ranks in the bottom two teams in the league in yardage per game, Baltimore actually ranks in the middle of the pack at 17th in points scored per game. If the Ravens do ultimately miss the playoffs, any combination of Harbaugh, Mornhinweg, or Pees could be gone, but each of these three men has found high level success in the past, and it's not outlandish to suggest they couldn't turn even this incredibly injured team into a consistent winner. Losing 4 out of their last 6 games certainly gave fans a feeling of hopelessness, but the Ravens lost 4 out of 5 games to finish the 2012 regular season...and we all know how that turned out.
Baltimore may find some way to squeak into the playoffs because of a fairly soft remaining schedule, but they'll need to find a way to get their explosive receiving corps consistently involved in the offense if they hope to beat other playoff teams. Mike Wallace hasn't even played the vast majority of the last two games, and he leads receivers with a meager 248 receiving yards on the season. Maclin has occasionally made a nice grab, but he's too good not to get more targets, and Breshad Perriman made some absolutely spectacular catches last season, so it mystifies me that he's been almost non-existent this year. If only one of these receiver took a statistical nosedive, it would make sense to suggest he was having a down year, but the fact that all three have produced at such depressed levels suggests that scheme and play-calling must be to blame. The Ravens offense faced 6 top 15 defenses in points allowed during their first 8 games, but they'll have plenty of opportunities to put on offensive fireworks displays in the second half of the season as 6 of their remaining 8 opponents rank in the bottom half of the league in points allowed per game, and many are dealing with significant season-ending injuries. The Packers, for example, lost Aaron Rodgers, and the Texans lost J.J. Watt.
The road ahead for the Ravens is by no means easy, but it's also not insurmountable. This organization hasn't found much success over the last few years, but here they sit at mid-season with only one less win than the top teams in the conference (that could, of course, change today). No team has looked consistently dominant in the AFC, and the Ravens two biggest foes, the Patriots and Steelers, have both showed major flaws at times. This could easily be a year where an 8-8 or 9-7 team secures a wildcard spot in the AFC, so don't lose hope yet Baltimore; we've got plenty of football left.
WEEK 8 NFL PICKS
VIKINGS AT BROWNS- The Browns will be lucky to get 100 yards of offense. VIKINGS 24-9
RAIDERS AT BILLS- Winners of 3 of their last 4 games, the Bills have started to pick up steam with wins against competitive teams. The Raiders, despite the return of Derek Carr, don't have the defense to stop the Bills. BILLS 31-28
COLTS AT BENGALS- The Bengals are down, but they're nowhere near as hopeless as the Colts this season. BENGALS 33-17
CHARGERS AT PATRIOTS- This will be an interesting game because of what the Chargers just did to the Broncos and Raiders. Philip Rivers and company won't struggle to move the ball on the Patriots defense, but I have a feeling Brady will find a way to engineer a late-game comeback. PATRIOTS 27-24
BEARS AT SAINTS- After beginning the season with two straight losses, the Saints have won 4 straight and demonstrated some offensive firepower along the way. The Bears have picked up steam as of late, but their success is predicated on their defense creating turnovers, and that's not something that can be counted on to happen on a weekly basis. SAINTS 30-21
FALCONS AT JETS- The Falcons aren't nearly as good as I thought they were, and the Jets aren't nearly as bad as I assumed they'd be. Atlanta has, as a matter of fact, lost their last 3 straight. It seems as though Las Vegas oddsmakers believe the Falcons will get back on track with a win in New Jersey today as they have Atlanta favored by 7, but it could be much tougher than they anticipate. FALCONS 23-20
49ERS AT EAGLES- Yeah...EAGLES 38-17
PANTHERS AT BUCCANEERS- The Buccaneers have lost close games to a good number of quality teams, but they've still only won two games on the season because "almost won" means you lost. PANTHERS 33-28
TEXANS AT SEAHAWKS- The Texans have almost exclusively beaten bottom-of-the-league teams, and the loss of J.J. Watt likely means the difference between being able to beat winning teams and only being relegated to beating up on the little guys. Meanwhile the Seahawks have the league's best defense that has only allowed 15.7 point per game. SEAHAWKS 28-17
COWBOYS AT REDSKINS- This is about as evenly matches as these two teams have been in a long time. The Cowboys are 2-1 on the road, and the Redskins are 2-1 at home. Both teams are 3-3 and will be fiercely vying for second place in the NFC East today. The Cowboys offense has picked up steam as of late, but their defense has allowed some teams to keep games close. In a divisional game where the teams appear incredibly evening matches, I tend to give the home team the nod, but I can't see a Redskins team that struggled to put the 49ers away stopping the Cowboys offense in what could be the last game Zeke plays for a while. COWBOYS 35-28
STEELERS AT LIONS- The Steelers have struggled offensively in nearly all of their road games (the Ravens game was sadly the one exception). Pittsburgh has, however, one of the best defenses in the league to this point, and that has helped them squeak out wins in games where their offense has sputtered. The Lions defense has looked pretty horrible at times this season though, and I expect the Steelers offense to have a road redemption game in Detroit today. STEELERS 38-20
BRONCOS AT CHIEFS- The after a strong start, the Broncos have lost 3 of their last 4 games. They're not going to snap that skid in Arrowhead Stadium. CHIEFS 27-21
THERE'S SOMETHING SO RELAXING ABOUT BEING ABLE TO KICK BACK ON A SUNDAY AND WATCH THE REST OF THE LEAGUE TEAR EACH OTHER APART. HAPPY HALLOWEEN, RAVEN NATION!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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