I’ve already seen many Detroit Lions fans move on quickly from the team’s 52-21 victory over the Chicago Bears, and that’s because a daunting game lies ahead. On Monday, the Lions will travel to the east coast to take on an impressive-looking Baltimore Ravens team.
The Ravens may be 1-1, but they boast one of the best offenses in the league by almost every metric. They lead the league in points (40.5 PPG), and yards per play (6.5). They’re second in EPA/per play and DVOA. They’re top five in yards per pass attempt (fourth), yards per carry (t-first), and passer rating (first).
On top of that, the Lions have struggled immensely against the Ravens in the past. The scars from Detroit’s 38-6 loss in Baltimore just two years ago have got some Lions fans worried about how they’ll play this year. The Lions have never won in Baltimore, and they’re only 1-6 against them all-time.
So how will the Lions try to end the skid this week? On this week’s Midweek Mailbag podcast, we try to answer that question.
As always with the Ravens offense, it starts with stopping Lamar Jackson. Last week against the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams, the Lions did an excellent job keeping the quarterback in the pocket and limiting his ability to scramble. In essence, they forced Williams to beat them with his arm… and he didn’t.
But Detroit won’t have that luxury this week. Jackson, a two-time MVP, is fully capable of beating teams in both the passing and the running game. Take last week, for example. The Cleveland Browns held the Ravens rushing offense to just 45 rushing yards and 2.1 yards per carry. That’s the lowest rushing total from the Ravens since they drafted Jackson in 2018 (excluding games Jackson missed). So the Browns must have kept things competitive, right?
Nope, the Ravens still put up 41 points, as Jackson completed 19-of-29 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. They were certainly helped by their defense and special teams—who gave them short fields via a blocked punt, interception, and also had a fumble recovery touchdown—but Jackson was still able to convert those opportunities into scores.
So will the Lions employ a similar strategy to what they did against the Bears? If so, who will need to play better (hint: the secondary)? And how will the Lions adjust if they don’t have Marcus Davenport?
We discuss that and a lot more on this week’s Midweek Mailbag podcast. You can listen below, or watch on our YouTube and Twitch channels.
Other topics on this week’s show:
Source link
