The Ravens got their act together in Week 2, dominating the Browns on both sides of the ball on their way to a 41-17 victory. The offense responded to Cleveland’s stout run defense with four touchdowns through the air, and Roquan Smith earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for one of his best performances in purple and black.
Next up are the Lions, a team the Ravens throttled in Baltimore two years ago. John Harbaugh and his staff should still have the basic blueprint from that matchup, but
personnel and coaching changes on both sides will offer plenty of new, exciting dynamics on the field. Here’s how the Ravens can bring their record to 2-1 on Monday night.
1. Get an early lead
The Ravens are going to be missing two of their best front seven players in this one, with Kyle Van Noy and Nnamdi Madubuike down, the latter being the best pass rusher on the team. Even more so, the two of them being down will severely hurt the Ravens ability to stop the run. Against Jahmyr Gibbs, that’s not ideal for success.
It will be imperative for the Ravens to start fast and get points on the board early, unlike last week against Cleveland. Putting the Lions in chase mode will help guys like Odafe Oweh, Mike Green, and Fub Peebles pin their ears back and get after Jared Goff, who isn’t mobile and historically gets rattled when hit a lot.
2. Feed Zay Flowers
The Ravens will likely look to get their run game with Derrick Henry kickstarted again after a disappointing Week 2. They will probably be able to as well. But the Ravens should look to send Zay Flowers, who dominates against cover one and cover three coverage, on crossers and generate a ton of explosive plays. The Lions run single high safety on nearly 75% of their plays but are 25th in EPA when they do. Flowers running with the ball in his hands over the middle of the field should be the game plan early and often.
Lamar Jackson threw for 375 yards when they played Detroit in 2023 and Flowers went for 75 yards himself. Detroit’s scheme hasn’t changed much since then and their corners, Terrion Arnold and DJ Reed, aren’t starting the season strongly. If the Lions stick to their game plan and don’t drastically change for this matchup, Jackson should be able to dice them up with his arm.
3. Hit Jared Goff
Like last week against Joe Flacco, Jared Goff is one of the least mobile quarterbacks the Ravens will play this year. Even with Madubuike and Van Noy down, the pass rush has to win today if the Ravens don’t want to get into a shootout. As I said earlier, Goff has historically been a quarterback who gets rattled and off his rhythm when hit. It can wreck an offensive gameplan, especially if the Ravens can do it early.
The Lions are young on their interior offensive line. While Oweh and Green getting pressure would be awesome, don’t count on it against this tackle duo. It needs to be Travis Jones and Peebles wreaking havoc on the inside to get to Goff.
4. Find the turnover
It’s been a talking point all offseason and training camp. This Ravens defense wants to be the sword and not the shield. They want to make game changing plays, not just leave it up to Jackson and the offense. In Buffalo, they were passive and just the shield, didn’t make the plays. Week 1 and against Josh Allen, they didn’t look to attack.
In Week 2, they changed it. They disguised, were aggressive, looked to make plays. They generated two turnovers. That has to be the formula, not being scared to get burned. The defensive compliment to Lamar Jackson isn’t a passive defense. It’s an aggressive one that looks to generate turnovers, knowing if they get burned every now and then, their quarterback is there to put points up.
If the Ravens don’t turn this into a blowout, which is a possibility if Jackson gets surgical and Goff gets rattled, then it’s going to be a tight contest in the fourth quarter. My soul tells me there will be a moment where the defense can generate a game changing, game sealing turnover late. If this is a tight game, that moment will be the deciding factor in a win or loss for the Ravens.
