As Halloween nears, it’s time for good and bad teams to really separate themselves. By Nov. 1, teams should know whether they need to compete for playoff berths or try to build wins for next season.
The Bears find themselves in the mix at 4-2 but it’s not the most impressive 4-2 record, considering they had to skirt by the lowly Raiders and a regressing Commanders team with one-point wins.
The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, are sitting at a dismal 1-5 after coming into the season as Super Bowl
odds leaders. But with a talented roster and a proven coach, few are completely writing off the Ravens’ chances at righting the ship.
Especially when so much of it depends on health and they’ve had so little of it early in the season.
But fresh off their bye week, the Ravens look to get a few key players back, namely Lamar Jackson.
Now in his eighth season, Jackson faces Chicago for the first time…well, should he play. Jackson was limited yesterday, but it seems that most outlets believe he’ll be back.
Let’s meet this Ravens squad.
Baltimore Ravens
SB Nation site: Baltimore Beatdown
Record: 1-5, last in the AFC North
Last week: Bye week (before that, a 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams)
Game day, time, TV: Sunday, noon CT, CBS
Spread: The Ravens are 6.5-point favorites
Bears’ all-time record against: 4-3
Historical meetings: Week 7 of 2005, the Bears hosted the Ravens at Soldier Field.
Backup Anthony Wright led the Ravens, while Kyle Orton started for Chicago.
The teams traded punts before Orton found Marc Edwards for a one-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter.
The Bears’ defense dominated as the Ravens could only muster a couple of field goals. Chicago wasn’t much better but managed to tack on a field goal to win 10-6.
Thomas Jones rushed for 139 yards. The defense sacked Wright four times, led by Tank Johnson’s two sacks.
Last meeting: In another backup battle, Tyler Huntley started for the Ravens, while Andy Dalton eventually came in for an injured Justin Fields.
Neither team could do much outside of two Ravens field goals in the first half.
Dalton hit Darnell Mooney for a 60-yard TD in the third quarter. Baltimore added another field goal to go up 9-7.
Dalton led a second touchdown drive, hitting Marquise Goodwin for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 1:41 left in the game. A two-point attempt to make it a 6-point game failed.
But Huntley led the Ravens down the field and with just 22 seconds left, Devonta Freeman rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to lead a 16-13 Baltimore win.
Injury report: The Ravens listed three players on their Wednesday injury report.
Limited
- QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring)
- S Kyle Hamilton (groin)
Did not participate
- CB Marlon Humphrey (calf)
Offense: The Baltimore Ravens come into the game ranked 16th in points and 22nd in yards.
Their passing offense ranks 28th and their rushing offense ranks 10th.
Will Lamar Jackson (71.6 pct cmp./869 yds./10 TD/1 INT) return to the field this weekend? We have yet to know for sure, but it sure seems it’s trending that way.
If he is held out for one more week, Cooper Rush (65.4 pct cmp./303 yds./0/4 INT) would take his place.
The passing game’s weapons are Zay Flowers (34 rec./423 yds./1 TD), Mark Andrews (21/174/2), Rashod Bateman (11/120/1) and DeAndre Hopkins (9/178/2). Running backs Justice Hill (18/144/1) and Derrick Henry (5/44/0) also get involved.
On the ground, it’s still mostly about Henry (88 att./429 yds./4 TD). He’s still averaging a healthy 5.0 YPC at age 31. Hill (15/88/1) shares some of the workload. Obviously, Lamar Jackson (21/166/1) is as dynamic as they come in both the passing and run games.
Defense: The Ravens defense comes in ranked 32nd in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed.
Their passing offense ranks 28th, while their rushing defense ranks 26th.
They’ve battled a ton of injuries this year and a lot of key players have missed times.
Familiar face Roquan Smith (34 tkls/4 TFL/3 QB hits/1 FR) will be back and facing the team that drafted him.
Teddye Buchanan (49 tkls/2 TFL/1 QB hit/0.5 sk), Malaki Starks (39 tkls/1 TFL) and Trenton Simpson (30 tkls/2 TFL/2 QB hits/1.5 sk/1 PD) have been making plays for the defense.
Kyle Hamilton (35 tkls/1 TFL/1 QB hit/1 FF/2 PD) and Marlon Humphrey (18 tkls/2 PD) are big difference makers when healthy, but they have both missed one game so far this season.
Nate Wiggins (19 tkls/1 INT/4 PD) leads the Ravens in interceptions and PDs. Tavius Robinson (2 sk/2 TFL/4 QB hits/1 FF) and Nnamdi Madubuike (2 sk/2 TFL/3 QB hits) lead Baltimore’s pass rush.
Key matchups: Not to lean too much into cliches but this could be an old school game in the sense of who can run the ball and who can stop the run?
The Bears have found ground success and their defense has started slowing opponents down. But the Ravens will be a real challenge here. Henry has had a slow-ish start to the year, but we all know what he’s capable of.
If Lamar Jackson plays, this game looks a whole lot different. He’s one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic player in the league.
The Ravens are getting healthier, but their defense has been bad, mostly due to injuries. There will be chances for big plays, so Caleb Williams will have to be sharp and play on time.
Key stats
- John Harbaugh’s Ravens are 14-3 following their bye week. Two of those losses came at home.
- Lamar Jackson is 24-5 against NFC opponents and 3-1 against the NFC North
- This would be Jackson’s first game against the Bears
- The Ravens defense has one interception on the season. Opposing passers have a 108.4 rating against them and a 8.2 ANY/A, which is the fifth-highest in the league
- Baltimore is tied for the least sacks in the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars
What’s it going to take for the Bears to get a big road win as nearly touchdown underdogs? Can they upset the Ravens if Lamar plays?
