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Giants (2-11) Ravens (8-5)
The Ravens were on a bye week coming off a
loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles. In that game the Ravens started off with
a 9-0 lead, but the Eagles defense kicked in and the Ravens took a 24-19 loss.
On
Sunday the Giants lost their game to the New Orleans Saints. The Giants closed
the gap near the end, but a tying field goal which would have put them into overtime
was blocked, giving them a 14-11 loss. Baltimore
Ravens
The Ravens were in the playoffs in
five of the last six years, winning the AFC North division title in three of them.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson was their starting quarterback in all those years, and
in the one where they missed the playoffs, Jackson had suffered a season ending
ankle injury. Last year the Ravens won in the Divisional Playoffs before losing
in the AFC Championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs. Jackon won his second
NFL MVP award for the 2023 season.
Baltimore Ravens Offense
You
wouldn't think that Lamar Jackson could top the kind of year he came off, but
right now he's playing some of the best football in his career. Last year he threw
24 touchdowns, and had 7 interceptions. In thirteen games this season, Jackson's
thrown 29 touchdowns, and has just 3 interceptions. Jackson had also set a career
high with his passing yards, and looks to top that as well, averaging 8.7 yards
a pass to 8.0. Jackson's been careful taking sacks. Last year it was up at 37,
and now it's 19 with just four games left to go.
Jackson's favorite target
has been wide receiver Zay Flowers, as it was last year, and Rashod Bateman is
next. Jackson also likes to throw to his tight ends, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
Andrews leads the team with 7 touchdowns. Bateman has 5, and Flowers and Likely
each have 4. Running back Derrick Henry has been in the mix with 2 touchdown catches,
to go along with his 13 rushing touchdowns. Henry signed on with the Ravens in
free agency after playing eight seasons in Tennessee, and has been a work horse
for the team. Henry is hard to bring down, and is averaging a career high 5.9
yards a carry. Baltimore
Ravens Defense
The
Ravens came up with 60 sacks last season, the most of any team, and 18 interceptions,
the third most in the league. The Ravens defense was also the best in the NFL,
in allowing just 16.5 points a game to be scored against them. They have a new
defensive coordinator, and some things have slipped this year. The Ravens are
now in 24th place, with teams averaging 24.5 points a game against them. The Ravens
have also dropped to last place from sixth, with their passing defense allowing
265 yards a game. Hearing the downturns, it's surprising to then note that the
Ravens have the best rushing defense in the league.
They have 41 sacks on the
season, third from the top. They could jump up a notch, as this week
they're up against the Giants, fielding an ever changing offensive line, and busy
shuffling quarterbacks in and out. Linebackers
Van Noy, and Odafe Oweh share the Ravens team lead with 8 sacks each.
They have been working on their passing defense, and it's shown a major improvement
over the past few games. That's not good news for the Giants, who continue to
struggle with their offense, and fail to put up points. NY
Giants Offense
Last week Drew Lock was in
his second start for the Giants, and though he had more time to prepare, things
did not go well. Lock completed 21 of his 49 passes for 227 yards, and he had
one interception. Lock also ran with the ball 5 times for 59 yards, and that made
him the leading rusher, as the Giants rushing attack didn't show up. Tyrone Tracy
had the Giants only touchdown in the game, on one of his 16 carries for 45 yards.
The Giants went 5-19 on third down plays, and converted on just one of their three
red zone trips.
There were a number of dropped passes. Malik Nabers was the
leading receiver with 79 yards, catching 5 of the 10 passes thrown his way. Tracy
also caught 5 of 10 for 38 yards. Wan'Dale Robinson was targeted the most with
11 passes, and he pulled in just 4 for 38 yards. Darius Slayton came up with 2
receptions on 6 targets for 26 yards. The Giants did rediscover tight end Daniel
Bellinger, and he was the second leading receiver, and most reliable catching
5 of 7 for 45 yards.
The connection between quarterback and receiver just wasn't
there for the Giants that game, and even if Lock didn't hurt his heel and left
elbow, we might still have seen Tommy DeVito step in for this one with the Ravens.
The Giants offense has taken a downfall ever since left tackle Andrew Thomas was
injured. There have been various substitutions on the offensive line, and this
week they will be missing guard Jon Runyan for the first time this season. Giants
Defense
Lamar Jackson is a dual threat,
and has finished either first or second in rushing yards on the team in all the
six seasons he's played. Jackson leads the NFL in yards rushing by a quarterback.
Running back Derrick Henry was a great addition to the team, and these two players
have accounted for 101 of the teams total 117 rushing first downs. The Ravens
are second to the top place Philadelphia Eagles with their rushing average at
179 yards a game. So opposing defenses know what they're up against, and to add
to all that, the Ravens are a top five passing team.
In all the games the Ravens
have lost, Henry has been held to less than 100 rushing yards. The Giants run
defense has been poor this season, but last week Saints top running back Alvin
Kamara, and the rest of the team, came up with just 92 total rushing yards. That
sounds encouraging, but could be fools gold, as the Saints didn't have Taysom
Hill available. The Giants defense played well overall against the Saints, allowing
just two touchdowns in that game. Cornerback Tre Hawkins came up with an interception,
and the Giants hadn't had one since the first week of the season.
Shane Bowen
was the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for three years before
he took over that same spot with the Giants. Bowen's knowledge of Henry during
the years they were both there together, could be very helpful to his players
efforts to stop Henry from doing too much damage. Missing tackles has been an
issue, and missing them against Henry and Jackson can lead to big plays. The Ravens
pass protection has been good for Jackson, so he might have time to exploit the
Giants secondary. Cornerbacks Cor'Dale Flott is doubtful, Deonte Banks is questionable,
and Dru Phillips is out. Overall
The Ravens are coming off a bye week, giving
them plenty of time to plan for the Giants. How could they resist looking ahead
to their next matchup, a division game with the Pittsburgh Steelers? The Ravens
are right behind Pittsburgh in this division, and they lost to them a short time
ago. The Steelers will be playing in Philadelphia on Sunday, and it's too bad
it's not at the same time as this Giants game. It would have been a helpful distraction.
If the Ravens get comfortable, and lose focus thinking about next week, it's one
of the things that could work against them. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Ravens (8-5)
at Giants (2-11)
Sunday at 1:00pm Commanders
(8-5) at Saints (5-8)
Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys (5-8) at Panthers (3-10)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Steelers (10-3) at Eagles (11-2)
The Commanders and Eagles are the
NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Games
Dec
22 Giants at Falcons
Dec 29 Colts at Giants
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