Let's talk about the Ravens.

[Direckshun]

The Ravens are a uniquely weird team in Week 14 of the NFL season.

They're weird because their QB position is a great unknown.

Joe Flacco is, of course, the world's most underwhelming Super Bowl MVP, and has sucked this year. We know who he is, we have millions of hours of underwhelming tape to depressingly watch. And he returned to practice this week, but did not play, Eric Berry style.

But that might change. He may see the field.

Which is interesting, because their backup QB, Lamar Jackson, a 1st round selection by the Ravens (albeit with the 32nd pick), is a very weird player. He runs, and runs, and runs with the ball. His completion percentage is a not-terrible 60%. And he's only played three weeks, so tape on him is slim.

We know this: he is fast, he is not afraid to run the ball, and he's a damn gazelle when he does.

The good news: we can probably spy him. His weapons are bleak. Alex Collins is his #1 RB, and he's averaging 3.6 yards a carry. His #1 receiver is John Brown, who initially looked like Tyreek Hill when he first hit the league, but has since statistically slowed down and is now just a good receiver with very difficult speed to account for. Michael Crabtree is their #2 alongside Willie Snead, and Tyreek Hill has more yardage than both of those guys combined, but Crabtree has had good games against us in the past.

As a result, the Ravens are still somehow 13th in the league in yardage, they are averaging 25 points a game.

The Ravens have good pass protection, as they've only given up like 25 sacks or something like that. Ronnie Stanley is their LT.

But really, the Ravens offense wins by trying to run the ball, passing decently, and then letting Lamar Jackson get creative.

As far as the defense is concerned.................. biggest test of the year right here folks.

#1 rated defense in yardage (they're allowing under 300 yards/game).
#1 rated defense in points (they're allowing 17 points/game).

I think it's safe to say we're going to beat those averages but they should still slow us down pretty significantly. I don't know if Patty will have another 4 TD game here.

The Ravens get good pressure on the QB -- they're 9th in the league in sacks, and the pressure comes from everywhere. Suggs has always played well against us but he only has 5.5 this year. They blitz a good amount.

Simply put, the Ravens pass defense will be the biggest challenge Mahomes faces all year. They're allowing under 200 yards passing all season. Eric Weddle is a goddamn general at the back of their defense, and they've got a solid corner or two despite the fact that none of their corners are true ballhawks. Brandon Carr will make a rare appearance against the Chiefs, which is whatever, but he's apparently playing well.

The Ravens have a mean defensive line, and maybe the meanest NT in the league in Brandon Williams. I'm willing to bet they drop everyone in coverage, smother Kelce, and dare Spencer Ware to beat their DL. That's a very tall order, and I don't think our run game is up to the challenge. Mahomes will need to tap every ounce of his MVP talent to get yardage.

In special teams, they have arguably the greatest kicker in modern NFL history in Justin Tucker. They've had one punt return for a TD.

They're 7-5. They're on a three game win streak. Lamar Jackson has started all three games.

Their wins: Bills, Broncos, @Steelers, @Titans, Bengals (no Dalton), Raiders, @Falcons
Losses: @Bengals (Dalton), @Browns, Saints, @Panthers, Steelers

That schedule is all over the place. They beat Pitt in Pitt, but pathetically lose to the Browns. The most damning game on the schedule is the Saints game, where they only lost by a point.

How is this team so good? I've asked before. They have no elite talent on offense and are still racking up yardage and point. They have a damn good defense but don't intercept the ball and they don't have any sack masters like the Chiefs do.

What is going on?

[carcosa]

Chiefs will win!

/thread

[camdenyard]

Hi guys. Nice board.

When I look at this game, I think back to the Ravens' Denver playoff game in the 2012 Super Bowl season.

I felt like our defense could hold them down (we got a few key players back from injury for that game) enough for us to win. I wasn't confident of a win then, but I think I was in the minority that I thought we had a pretty decent chance.

I have a similar feeling about this game. I think nobody (except Tony Romo) is giving our defense enough credit. We are #1 in yards and points, way up there in several statistical categories. We give up 4.6 yards/play and nobody else is within .3 yards/play. And that is with very limited help from turnovers. What they did to Atlanta last week was shocking. They hadn't been held to 131 yards at home since 1977. Ryan never has been held down like that for a whole game. And that was a good passing offense.

KC has one of the worst defenses in the NFL as you are painfully aware. Add in our recent ability to hold the ball and get big TOP advantages, and this is setting up to be something KC hasn't seen all year.

For those that say "oh, but Arrowhead is the toughest place to play, especially in December.." - I point out that the last 3 times the Ravens have played there, they have won. Once in December, once in January (I went to that one ). Pittsburgh is a hard place to win too, as is NE - but this team doesn't seem to be intimidated in those stadiums. Defense usually travels well.

Obviously we need to limit KC's possessions and score points on ours. I think 27 is the magic number. If we score more than that, I think we win. No prediction aside from that.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Hi guys. Nice board.


Obviously we need to limit KC's possessions and score points on ours. I think 27 is the magic number. If we score more than that, I think we win. No prediction aside from that.

Welcome to the board. Your 27 points might keep them close......in the first half. I'd say it'll take 35 or more to beat the Chiefs. And thats only if the Ravens defense is up to par. Oh yea, you can throw out any idea about T.O.P. affecting the Chiefs scoring ability. You might want to watch some of the Chiefs games from this year and see if you still have the same opinion. This offense is Wam Bam thank you Mam, I'll take another touchdown.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

KC needs 21 to win IMO. No one scares a defense on that team outside of Jackson’s ability to run, and the KC defense has proven to be different at home.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Hi guys. Nice board.

When I look at this game, I think back to the Ravens' Denver playoff game in the 2012 Super Bowl season.

I felt like our defense could hold them down (we got a few key players back from injury for that game) enough for us to win. I wasn't confident of a win then, but I think I was in the minority that I thought we had a pretty decent chance.

I have a similar feeling about this game. I think nobody (except Tony Romo) is giving our defense enough credit. We are #1 in yards and points, way up there in several statistical categories. We give up 4.6 yards/play and nobody else is within .3 yards/play. And that is with very limited help from turnovers. What they did to Atlanta last week was shocking. They hadn't been held to 131 yards at home since 1977. Ryan never has been held down like that for a whole game. And that was a good passing offense.

KC has one of the worst defenses in the NFL as you are painfully aware. Add in our recent ability to hold the ball and get big TOP advantages, and this is setting up to be something KC hasn't seen all year.

For those that say "oh, but Arrowhead is the toughest place to play, especially in December.." - I point out that the last 3 times the Ravens have played there, they have won. Once in December, once in January (I went to that one ). Pittsburgh is a hard place to win too, as is NE - but this team doesn't seem to be intimidated in those stadiums. Defense usually travels well.

Obviously we need to limit KC's possessions and score points on ours. I think 27 is the magic number. If we score more than that, I think we win. No prediction aside from that.

The “last three times” you played here you got Todd Haley and Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn.

Sorry dude. Our defense allows 17.6 points a game at home. Lamar Jackson is the worst passer we’ve seen all year by a long shot. And your defense is solid, but you’ve never seen an offense like this (Drew Brees doesn’t count since it wasn’t in a dome).

Mahomes and this defense at home...it’s another dimension. Ravens haven’t seen anything like it all year. I think it will be closer than our last meeting (34-14) but still a Chiefs win

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Hi guys. Nice board.

When I look at this game, I think back to the Ravens' Denver playoff game in the 2012 Super Bowl season.

I felt like our defense could hold them down (we got a few key players back from injury for that game) enough for us to win. I wasn't confident of a win then, but I think I was in the minority that I thought we had a pretty decent chance.

I have a similar feeling about this game. I think nobody (except Tony Romo) is giving our defense enough credit. We are #1 in yards and points, way up there in several statistical categories. We give up 4.6 yards/play and nobody else is within .3 yards/play. And that is with very limited help from turnovers. What they did to Atlanta last week was shocking. They hadn't been held to 131 yards at home since 1977. Ryan never has been held down like that for a whole game. And that was a good passing offense.

KC has one of the worst defenses in the NFL as you are painfully aware. Add in our recent ability to hold the ball and get big TOP advantages, and this is setting up to be something KC hasn't seen all year.

For those that say "oh, but Arrowhead is the toughest place to play, especially in December.." - I point out that the last 3 times the Ravens have played there, they have won. Once in December, once in January (I went to that one ). Pittsburgh is a hard place to win too, as is NE - but this team doesn't seem to be intimidated in those stadiums. Defense usually travels well.

Obviously we need to limit KC's possessions and score points on ours. I think 27 is the magic number. If we score more than that, I think we win. No prediction aside from that.

Howdy. Cordial, non-douche fans of other teams are always welcome to bring intelligent football takes to the board. Since you seem to make the cut, I will respond.

You bring up some fair points. I certainly respect the Ravens defense and I like some of what I've seen from Lamar Jackson(who is on the verge of taking me to the fantasy playoffs in my 2 QB league). Undoubtedly, any team with a 1/2 decent run game will be licking it's chops to get a bite of our soft as butter run defense. However, I think you're off on a couple things:

1. While the Ravens have won in KC recently, as you point out, those Chiefs teams were not quarterbacked by the MVP of the league. This one is.

2. You're 27 point mark seems ambitious. If both teams we've lost to would have scored 28 points, they both would've basically been blown out. Score 35 plus or don't bother.

3. Rookie QB's starting at Arrowhead for the first time have a less than stellar win ratio. LJ has played one game on the road at the home field of a fair weather, disappointed fan base. Arrowhead will be loud as hell and certainly could rattle him. I'm considering benching him for stupid Derek Carr in fantasy. I'm serious. I could easily see a scenario where Lamar makes an early mistake or two, the Ravens go down 14-0 and he gets pulled for Flacco.

4. Many a team has planned to win the TOP and grind out the Chiefs. Many a team has found themselves down double digits before they knew what had happened.

Looking forward to a good game. I got Chiefs 31-27 in a game that is not as close as the final score.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by Best22

The “last three times” you played here you got Todd Haley and Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn.

Sorry dude. Our defense allows 17.6 points a game at home. Lamar Jackson is the worst passer we’ve seen all year by a long shot. And your defense is solid, but you’ve never seen an offense like this (Drew Brees doesn’t count since it wasn’t in a dome).

Mahomes and this defense at home...it’s another dimension. Ravens haven’t seen anything like it all year. I think it will be closer than our last meeting (34-14) but still a Chiefs win

And on top of all this, what most people I don’t think realize until playing against KC is Mahomes already has that special ability that essentially takes the opposition’s pass rush out of the game. KC is giving up 1.67 sacks per game this year and they’ve faced some of the absolute best pass rush units this league has to offer including Pittsburgh, LAC, LAR, Jacksonville, Arizona, and Denver twice.

The kid gets rid of the ball so fast and is so hard to contain in the pocket. It’s the closest thing we’ve seen to prime Aaron Rodgers as far as that goes. You can’t keep him in the pocket but you also don’t want him to throw on the run because he’s just as good at that. You just have to hope that he’s off for the day.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

And if that Ravens injury report holds firm.... woosh. That’s no bueno for that secondary.

[mr. tegu]

Ravens fans are saying all of the same things everyone has said all season about how they can win. I don’t blame them though. As Chiefs fans we spent years doing the same thing trying to figure out how to beat a better QB. The problem is despite all of the things we said the Chiefs could do in the past to get a win, even if done perfectly it was never enough against the QBs who were clearly better than ours.

I’ve seen the all the same keys to victory such as win TOP, Mahomes only throws to wide open receivers (I invite any Ravens fans to look at the gif thread to dispel that notion outright), they haven’t faced this defense, force TOs, their defense is terrible and almost lost to the Raiders, etc. But those things are still all irrelevant because only one set of circumstances has been shown as a way to beat this Chiefs team and they are quite absurd to occur with any regularity. If they don’t happen you will lose by double digits or get some garbage points and yards and make it closer than it was.

- You have to score with your defense (NE got it to the one yard line so close enough)
- You have to force multiple TOs on Mahomes
- You have to have arguably the best coach in the conference
- You have to have a top of the line QB
- You have to score 41 points or more
- And last but not least you have to be playing at home in prime time

So if you have all of those things you can get the win but you will still only win by three points and feel pretty fortunate to win whereas if you were playing against any other team you would have won by three scores.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Take aways


KC +6
Balt -6

Let's be gettin Mahomes the ball back for a couple extra TDs

[carcosa]

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Hi guys. Nice board.

When I look at this game, I think back to the Ravens' Denver playoff game in the 2012 Super Bowl season.

I felt like our defense could hold them down (we got a few key players back from injury for that game) enough for us to win. I wasn't confident of a win then, but I think I was in the minority that I thought we had a pretty decent chance.

I have a similar feeling about this game. I think nobody (except Tony Romo) is giving our defense enough credit. We are #1 in yards and points, way up there in several statistical categories. We give up 4.6 yards/play and nobody else is within .3 yards/play. And that is with very limited help from turnovers. What they did to Atlanta last week was shocking. They hadn't been held to 131 yards at home since 1977. Ryan never has been held down like that for a whole game. And that was a good passing offense.

KC has one of the worst defenses in the NFL as you are painfully aware. Add in our recent ability to hold the ball and get big TOP advantages, and this is setting up to be something KC hasn't seen all year.

For those that say "oh, but Arrowhead is the toughest place to play, especially in December.." - I point out that the last 3 times the Ravens have played there, they have won. Once in December, once in January (I went to that one ). Pittsburgh is a hard place to win too, as is NE - but this team doesn't seem to be intimidated in those stadiums. Defense usually travels well.

Obviously we need to limit KC's possessions and score points on ours. I think 27 is the magic number. If we score more than that, I think we win. No prediction aside from that.

EAT SHIT!!!!!!!

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

And if that Ravens injury report holds firm.... woosh. That’s no bueno for that secondary.

https://www.chiefs.com/news/chiefs-v...-injury-report

[SuperBowl4]

Originally Posted by Bump

really good defense and Lamar Jackson seems to be making plays.

Who was really the first team to figure out Michael Vick and shut him down completely? It was Andy Reid's Eagles in the championship game after the Falcons beat the Packers and that was a huge upset. Hopefully we can do the same here.

Was Bob Sutton with the Eagles then?

[Mecca]

The way the Ravens are playing offense is not sustainable at all, if they get behind they are ****ed.

Chiefs need to jump out early and put pressure on Jackson, he'll make mistakes.

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Ravens fans are saying all of the same things everyone has said all season about how they can win. I don’t blame them though. As Chiefs fans we spent years doing the same thing trying to figure out how to beat a better QB. The problem is despite all of the things we said the Chiefs could do in the past to get a win, even if done perfectly it was never enough against the QBs who were clearly better than ours.

I’ve seen the all the same keys to victory such as win TOP, Mahomes only throws to wide open receivers (I invite any Ravens fans to look at the gif thread to dispel that notion outright), they haven’t faced this defense, force TOs, their defense is terrible and almost lost to the Raiders, etc. But those things are still all irrelevant because only one set of circumstances has been shown as a way to beat this Chiefs team and they are quite absurd to occur with any regularity. If they don’t happen you will lose by double digits or get some garbage points and yards and make it closer than it was.

- You have to score with your defense (NE got it to the one yard line so close enough)
- You have to force multiple TOs on Mahomes
- You have to have arguably the best coach in the conference
- You have to have a top of the line QB
- You have to score 41 points or more
- And last but not least you have to be playing at home in prime time

So if you have all of those things you can get the win but you will still only win by three points and feel pretty fortunate to win whereas if you were playing against any other team you would have won by three scores.

The only way you slow down Mahomes this season is to bring extra pressure and get there when you bring it. If you don't get there and Mahomes gets out of the pocket he is absolutely lethal. Only team that had any luck at it were the Jags and they lost by 16.