Eagles-Ravens Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with the Week 13 enemy

Opponent perspective on Philadelphia’s upcoming matchup.

The Philadelphia Eagles are taking a relatively quick trip down I-95 to M&T Bank Stadium this weekend to face the Baltimore Ravens. It’s an interconference battle between two of the NFL’s best teams.

In order to preview this Week 13 tilt, I reached out to our enemies over at Baltimore Beatdown. The knowledgeable Kyle Phoenix kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to BB.]

1) Lamar Jackson’s arguably having the best season of his career. Why’s that been the case?

Multiple factors are why Jackson is playing better than he ever has. He’s in Year 7 of his career, so he’s gained the wisdom of NFL play. He’s reaching his peak as he turns 28 years old in January. He’s in Year 2 under OC Todd Monken, and his receiving unit from the first year returned healthy. Add in running back Derrick Henry, a resurgent season from left tackle Ronnie Stanley and it’s all come together for him. The Ravens have a full arsenal of weapons, he’s making excellent decisions and doesn’t have to play hero ball.

2 – We know Jackson and Derrick Henry are the biggest strengths of the offense. What are the biggest weaknesses?

There are two weaknesses for the Ravens’ offense.

The first being self-inflicted penalties. It may sound braggadocios, but I believe the Ravens are the only team capable of stopping themselves. When they aren’t facing 1st & 20s or 2nd & 18s because of holding penalties, false starts or illegal formations, they’re persistently ahead of the chains and capable of playing however they want. They’re running downfield with Henry, or Jackson is connecting with his pass-catchers, be them tight ends or receivers. But they’re the most penalized team in the NFL and it’s because they are constantly hurting themselves.

Their second weakness is the interior guards. Both Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele are of starting quality, but they’re not the mauling type many imagine in Ravens’ history.

3 – The Ravens’ pass defense has struggled. Why have they been so vulnerable?

The defense has been nothing if not perplexing. Only a few weeks in, they became the worst-ranked pass defense in the NFL. And in Week 12, they find themselves ranked No. 31, hardly passed over by the Jaguars. But, in the month of November, they’ve turned things around.Over the past four games, the Ravens’ defense is ranked No. 8 in yards per play allowed (5.0), No. 6 in success rate and No. 11 in EPA per play, according to TruMedia. This includes the Bengals’ offense going supernova on them in their rematch (yet Cincy fell short in the win column).

Things have mightily changed after the Ravens benched safety Marcus Williams and cut veteran Eddie Jackson after his public benching vs. Steelers. Instead, they have safeties Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington on the back end and are no longer allowing repeated explosive plays downfield. Things are being kept in front of them. And while it takes Hamilton from impacting the line of scrimmage more, it’s a significant boost.The Ravens’ cornerbacks are also in better shape. Marlon Humphrey is having an All-Pro season, rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins has been solid and is getting more reps. The Ravens are also rotating Brandon Stephens and new addition Tre’Davious White, who is playing with confidence and looks better than he did with the Los Angeles Rams, who healthy scratched him before trading him to Baltimore. The back end of the defense has become more solid, and the pass rush has found their stride. In Week 12, they ranked No. 4 in QB pressures (154), No 1 in QB hits (82) and tied for third in sacks (35).

So much of their issue(s) started and ended with the safety unit and secondary simply incapable of defending big plays downfield.This is not to say the Eagles won’t be a serious issue. I’m not pretending this is some 2000 Ravens defense. Only saying the turnaround has been significant over the past month and they appear to have turned a corner. But they’ll need to prove it for more than a trio of games before it’s official.

4 – Can you give us some under-the-radar Ravens contributors to watch out for in this game? One on offense and one on defense.

When Derrick Henry is off the field, it’s a good thing for any defense. But, it’s not a chance for the defense to sleep on his backup, Justice Hill. The fifth-year back has an excellent complement to Henry and Jackson’s style, with speed, agility, good hands and some of the best pass-blocking/blitz pickup you’ll see.

Teams feel confidence when Henry’s off to go with a lighter box. Hill will punish that, as seen last week against the Chargers when he ripped a new career-best 51-yard rushing touchdown.

Defensively, I’ll go with outside linebacker Odafe Oweh. He’s been primed for a breakout season for years now, but with the team no longer putting (worthy) free agent additions above him like Jadeveon Clowney last season, he’s getting a bigger role and making the most of it. He’s been stuffing the stat sheet with eight sacks, 19 quarterback hits and is persistently getting pressure off the edge.

Another defender worth their salt is defensive tackle Travis Jones. His development in Year 2 has been impressive, and he’s commanding double-teams that are freeing up the likes of Oweh and Nnamdi Madubuike.

5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as three-point road underdogs, what’s your score prediction? And then what are you expecting from the rest of this Ravens season?

The Ravens tend to show up against the best in the NFC. I feel this will be no different. A tough, time-of-possession-styled contest where both offenses hammer the run game and blend in play action to attack downfield could be an entertaining battle of physicality and willpower. I think it comes down to the wire, though, and the Ravens being favored by three points to a winning field goal.

The expectations for the Ravens are Super Bowl or bust. Get into the postseason and find out what happens. They have the team to win it all. But, they have to solve their postseason woes and break through.