The Kansas City Chiefs will finally get to play at the comfort of Arrowhead Stadium in Week Three. This week will not be an easy task, though. Their opponents, the Baltimore Ravens, are likely the best team they will have seen so far. Some people will nitpick and say the Ravens have had an easy schedule in the first two weeks. But, you can’t deny their own beliefs that this Lamar Jackson offense is revolutionary.
At least that is the way Baltimore described this offseason. Jackson stepped in as the starter last year. He has only lost one regular season game. It came against the Chiefs at Arrowhead last year, in a thriller. Knowing how that game played out, added in with how hot the Ravens have started this year makes this matchup a juicy one. Now, it’s time for us to get to know the Chiefs opponent for this week. From behind enemy lines, here is our look at the Baltimore Ravens.
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Silencing The Doubters
Many analysts didn’t see Lamar Jackson having success as a quarterback at the NFL level. It wasn’t just him achieving success, plenty said he would never play QB period. Ever since he stepped in for Joe Flacco last year, Jackson has kept the Ravens in every game. We mentioned his only regular season loss has come against Kansas City. Due to that hot run he delivered last year, it allowed the Ravens to punch a playoff ticket. If it wasn’t for Jackson, Baltimore would have been watching the postseason from their couch last January.
Additionally, there is proof in the stat sheets that Jackson is more than a running quarterback. Entering this week, he has thrown thirteen touchdown passes to just three interceptions. It’s more than evident, he doesn’t force many passes into traffic, and takes shots when needed. Furthermore, Jackson enters this game just like Patrick Mahomes. Both men have thrown for seven touchdowns and have yet to throw an interception this year. If the Chiefs fail to cover every blade of grass, they could get beat by Jackson in a plethora of ways.
Dirty Birds
Along with this multidimensional offense, the Ravens have always had great defenses. Head coach John Harbaugh seems to make any player they bring in work on that side of the ball. It is often with prospects who were not highly touted coming into the league. Definitely some of them were. But many diamonds in the rough, often lead to playing on the Ravens defense.
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For example, hardly anyone knew the name Patrick Onwuasor before his NFL days. The linebacker went undrafted out of Portland State in 2016, and he has been a tackling machine for this team. He also hasn’t missed a game since 2017. Meanwhile, two of the Ravens starters on the defensive line came from small schools as well. Brandon Williams (Missouri Southern) and Michael Pierce (Samford) are both some of the best run stuffers in the entire league. If there’s any defense that may have the secrets going up against the Chiefs offense, Baltimore has all the ingredients to get it done.
Division Champs?
It’s still early and there is a lot of games left to be played. However, the Ravens feel like division favorites in the AFC North. The Steelers lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the season with an elbow injury. Also, Pittsburgh is already 0-2. The Browns came into the season with a ton of hype. They have yet to prove they are ready to take that next step, and they still have a ton of tough games to go. Could the Bengals surprise? Sure, but that would be out of nowhere. Cincinnati is also 0-2. The Baltimore Ravens have been there and done that in big games before. They’re hoping to take the league by storm, come postseason time. This Sunday, the Chiefs have to be ready for a dogfight.
That will wrap this week’s version of behind enemy lines. Be sure to stay tuned to Full Press Coverage for more great sports and NFL content.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
