Key Matchups: Chiefs Vs Ravens

This week’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens is yet another massive one early in the 2021 season. Due to the back and forth nature of most of their recent meetings, these two teams are always capable of being involved in a barn burner. Furthermore, a win here could be extremely costly at season’s end when the playoff seedings are being fought for. A Chiefs win would obviously improve Kansas City to a 2-0 start. More importantly, that would place one of their more challenging AFC threats, the Ravens, two games back of the conference lead.

Which personnel matchups could help one team gain an advantage over another? Today, we will list our top five key matchups to watch for entering Sunday Night Football. Each team has a plethora of looks that they can show offensively. As a result, execution will be vital. Let’s kick it off with a top wide receiver-cornerback matchup. 

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Tyreek Hill Vs Marlon Humphrey

The evolution of Tyreek Hill has helped him remain as one of the league’s top five wide receivers. Of course, his elite speed is going to help him win plenty of reps. Hill’s route running, fakes/counters against defensive backs and adjustment to balls at the catch point have continued to improve year after year. Finally, his ability to be a consistent go to guy on third down helps the Chiefs offense continue to flow smoothly.

One thing you must be able to do to help slow down Hill is having the capability of pressing him at the line of scrimmage. If you give him a free release when the ball is snapped, it is all but over for the defense. There is one cornerback who can rise up to that challenge. That would be Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens have had injuries in the defensive backfield, forcing Humphrey to be even better. With his sticky coverage and nose for the football, the Chiefs could look to push Hill deep down the field when matched up against Humphrey. This Ravens defender can cause havoc on shorter routes once he can read and react to the ball when it is in front of him.

Ravens Pass Rush Vs Chiefs Offensive Line

In Monday night’s loss to the Raiders, Baltimore was hit or miss when creating pressure. They appeared to run multiple blitz looks on defense. Inside-out stunts, defensive back blitzes and overload blitzes were all on full display. However, being able to land them successfully was inconsistent at best. The Ravens blitzed 39 times on Monday night according to Pro Football Reference. It resulted in 12 pressures, five hurries, four quarterback knockdowns and three sacks.

We know that no other NFL team calls more blitzes than the Ravens. Last season, Baltimore had the highest blitz percentage for the entire season (44.1 percent). The relentless nature of defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale will likely not hesitate in this contest.

The brand new Chiefs offensive line held their own against Cleveland, allowing just two sacks. The rookie duo of Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith stood out in particular. Humphrey allowed zero pressures and zero sacks on 41 total pass block reps according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Smith let his nastiness show and was persistent as he made his presence felt. One would imagine that the Ravens would look to challenge these two and Lucas Niang at a steady rate throughout the duration of the contest. Especially when you consider the youth and injuries in Baltimore’s secondary.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Vs Patrick Queen

After Sunday’s win, Andy Reid mentioned that he tried to get the offense more balanced in the second half. It was not a tremendous day for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. But, his tough runs started to wear down the Browns defense. This matchup is the exact type that could help show off the dual threat ability of CEH. And we saw that last year against the Ravens.

Edwards-Helaire rumbled for 64 rushing yards on 20 carries in Baltimore last time. To boot, he ran routes from out wide, out of the backfield or even in the slot. The Chiefs targeted him six times, as he hauled in five catches for 70 receiving yards. Look for him to get a healthy dose of early feeds in both the run and pass game.

On the flipside, his former LSU teammate is completely capable of taking a game over. Linebacker Patrick Queen flies around the field with adequate range. His instincts are impressive for a younger player like him. Moreover, Queen can become a turnover machine at an alarming rate. His violent hitting style can jar the ball loose from ball carriers’ grasp. Or, the linebacker disguises and sneaks into the throwing lane for an interception. Whoever wins the one on one battles between these two could help generate a great amount of momentum for his team.

Watkins And Brown Vs Ward And Hughes

Building a strong wide receiver corps around Lamar Jackson has been a work in progress for the Ravens. Currently, Baltimore is without first round rookie wide receiver Rashod Bateman due to a groin injury. That leaves Sammy Watkins and Marquise Brown as the top two wide receivers on the depth chart. Both are known for their speed traits. Staying on top of their routes and not missing tackles after they make the catch is critical for the opposing defense. Both receivers also possess a subtle nature in their route running. The Chiefs cannot lose them in space.

Last week, Charvarius Ward and Mike Hughes struggled to break up passes until the very end of the game. Ward was sticking close to the opposition’s hip step by step. Nonetheless, he struggled to break up passes or get his arms in the throwing window before it was too late. Hughes’ game ending interception will be the part that gets talked about the most for the cornerbacks after Sunday. Though, his physicality in coverage and reaction time was absent throughout most of the day. This is a chance for both players to rebound against a wide receiver duo that can become more dangerous if they get rolling early on.

Lamar Jackson Vs Chiefs Front Seven

There is not much of a blueprint for slowing down Jackson. The best way is to score a bunch of points against the Ravens, forcing Lamar and Baltimore to abandon some of the running game. Our final matchup will truly all come down to execution and trusting in your fundamentals. Last season, Kansas City won the battles in the trenches and simply got after Jackson before he could scramble away from any pressure. We have also seen Lamar’s accuracy severely drop when he is unable to step up into the pocket. We saw some of that on Monday night, as Jackson was missing throws low or wide on occasion.

Another part that could hurt Jackson, is the Ravens offensive line. The Raiders were able to create consistent pressure while rushing four. Both offensive tackles struggled for Baltimore, in Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva. Left guard Tyre Phillips also left the game with an injury and will not be playing against Kansas City. The Chiefs could look to call blitzes at a higher rate. Or, they will look towards Chris Jones, a returning Frank Clark and others to collapse the pocket quicker than they did last week. Lastly, the Chiefs linebackers must be disciplined, while not leaving their gaps exposed for Jackson.

Be on the lookout for our Chiefs Vs Ravens game preview article and podcast episode on Friday. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– 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.