Chiefs Vs Ravens Preview: Sunday Night Fight

When the schedules came out, this matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens was supposed to be highly contested. It is not impossible for that to still be the case. However, the Ravens are severely depleted across their entire starting lineup because of injuries. The Chiefs are nearly at full strength health-wise, and they are also riding the momentum of a comeback win from last Sunday. Can Baltimore pull off what has become a challenging upset?

With these two teams, there are plenty of headlines to monitor before Sunday’s kickoff. We will list our top five that are worth watching. On the other hand, how can each team emerge victorious? Three keys for both the Chiefs and the Ravens will be listed. Let’s get it started with our first major headline.

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Top Five Headlines

Kansas City Kryptonite

The Chiefs have won four consecutive meetings against this particular opponent. In each of the last three years, this matchup has produced some of the more memorable victories or moments of the Patrick Mahomes–Andy Reid combination. Mahomes is 3-0 in head to head meetings against Lamar Jackson. The largest defeat came last year, in a Monday Night Football drubbing by a score of 34-20.

Other top plays or moments include Mahomes’ no-look pass from 2018, Kansas City’s thrilling home opening victory against the Ravens from 2019 and the defense totally shutting down Jackson last season. As Jackson said after the latest meeting, the Chiefs are the Ravens “kryptonite.” Baltimore has been stressed and thrown out of their game plan against Kansas City before. And now, they come into this Sunday night at less than 100 percent.

Baltimore Injuries And Replacements

The Ravens have been hit viciously by the injury bug. Before the end of the preseason, linebacker LJ Fort (torn ACL), wide receiver Rashod Bateman (groin) and running backs JK Dobbins (torn ACL) and Justice Hill (torn Achilles) were all lost for the start of the season. The bad luck unfortunately continued to snowball on the injury front for Baltimore. In their practice leadup to the season opening game, running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Marcus Peters each suffered a torn ACL on back to back plays. Finally in the Week One game, left guard Tyre Phillips was carted off with a knee injury.

Fast forward to this week, as left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) has not practiced. Stanley appears unlikely to play. And wide receiver Marquise Brown (ankle) only practiced on Friday. The offensive line already struggled in the first game of the season. Can they withstand losing two key starters on the left side? This will be a key to watch, as the Ravens are a team that leans heavily on the run game. Lastly, the defensive back room is banged up, despite already being without Peters. Chris Westry has not practiced at all going into Friday (knee). And Marlon Humphrey (back) and Jimmy Smith (ankle) are likely to play, though they are not 100 percent. Will this group have enough depth to compete with essentially a fully healthy Chiefs squad?

Lamar Under Pressure?

Jackson is one of the most dynamic players we have ever seen at the quarterback position. There is little to no answer in being able to slow him down. At the same time, his quick evolution as a passer and understanding of defenses puts the opposing defense in a dangerous spot. Jackson is currently in one of the more taxing positions of his career, though.

The injuries on the Ravens roster is one thing. His history of struggling against the Chiefs is another daunting challenge to have to face. Jackson is not totally incapable of making all of the throws necessary to win these massive matchups week in and week out. Nonetheless, we have yet to see him have to do that consistently. Jackson is still working on accuracy and pocket awareness. If their running game struggles again this week, his arm will be put to its toughest test yet. Consequently, there is pressure on him from a financial standpoint, as his possible contract extension looms.

Will Chiefs Balance It Out?

The Chiefs offense has hinted at wanting to run the ball more this season. Due to the early deficit last week, they were unable to truly get that rolling against the Browns. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was unable to muster many big runs on the day. The holes were there. Yet, CEH just could not get in sync.

Will Kansas City’s offense take a more balanced approach in this game? We know Coach Reid was stressing for that last week. Furthermore, the more time of possession the Chiefs have, the more it forces the Ravens to throw the ball. Baltimore’s chances to score in bunches could wane in that situation. So it comes two-fold for the KC rushing attack. Look for Edwards-Helaire to get his footing more often this week, while keeping the Ravens best player (Jackson) off the field as much as possible.

Perils of Starting 0-2

The Ravens have long been a proud NFL franchise. Their steady winning culture has been a constant since the team was founded in the late 90’s. But after an exhaustive overtime loss last Monday night, this matchup against the Chiefs becomes even more crucial to their season. Baltimore has hopes of reaching the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl. A loss and a subsequent 0-2 start would make matters rather difficult.

Over the last ten seasons, only 11 percent of teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs. There is an extra game this season. Those statistics could become skewed as a result. On the other hand, the Ravens play in a hotly contested division in the AFC North. The Browns are knocking on the door, while the Steelers are still a feisty, veteran group that knows how to win close games.

To boot, the AFC is an extremely deep conference from a talent perspective. Two thirds of those 16 teams have a legitimate case of making the playoffs. And for those who forgot from last season, the Miami Dolphins missed the playoffs. This was despite winning 10 games and the NFL adding an extra seventh playoff seed to each conference. Essentially, the Ravens need an upset win in the worst way this weekend. 

Three Keys To Victory

Kansas City

Increase The Blitz

The Chiefs pass rush was humming by the end of Week One. Their start was not as impactful. With Frank Clark returning and Chris Jones coming off a nice game, Kansas City should unload the blitz calls. Do not be afraid to be aggressive. Force Jackson to beat you with his arm from the outset.

Get Wide Receiver Depth Going

In Week One, the Chiefs received minimal production from Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle. The trio combined for a paltry five receptions and 32 receiving yards. This could be the perfect matchup to get them rolling while it is still early. Spread the ball around and push these three down the field vertically. Additionally, Hardman has recorded six receptions, 178 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in two career games against the Ravens.

Win Crucial Downs

Last week, Kansas City did fairly well on third down on each side of the ball. The offense converted on nine of 13 situations. Defensively, the Browns offense were successful on just two of seven third down attempts. Cleveland was better on fourth down, where they ended up successful on three of four tries. The Ravens are similar to the Browns, in that they are not scared of going for it on 4th down or running it on third and short to medium. The more execution for the Chiefs in this area, the more likely that Baltimore will be thrown off their game plan.

Baltimore

Get New Running Backs Rolling

Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman are expected to be the main running backs active on Sunday night. The Ravens must get this trio in a groove. Their mix of sneaky speed and power will be an interesting challenge for Kansas City, given Jackson’s rushing threat. These running backs could help take pressure off of Lamar, while also keeping the Chiefs honest. Most of all, a strong running game helps Baltimore stay on schedule with what they are hoping to achieve in this massive matchup.

Mix It Up

With a depleted and younger secondary, the Ravens have to be willing to mix coverages. Mahomes has killed them whenever they have brought the blitz. Moreover, their continuous Cover 0 defensive play calls that we saw on Monday night will not be successful. You have to be willing to mix in and out of man and zone coverage. Throw different looks at Mahomes and the Chiefs to possibly get them off their rhythm.

Feed Andrews

Tight end Mark Andrews was extremely quiet in Week One. He caught just three passes on five targets for a total of 20 receiving yards. His production has been so up and down since the middle of last year. Andrews has also been Jackson’s go to guy in the past. In essence, as he goes, so does the Ravens offense. The Chiefs are likely to score a lot of points. In order to keep up, getting Andrews a healthy dose of catches and letting him work in space could be vital.

Statistical Notes

• Coach Reid is 6-1 all-time as a head coach against the Ravens. Meanwhile, he is 4-0 when facing them as Chiefs head coach.
• With a win, Andy would also become the first head coach to get 100 wins with two different teams.
• With two touchdown passes, Mahomes would pass Trent Green for the second most touchdown passes in Chiefs history.
• The Ravens have blitzed at the highest rate in the NFL since 2018 (47 percent). Here are Mahomes’ numbers in three games against the Baltimore blitz: 48 of 63 passing, 554 passing yards, six touchdown passes, zero interceptions, one sack taken on 64 drop backs
• Baltimore has only started a season 0-2 once since John Harbaugh became head coach in 2008. That came in the 2015 campaign.

Be on the lookout for our FPC Chiefs game recap article and podcast episode after Sunday night’s game. Follow us on Twitter here. 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.