Baltimore Ravens: 3 players vital to beating Jaguars

Joe Flacco

Let’s be honest, Joe Flacco will probably make these lists more often than not. He is the most important player on the entire team after all. Flacco had a very solid game last week against the Browns, after only throwing 17 passes in Week 1. He threw two touchdowns and one interception, but the interception seemed to be mainly because of miscommunication between him and wide receiver Mike Wallace. We have yet to see how Joe responds to having to lead the offense without a successful running game.

We have yet to see how Joe responds to having to lead the offense without a successful running game. The Jaguars know they will need to contain the run game and get pressure on Flacco. How Flacco responds will determine the success of the Ravens offense. I expect another dominant defensive performance against a struggling Jaguars offense led by QB Blake Bortles, but the offense will have to put up at least 13 points to win in my opinion. This Jags defense will provide Joe with his biggest test yet after coming back from his back injury.

Flacco will also need help from his receivers not named Jeremy Maclin or Benjamin Watson. Mike Wallace or Breshad Perriman must find a way to contribute to this offense and provide Joe with confidence in his receivers. We know Joe should be confident in Mike Wallace already, but Perriman is not helping his case at all after dropping several balls thrown his way in the first two weeks. Flacco will also need his offensive line to continue to play solid against this scary Jaguars d-line, but without Marshal Yanda, his replacement Tony Bergstrom will have to step up and pull his weight to keep Flacco upright this game.