2. The Ravens can run on the Raiders defense:
The dysfunction of the passing attack has made it easy to forget how good the Ravens’ rushing game has been. The Ravens are ninth in rushing yards per game. The Oakland Raiders are 22nd in rushing yards allowed per game. This is a match-up that can favor the Ravens if they stick with the ground game. The Ravens offense has done a surprisingly good job running the football. At this point, it’s the one thing you can point to as a positive sign for the offense.
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The Raiders allowed over 100 yards on the ground against the Broncos. 95 of those yards were picked up by C.J. Anderson. When you look at this Raiders defense, their weakness points to the Ravens’ only strength. If Marty Mornhinweg abandons the run in this game, it would be time to give up on him as an offensive coordinator.
Run, run, run the ball, not so gently to a win:
The Baltimore Ravens have to become functional on offense. Leaning on the ground game is the only way to do that, when Flacco is playing this badly. Give Flacco safe throws, get him rolling out of the pocket, and let the running game do the rest.
The Ravens should lean on a combination of Alex Collins and Buck Allen. Collins has been the Ravens’ best play-maker. He had a 50 yard run against the Steelers. He is averaging 8.2 yards per carry and he has shown more acceleration and make it happen agility than Allen and West. If the Ravens ride Collins in this game, and he takes care of the football, this could be a win for the purple and black.