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An early look at Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots match-up

By Darin McCann

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 20: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens calls a play against the the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 20: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens calls a play against the the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower #54 of the New England Patriots recovers a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2019, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower #54 of the New England Patriots recovers a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2019, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images) /

A daunting challenge:

It truly is, but it’s not without some interesting possibilities for the Baltimore Ravens. For starters, the team needs to be relentless with their rushing attack. The Ravens are really, really good at it. Also, the New England Patriots have shown that they have allowed some creases for opponents to run through on occasion. Bill Belichick knows this as well as anybody, so expect them to make adjustments and sell out to stop the Ravens running game. But the Ravens must keep running. Something will eventually break, and when it does, those DBs start taking more looks into the backfield.

At that point, the Ravens need to pass. And they need to be successful at it. Enter the three-headed monster at tight end. Mark Andrews, Hayden Hurst, and Nick Boyle need to be on the field a lot, both for blocking and for leaking out into pass routes. The Patriots corners are terrific man-to-man defenders, which could make life difficult for the Ravens receivers. That means the tight ends need to find holes in the defense to move the chains. Each first down is three more plays that Tom Brady is on the sideline, looking all mad with his pouty little…

Sorry. I got ahead of myself there. I just… well, I don’t care for Brady.

It also isn’t the worst idea in the world to take one deep shot a quarter, either to Marquise Brown or Miles Boykin. It would appear to be a mistake to try to butter their bread with the passing game this week, but they need to make the Patriots defenders worry about the entire field. And, if Jackson drops back and sees double coverage on one of those targets, with man-to-man defenders showing him their back numbers, Jackson can take off downfield and get things going that way.

Next. 3 reasons the Baltimore Ravens should scare their opponents. dark

The New England Patriots are going to be a tough out, and it’s largely based on that defense. But the Baltimore Ravens offer a multi-dimensional offense that other teams simply don’t possess, and they hold the ultimate trump card — Lamar Jackson.

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