Baltimore Ravens: Does week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs = The Super Bowl?
By Jake Lippman
The Baltimore Ravens MNF game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs is generating some major hype, but could it be the Super Bowl of the 2020 regular season?
On Monday night, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens square off in a prime time game against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. This game may be the biggest game scheduled on the NFL calendar this season and anticipation for this game is high. Is this game, worthy of being the Ravens early-season Super Bowl?
Cue the Jim Mora “Playoffs?!” rant.
Yes, it is week three, and yes I am writing about the Super Bowl in September. This week the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs square off in what could be the biggest game of the year. Not just for the Ravens or for the Chiefs, but the biggest game in the year. I typically don’t like to say stuff like this because in weeks 16 and 17 many playoff match ups and clinchings occur, but this game is like no other, this game could change the outlook on the entire NFL season.
The Chiefs and Ravens are both 2-0, the Ravens have done it somewhat dominantly, the Chiefs on the other hand are the reigning champs, but have appeared to slow down slightly. In week two they struggled against the Chargers. In week one they beat the Texans 34-20. In week one the Ravens won against the Browns 38-6 and in week two they played the Texans and won 33-16. Looking at scores alone the Ravens seem more dominant, but the Chiefs are coming off a Super Bowl victory and brought back the majority of their team.
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Last season this match up brought a thrilling 33-28 Chiefs victory, Mark Ingram ran for three touchdowns, as Chiefs quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdowns. Both of these teams have explosive offenses and can score a lot of points very quickly. With both of these teams 2-0 and atop most people’s power rankings; this game is for the current crown of the AFC.
This game could eventually be the difference-maker for the #1 seed in the AFC. In a game like this, implications are doomed to get blown out of proportion, and here I am saying that this game could be the Super Bowl before the Super Bowl. So let me explain to you why a game in Week three matters so much.
The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs both are battling for the top seed and in this season’s match up, it could be at no better time for the Ravens. With Ravens being sizzling hot going into this week the Ravens have an opportunity to set the tone for their season. A win here will put momentum in their way for this season. Their schedule is already ranked as one of the easier ones in the league and now with one big match up out the door, it is on to the most important non-divisional games.
This isn’t to say that the Ravens divisional games this year are not important. Playing the Steelers is a big game and beating Cleveland a second time, as well as playing Joe Burrow and the Bengals twice are games with large implications but a win this week will set the stage for this year. So let’s look at the rest of Baltimore’s schedule.
- 10/4 @ Washington Football Team
- 10/11 vs Cincinnati Bengals
- 10/18 @ Philadelphia Eagles
- 10/25 vs Pittsburgh Steelers
- 11/8 @ Indianapolis Colts
- 11/15 @ New England Patriots
- 11/22 vs Tennessee Titans
- 11/26 @ Pittsburgh Steelers
- 12/3 vs Dallas Cowboys
- 12/14 @ Cleveland Browns
- 12/20 vs Jacksonville Jaguars
- 12/27 vs New York Giants
- 1/3 @ Cincinnati Bengals
With a schedule like this, the Ravens could realistically walk into their bye week undefeated with a win against the Chiefs. The Chiefs will be a strong test for the Ravens to see what they are made of and help bring their bounce back season to reality from last year. The Ravens hype is currently sky-high with cautious optimism, but this game is sure to show clarity to the Ravens current biggest problems.
At the end of the game, the Ravens will need to prove they can effectively cover the middle of the field, hold up in run defense, and cover for the injury of Tavon Young. Their offense needs to be effective, but also needs to sustain drives. The offensive line will get a good test to see if they can give Jackson the time he needs to make completions downfield.
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In reality, it is only week three, and the Super Bowl is a ways away. But, this game could easily be classified as this season’s regular-season Super Bowl, not just for schedule makers and fans, but for the Ravens. This game will provide them with the film to adequately study their early production and expand on it. They will see how Kansas City wants to play them this season and come the postseason, they can try to exploit that if another match up is around the mend. But for now, all I can do is sit back, and wait until Monday Night Football and enjoy a great match up.