Baltimore Ravens vs. Washington Football Team: Week 4 Q&A
Final two questions:
@TKWeezer wants to know: How much do the Ravens win by? He predicts the Ravens win by two touchdowns:
Answer: I’m certainly not predicting a loss. In fact if this game is close, the Ravens take an L even if they come out the winner. The closer this game is the less of an elite team the Ravens will appear to be. If the Ravens win 31-10 (my prediction) all is good. This would mean that the Chiefs are simply the Ravens’ kryptonite and they can carry on with their super powers. If the Ravens win 27-24, the alarms will sound and nobody in Baltimore will feel comfortable with this team.
I think two touchdowns is fair, but it really needs to be more than that. This is a game where style points kind of matter. It’s not that the media or the fans need the big lavish victory. The Ravens need it for themselves. If the 2020 season is a fresh start for this team, they need to make the Chiefs game an isolated incident. Then they can single out what went wrong, and use that information to avoid these pitfalls next time. Right now the Ravens need to start earning the next time, a playoff game, possibly an AFC Championship game.
The Ravens can’t get the bad taste out of their mouth by beating the Washington Football Team. They can’t fix Monday Night Football’s stain on the season. This is the hard part. This is the moving forward part. The only worry in this game is how does the offensive line battle the Washington defensive front? That’s it. That’s the one thing that can make this a tenuous situation. As long as the Ravens correct their course and supply plenty of the running game, they should be able to win this game easy. You say two touchdowns. Give me a three touchdown margin of victory. Give me some piece of mind heading into the fifth week of the season.
Ebony Bird contributor Ian Schultz asks: Which area of concern (OL, WR, Pass rush) eases those concerns the quickest? Is it organic or do they have to make a move?
Answer: If the offensive line plays well in this game, that’s an automatic confidence booster. Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat and Daron Payne are just three of their very impressive players in this unit. Even without Chase Young, good pass protection and a solid run game is a one game fix for the offensive line. It shows they can get the job done.
I’ll say the most smooth quick fix here is wide receiver though. Marquise Brown won’t have a hard time topping what he did in the last game. If the Ravens get Devin Duvernay more involved in the offense they may be able to get more big plays from the receivers. The first two games were good signs for the receivers. Willie Snead and “Hollywood” were off to solid starts and Miles Boykin has been decent. I don’t think the receivers are as bad as they looked last week and that makes me think they can get the job done and move forward.
If the Ravens have to make a move anywhere it’s for pass rushers. They just aren’t getting enough pass rush. Unless Matt Judon steps up and Jaylon Ferguson can find a way to make an impact, the Ravens have to make a move. They can’t just depend on their interior pass rush. They have to get more pressure from their outside linebackers.