3 predictions for Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

2. Lamar Jackson racks up the rushing yards:

Do you remember the Sunday night affair between the Ravens and Patriots last year? Lamar Jackson went 17-23 passing for 163 yards with 68 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Patriots didn’t have an answer for the Ravens run game. Mark Ingram had 115 yards rushing and the impact Jackson made by keeping them guessing was huge.

This year that match up could be even better for the Ravens. While this year isn’t as smooth as last year was for the Ravens, the run game is still good. This time around you can probably replace Ingram’s production with that of J.K. Dobbins, who had his first 100 yard game against the Steelers. This year the Patriots have a much worse defense, one that gives up 131 yards on the ground on average.

Instead of the Ravens forcing it in the passing game, they are going to get Jackson’s confidence up by taking advantage of a match up that favors them. The Patriots don’t have the speed to keep up with Jackson, especially if he attacks right up the gut. Why pick a fight with Stephon Gilmore and the McCourty brothers in the back end of the New England defense?

To give you the right frame of mind for this game let me paraphrase a Bon Jovi song: The run game is like bad medicine, bad medicine is what I need. It is what Lamar Jackson needs. We’ve been so caught up in trying to get Jackson going in the passing game that we’ve almost forgotten it’s the threat of him taking off that makes him a unique player. If the Ravens unleash that component of his game, they will get what they want.

Put me down for 120 rushing yards for Jackson. While Greg Roman isn’t calling all the right shots right now, he is smart enough to see a match up that works. It worked last year against a better Patriots defense. It will work this year, with Jackson having one of his signature games running the ball from the quarterback position.