Ravens Not Overlooking Cardinals Ahead of 'Trap Game'

ARIZONA -- The 1-6 Arizona Cardinals don't exactly match well against the Baltimore Ravens ahead of their Week 8 battle, and that goes for any facet of comparison.

Whether it be box score numbers, team stats, overall talent or even the eye test, the Cardinals are nearly double-digit underdogs for a reason.

Yet the mantra "any given Sunday" still rings true in what's best described as a week-to-week league, and despite their record, the Cardinals are fighting to each whistle under new head coach Jonathan Gannon.

The Ravens, who have won their last three-of-four games, know that all too well. Multiple members spoke to how tough of a team Arizona is:

"I see a really tough team. They have a lot of great players, and they're building in their new offensive and defensive systems. They play super hard – both sides of the ball are very physical, [and] it's a young team," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said this week.

"You have guys like Budda Baker over there, [and] that's one of the best players in the National Football League. They're impressive with what they try to get done. They've been in a lot of close games. They've been in games in the fourth quarter, they were one-score-or-less games where they had the lead and then didn't finish, so I'm sure that's what they're talking about – play hard, get the game in the fourth quarter and find a way to finish the game. That's what any team would be talking about right now, [and] I'm sure that's what they're talking about."

The Cardinals, despite their poor record, have been in each game they've played thus far. With the return of Kyler Murray coming in the next few weeks, there's hope something can click sooner rather than later.

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews - a native of the state who played at Desert Mountain High School - says Sunday will be a good game between the two sides.

"We know the type of team that they are. This is going to be a good game. I think for us, it's about doing our job – doing everything that we can during this week. Every week's a new challenge. Every week's going to provide something different, so it's just about handling that, being ourselves and continuing to grow to become the team that we want to be," he said to reporters.

Rookie receiver Zay Flowers echoed that sentiment.

"I feel like we have the same mentality every week. You go win a game … Because in this league, everybody can beat everybody, so we just have to prepare like we did the weeks before and try to go get a win."

Quarterback Lamar Jackson when asked about the prospects of Sunday being a "trap game":

"I believe you have a trap game or something like that when you've been complacent or thinking a team is, 'OK, we just beat this team 30-something to six, so we're not worried about this team.' I believe that's when that stuff pops into your brain," Jackson told reporters.

"I don't believe our guys [are] like that. We know it's any given Sunday. It's the NFL. Anybody can be beaten. We're just going to go in there, go out there to Arizona and fight our butt off."

The Ravens are -9.5 point favorites on SI Sportsbook.