Samuel Njoku: Ravens Formula for Success Double-Edged Sword
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In Week 11, the Baltimore Ravens barely survived a contest against the lowly Carolina Panthers.
The performance served as a reminder for their fans that there is no such thing as an easy win for the team this year.
Enter the 3-7 Jacksonville Jaguars.
They’ll host a Ravens (7-3) team that looked wildly inept on offense last week and will be looking to bounce back. But as Harbaugh mentioned on Monday, expectations should be tempered if you’re to believe a drop-off in talent is imminent with Jacksonville.
“This is the NFL, and this is a really good team,” stated Harbaugh. “We talked about Carolina last week – the same exact conversation. This is a young team, they have a bunch of physical players, a physical offensive line. The defensive front seven is just outstanding; they're very physical. It's going to be a very, very physical football game, much like the last game.”
The Ravens are a football team who wishes to play great defense and run the football effectively. That formula will keep you alive in any game in November and December. The only problem for Baltimore is that this formula will keep their opponents in most games as well.
Jacksonville doesn’t have the problems the Panthers had offensively either.
“Travis Etienne is probably public enemy Number One; Christian Kirk's another one,” Harbaugh replied when asked about the talent Jacksonville possesses on offense. “You have two veteran receivers that do a great job in the Jones brothers [Zay Jones and Tim Jones]. They do a great job. Then of course, Trevor Lawrence. He has the big arm, but he can also run. The guy is huge, and he's fast, and he's a straight-line runner and he doesn't like to slide. So, we have to take care of all those guys."
The Ravens are favorites in this game and should be favored in their remaining games for the rest of the season.
But if last week is any indication, the Ravens can not afford to look past any of their opponents.
