The Baltimore Ravens enter Week 14 with a chance to not only clinch a playoff berth but to extend their lead on the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. To do that, they simply need to handle their own business and beat the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills won’t be an easy task, however. They sit at 9-3 and are trying to reinforce their standings in the postseason. With such an important game for both teams, Baltimore will need to see solid play from a few particular players to pull off the win.
Keep a close eye on these four Ravens in Week 14 against the Bills.
RB, Mark Ingram
With the potential for cold weather and high winds again this week, Ingram should see a heavy workload. And considering the Bills’ run defense is a little porous thanks to a defensive line that has struggled to tackle ball carriers, it seems like the type of matchup Ingram should be licking his lips over.
As we’ve seen all season long, Baltimore loves pounding down a defense early and often in order to open them up against the pass and Jackson running outside the tackles. If Ingram and the Ravens find some early success when running inside, they should be able to eat up a lot of time and apply pressure on Buffalo’s offense to make up the ground quickly. Once that happens, Baltimore has pretty much already won the game.
But that means Ingram has to show burst through the hole and make defenders pay for getting in his way. Luckily, that’s his forte.
CB, Marcus Peters
Bills quarterback Josh Allen often looks to his top receiver, John Brown, for big plays. Brown leads Buffalo in targets, completions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this season while having the best yard-per-reception average of any major player on the roster. But the Ravens have their own weapon on defense and he’s been known for making big plays of his own.
Against the Bills, Peters could be primed for another big game and another visit to the end zone. With Allen’s inexperience mixed with Baltimore’s more confusing and aggressive scheme, we could see Buffalo’s quarterback throw a pass a little too late Brown’s way. As we’ve seen twice this season, Peters can easily turn those throws into pick-sixes.
Regardless, if Peters and company are able to limit what the big play damage from Brown, they should be able to shut down the Bills’ offense easily enough. But as we saw last week against the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore can play well 75% of the time but let big plays keep teams in the game.
C, Patrick Mekari
This will be Mekari’s second start and nearly his third full game at center this season after Matt Skura went down early in Week 12. While Mekari has played very well over the last two weeks, there’s now a little more film on him and his tendencies and you better believe Buffalo took a close look at it for this game.
Lamar Jackson has been tough to pressure and bring down, thanks to being so agile and fast. When teams have tried to shrink the pocket down on Jackson, he’s often found running room ahead of him. The best chance of limiting Jackson’s mobility is to bring pressure right up the middle. It would also do wonders against Baltimore’s rushing attack as well.
That means Mekari needs to have another really good game against a really good defensive line. His level of success will likely determine the offense’s level of success in Week 14.
S Chuck Clark
While Baltimore’s defense has been playing well, they still struggle most against quick slot receivers going inside, covering running backs out of the backfield and tight ends up the seam. Playing as a hybrid linebacker/safety in the Ravens’ defensive-back heavy scheme, Clark is ultimately going to factor in quite a bit on Baltimore’s coverage inside.
I’d expect the Ravens to put cornerback Marlon Humphrey up against Cole Beasley, the Bills’ slot receiver. However, Clark could be asked to help out there as well. Whether in zone coverage assignments or in bracket coverage on Beasley, Clark will factor into the Bills’ second-most targeted receiver’s success.
But much like the Ravens, the Bills get a lot of use out of their tight end, Dawson Knox. There, Clark will likely be the primary defender and will be tasked with not only covering him but having to fight through him to get to the ball carrier on run plays.
Don’t forget about running back Devin Singletary, who has seen an uptick in his playing time in the last five weeks. He’s a far better outside runner than Frank Gore and he offers quite a bit in the passing game — both areas Clark will be responsible with handling.
Clark has been having some outstanding games, including last week against the 49ers, but he’s going to get another big test this week in a lot of different ways. If he does well, Baltimore’s defense will be able to get off the field far quicker.
