The Baltimore Ravens take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. It’s a game they’re favored to win by the second-highest spread of the week at 13.5 points, and for good reason. Baltimore put on a clinic against the Dolphins to the tune of a 59-10 drubbing last week, and Arizona doesn’t look like they’re a lot better defensively.
With the young Cardinals coming to town, it’s very reasonable to say that the Ravens can start off this season with two wins. However, even though it looks like an easy win on paper, the Cardinals are still a formidable challenge. Any NFL team needs to be taken seriously.
Still, the Ravens should be in line for another victory this week. Here are four reasons why Baltimore will be 2-0 by the time Week 2 is over:
Lamar Jackson:
I talked about how Jackson is one of the reasons that the Ravens would win the Super Bowl, but in order to take the Ravens to the big game, he has to help the Ravens win the smaller ones.
Jackson carved up the Miami defense last week, completing 17-of-20 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He added three carries for six yards, but the most significant takeaway was that he was able to dominate a game with his arm, not his legs.
Ravens fans already knew that Jackson had improved his footwork, accuracy and decision making this offseason, and it paid off in Week 1.
Defensive coordinators are going to have to game-plan for Jackson’s arm and legs on each and every play. That should make it hard for Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to stop him.
Depth at running back
The Ravens used their three running backs to perfection last week, and I expect more of the same this week.
Mark Ingram carried the ball 14 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns, pacing the group. However, he wasn’t the one who had the most carries. Gus Edwards carried the ball 17 times for 56 yards, and Justice Hill added seven carries for 27 yards.
In a game where I expect running to be more of a focal point of the offense, having fresh running backs is extremely important.
With Baltimore employing a committee approach, each of their running backs is less tired heading into the fourth quarter. That allows them to have more energy, strength and speed at the end of the game, when big runs can be broken more easily.
The fact that the Ravens running backs will be more rested will be even more vital against an Arizona defense that allowed only 3.6 yards per carry to the Detroit Lions last week.
Cardinals’ youth
Historically, the Ravens have feasted on rookie and young quarterbacks. Last season they had two dominant performances against Baker Mayfield and one against Josh Allen.
This season Baltimore has already had a run-in with a young quarterback. Josh Rosen entered the game for Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 59-10 victory over the Dolphins. Rosen completed one pass for three yards and an interception. And that was with some of Baltimore’s starters getting rested with the game was so far out of hand.
This trend could be a problem for Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Oklahoma. Murray completed 29-of-54 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns last week. However, his stat line doesn’t tell the whole story, as he didn’t play particularly well for the first three quarters before leading a furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
Other young Cardinals include rookie cornerback Byron Murphy, second-year wide receiver Christian Kirk and third-year safety Budda Baker.
All play prominent roles for the Cardinals, so they’ll have to grow up fast against the advanced offensive and defensive schemes that the Ravens employ.
Depleted Cardinals secondary
While Budda Baker and Byron Murphy are two important pieces in the Cardinals’ secondary, Arizona has lost some key members of their defensive backfield already. Star cornerback Patrick Peterson was suspended for six games for PED use, and cornerback Robert Alford was lost for most of the 2019 season with a leg injury.
Losing the top two cornerbacks is never ideal, especially for a younger defense like the Cardinals. While Arizona’s defense does have veteran leaders like former Ravens LB Terrell Suggs and D.J. Swearinger, they can only do so much to help the younger players grow up faster than expected.
With the way Lamar Jackson threw the ball last week, it’s easy to expect a repeat performance, especially with the Cardinals’ top two cornerbacks being Tramaine Brock and Murphy.
