The 2024 season didn’t start off on the right foot (no pun intended) when a potential game-winning touchdown to tight end Isaiah Likely was overturned to an incomplete pass when the top of Likely’s cleat stepped out of bounds. Football really can be a game of inches. So it’s an 0-1 start with another loss to the Kansas City Chiefs under their belts. The Baltimore Ravens will look to rebound in their Week 2 home opener game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ravens vs. Raiders Game History
Sunday will be the 14th time the Ravens and Raiders meet for a NFL game. Baltimore has taken nine of the previous 13 meetings. The last meeting came on September 13, 2021 and was won by the Raiders in overtime, 33-27.
Key Players for the Ravens
Quarterback Lamar Jackson picked up right where he left off last season, at least on the ground, as he rushed for 122 yards on 16 carries. In the air, he was a little more hit and miss, going 26-for-41 for 273 yards and a touchdown (and would have been more if Likely was inbounds).
Jackson did have to scramble more than usual, helping boost his rushing total from Week 1. That said, the Chiefs defense is very stingy. The Raiders’ unit is pretty good too, but not as strong as Kansas City’s.
Running back Derrick Henry scored his first touchdown as a Raven but finished with just 46 yards on 13 carries. The good news for the Ravens is Vegas just allowed 135 rushing yards to Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins last week.
The Ravens went heavy on 12 personnel in last week’s game, playing about half of their offensive snaps. They had tight ends Mark Andrews and Likely run almost the same numbers of routes against the Chiefs — Andrews 28, Likely 24.
Of course, Likely was the big winner with nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown — a touchdown in which he had a 0.3percent chance of scoring on that play, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Look for the Ravens to continue using both tight ends at a high level.
Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike picked up where he left off last season in Week 1. He recorded a pair of quarterback pressures on Patrick Mahomes and was credited for a half-sack with Trenton Simpson. He’ll be a force yet again up front and a tough task for the Raiders offensive line to handle.
Linebacker Roquan Smith led the way with seven tackles, including three stops, and had an interception of Mahomes thanks to pressure from the defensive front. Smith remains one of the key cogs in the middle of the Ravens defense.
Key Players for the Raiders
Quarterback Gardner Minshew wasn’t all that bad in his Raiders debut, going 25-for-33 for 257 yards with one touchdown and one interception. On the flip side, he was 21st among quarterbacks in expected points added per dropback at -0.19. Overall, not a bad performance after beating out Aidan O’Connell for the job, but there is room for improvement.
Wide receiver Davante Adams had 59 yards on five receptions in Week 1. As long as he is on the field, he is going to be a threat to score from anywhere. Adams against the Ravens secondary will be an intriguing matchup to watch.
He may be a rookie, but tight end Brock Bowers may already be inserting himself as a favorite of Minshew. Bowers saw the most targets (8) in Week 1 and also led the way with six receptions against the Chargers. He’s no Travis Kelce by any means, but he’s going to be a weapon and the Ravens, particularly in the middle of the defense, have to respect that.
Edge rusher Maxx Crosby is the star on the defensive front for the Raiders. Crosby had five stops, four quarterback pressures and one sack against the Chargers in Week 1. Baltimore struggled up front against the Chiefs so you have to think Crosby is salivating to get his shot against that unit.
Keys to victory for Ravens
Clean up the right side of the offensive line, keep Crosby in check
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had himself a night in Week 1; the Ravens were still seemingly figuring out their combination on the right side of the offensive line, mixing between Patrick Mekari and Roger Rosengarten at right tackle.
Whoever is in has to keep Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby in check. For as successful as Jackson was running the football last week, he certainly wouldn’t mind not having to scramble as much this week.
Continue to control the run game on both sides of the football
The Ravens are facing a Raiders team that struggled out of the gate on the ground. Zamir White (13 carries, 44 yards) and Alexander Mattison (five carries, 19 yards) combined for just 63 yards against the Chargers. The Ravens hope to keep that number low this week.
On the flip side, Derrick Henry would love to get going more this week. The good news is he did have a 61.5 percent success rate, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, which was second among all running backs with at least ten carries. Only David Montgomery (at 70.6 percent) had a higher success rate among such running backs.
Get pressure on Gardner Minshew
Minshew was one of the highest-pressured quarterbacks in Week 1. He saw 14 pressures against the Chargers, tied for fifth for the week. He was also tied for third with four sacks taken. Only Deshaun Watson (6) and Daniel Jones (5) were sacked more in Week 1.
As the Chargers showed, getting Minshew off rhythm will get the Raiders out of sync overall the Ravens should take control of this game.
