The Baltimore Ravens will have their hands full with a motivated and hungry Atlanta Falcons team in week 5.
A wide variety of people have the Atlanta Falcons winning against the Baltimore Ravens largely because of the possible unavailability of Lamar Jackson.
“If Lamar Jackson is healthy and plays, this becomes much harder to predict. Yet it’s hard to go against these Falcons right now,” NFL.com’s Brooke Cersosimo wrote.
Lamar Jackson got off to a hot start against the Tennessee Titans in the first half. He passed for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns with a 144.2 rating.
“Jackson threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game, and Derrick Henry scored against his former team,” an ESPN article says. Zay Flowers had eight catches for 118 yards and a TD for the Ravens, who snapped a four-game home losing streak but now have to deal with more health concerns about their two-time MVP quarterback.
Lamar Jackson’s ankle rolled in a mean way right before the halftime break. Jackson would finish the first half but did not play the second.
Falcons Expected to Be Too Much for Ravens
“Jackson’s ankle appeared to roll under a Tennessee defender in the final seconds of the second quarter, and although the Ravens held on for a 24-18 win over the Titans on Sunday, they didn’t score after their star quarterback left the game,” the ESPN article says. Tyler Huntley, no stranger to replacing Jackson when needed, took the snaps for Baltimore in the second half.
The Atlanta Falcons are coming off two huge wins over the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints.
This is largely due to the dangerous running game of the Falcons. Bijan Robinson may be the best running back in the league right now racking up 494 yards through 4 games.
“No one can tackle Bijan Robinson. No one can cover Drake London. And Michael Penix actually looks like he knows what he’s doing,” CBS Sports’ John Breech wrote. “He’s making the right reads, he’s getting the ball out quickly and he’s throwing accurately. Penix only has four starts in his career where he’s completed at least 70% of his passes, and two of them came in his two games this year.”
Baltimore Ravens Must Stop the Run
The Baltimore Ravens have not done a good job stopping the run so far this season. With the pace Bijan Robinson is on right now, Baltimore must lock in.
If the Ravens cannot contain him, it’s going to be a long night.
“A Ravens team without Lamar Jackson is no match for the prime-time Falcons,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote.
It’s definitely bulletin board material for Baltimore; we’ll have to wait and see how they will respond.
Ravens Predicted to Be ‘No Match’ for Week 5 Opponent in Primetime