Week 3 Staff Predictions – Lions at Ravens

What a difference a week can make, as last week at this time Lions fans and the Staff here at The Grey Manes was licking our wounds after getting tossed out of Lambeau. Now, we are celebrating the first of hopefully many, Dan Campbell teaching Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears that the games are won on the field and in the Front Office.

In our ongoing quest to see who the best picker is, Brent has moved into the lead based on the tiebreaker by being only four points off from the Lions total cumulative score for the season. However, this week brings a split-guesstimate form the staff, as both Dan and Brent continue to drink that blue Kool-Aid, while Mike and Chris have gone the route of Benedict Johnson and bet against the Lions, seeing a Ravens win. Mike

After a big home win for the Lions, they will be excited to play one of the best teams in the NFL with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson at QB for the Ravens. The Ravens have a very dynamic offense and can run the ball with the best of the NFL; they do have a few Wide Receiver threats and 2 exceptional TE's.

It will be a great test for the Lions and Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Shepard. The Ravens are not their typical Defense first team this year. They have a few key players not active this week which may help the Lions. I feel like the Ravens have a little bit of an edge here being at home and the very creative Jackson at QB, and let's not forget Derrick Henry running the ball. I am going to get kicked out of the Grey Manes with this pick.

Ravens 31, Lions 24

Brent

The Detroit Lions go into this week's game in Baltimore as -4.5 point underdogs. NFL seasons are long and there are many ebbs and flows. Teams that start fast can fade late and vice versa. These are not two teams that will do anything other than be consistent over the course of the season. The best thing that could have happened to both teams was an opening road loss to rivals. Detroit lost in Green Bay and didn’t play well and the Ravens lost in Buffalo on a late game collapse. Baltimore is a tough place to play and what makes playing there even tougher is Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. The Ravens will do all they can to take the air out of the football and extend drives to limit the number of possessions the Detroit Lions will have.

Defensively, the Lions must stop the run. The Ravens have the 11th rated offense and the fifth rated rushing attack gaining 141.5 yards per game. The Lions have the 15th rated rush defense allowing 106.0 yards per game. Other than late in Green Bay and four runs against the Bears, the Lions rush defense has been stout. Against the Ravens, expect the Ravens to be more balanced than to line up and run the ball early in the game. Expect play action with the Ravens using a similar game plan to the one they used two years ago. If the Lions force the Ravens to third down and mid-to-longs, they have a chance to be competitive. The key in those scenarios is tight man-to-man coverage with TE Andrews being a big target for Lamar Jackson. The key to this game for the Lions is to get off the field on third downs.

Offensively, the Lions are fifth in the NFL in total yards. The Ravens have allowed a 31st rated pass defense with 298.5 yards per game. How much of this is they had a large lead in Cleveland and led by two touchdowns against Buffalo, will be a key to the game. The Detroit Lions have weapons all over the offensive side of the football. They must continue to use a heavy dosage of play-action to keep the linebacking corps of the Ravens committed to stopping the run. If the offensive line holds up in the passing game, expect the Lions to score. If communications issues rear their ugly head again in the tough environment, expect a long night. I don’t expect the communications issues again.

John Harbaugh always has great defenses and special teams. The Lions must continue to improve in the coverage game and made big strides between week one and week two. In the end, this game comes down to a battle of two top-tier NFL teams. MCDC will have the Lions ready this week and will get revenge against the home team. Lions get just enough stops and pull it out 34-31 in Baltimore.

Lions 34, Ravens 31

Chris

After dismantling Chicago, we're all feeling better about ourselves, but let's pump the brakes. Beating up on bad teams is what good teams do. This one is a great early season barometer for the Lions. The question is whether we can hang with elite competition when the lights get brightest.

Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium will test everything we think we know about this Lions squad. Can our DBs survive extended coverage when Lamar Jackson turns every play into backyard football? Will our communication hold up when 70,000 Ravens fans are losing their minds? These are the moments that separate contenders from pretenders.

John Morton's offense will put up points because things have normalized on that front, but Shep's defense faces its toughest assignment yet, and Derrick Henry is looking to bounce back from a bad game last week against the Brownies. Jackson's dual-threat ability creates problems our Week 2 success against Caleb Williams simply didn't prepare us for.

In a game much like last season’s Thanksgiving loss to Buffalo, this one turns into the shootout everyone expects, but Baltimore's home-field advantage and playoff experience tip the scales just enough.

Ravens 41, Lions 34

Dan

After two weeks, the Ravens and Lions profiles look like virtual clones of one another from their 1-1 record to their schedule (one bad, one good team) to their stat lines through two games. The two big exceptions are the style of QB play and the ranking of their defenses. Lamar Jackson can beat you with his feet or his arm and is a perennial candidate for NFL MVP.

The Ravens have one of the best offenses in the NFL leading the league in points scored, Pass TDs, Yards/Play, Yards/Rush top five in several other categories. The Lions aren't a slouch either, being Top five also in multiple categories and leading the league in passing TDs and Compl. %. Jared Goff won't beat you with his feet, but he leads the NFL is virtually very passing category since 2023 including accuracy, Yards and Wins. Clearly the Ravens Ground game to this point has been better than the Lions, and the Lions passing game better than the Ravens. So it may come down to LB, Nickle and Safety play for both teams trying to limit these explosive offenses. With the Ravens losing Van Noy to a hamstring issue and being beat up at nickel back, the Lions TEs and RBs out of the backfield may be extremely dangerous.

For the Defense matchup, in a bit of a twist, the Ravens rank near the bottom of the league in many categories, and the Lions have better overall defensive rankings in everything except Hurries and Pressures. However, while Ravens are sixth in both, that hasn't translated to Sacks, as they only have 3 total on 26 combined Hurries and Pressures, by contrast, the Lions have four sacks on combined 12. Two trends that could impact the game though, Kyle Van Noy, the Ravens best pass rusher is out with a hamstring injury, and the Lions are just seeing Adrian Hutchinson start rounding into form. Both teams' defenses have multiple Pro bowlers at all levels, but this game feels like they will be hard pressed to stop the other team. It may come down to injuries or field conditions and weather, but game time is expected to be 65 degrees with low humidity and virtually no chance of rain.

Bottom line, I think the defining factor of the game will come down to the Lions ability to handle the Ravens running game by containing Jackson to the pocket and stuffing Derrick henry before he can get a head of steam. I do expect a shootout, as the Ravens have scored 40+ pts in both games and Lions dropped a 50-spot on the Bears, so there should be lots of fireworks. Lions get the ball last, and Jake Bates becomes the hero for the Lions once again.

Lions 38, Ravens 34