How the Kansas City Chiefs can beat the Baltimore Ravens

What the Ravens do well

There is a lot to go over here, so we are going to start with the obvious and then move down to the more obscure.

The Baltimore Ravens are an offensive juggernaut built around their ability to move the ball on the ground. Last season, the Ravens had 3296 yards rushing, with both Mark Ingram and Lamar Jackson having over one thousand yards on the ground. So far this season, the Ravens are already up to 341 yards rushing, with 230 of those coming in their Week 2 matchup against the Houston Texans.

Lamar Jackson, of course, is the star of the show. He currently leads the team in rushing yards with 99 yards, has 479 yards through the air, and looks better then he ever has. He currently has the second highest completion rating in the NFL, the highest yards per attempt, and is one of the eleven elite QBs who still have not thrown an interception this season.

He has also displayed some legitimate growth this season, throwing the ball deeper and more accurately then before. His average depth of target for a pass is 8.8 yards, he is on target with his passes 80.9% of the time. This is despite the fact that is he is being pressure by the defense on 26.7% of his dropbacks (keep this statistic in mind for the next section).

The Ravens are not only an offensive team, with a stout defensive unit to boast about. The Ravens have only allowed two touchdowns total this season, one to the Cleveland Browns and one to the Houston Texans. They have grabbed 2 interceptions so far this season, helping add to their +4 turnover differential. They have only allowed 189 yards rushing in two games (94.5 per game) and only 421 yards passing in those two games (210.5 per game).  They are holding their opponents to only 28.6 on third down and have never given up a fourth down conversion despite four attempts.  They have only allowed opponents to enter the red zone three times, despite opposing teams having 21 drives.

The Ravens are scoring touchdowns on 66.7% of their trips to the red zone (6 of 9 trips), and when they are putting it in the endzone, Justin Tucker has been automatic, with 100% accuracy on field goals and extra points.

After struggling through the 2019 season with injuries, Marquise Brown has shown this season that he deserves the hype that he entered the league with. With 143 yards receiving on 10 receptions (in only 2 games) Brown serves to spread defenses even thinner alongside the Ravens’ other big target, Mark Andrews.

Mark Andrews has been central to the Ravens’ offense since the 2019 season, especially in the red zone. He already has 2 touchdowns this season, which is already on pace to break his 10 touchdowns from last season.

Overall, the Ravens are an extremely talented team from top to bottom and front to back. However, they are not perfect.