4. Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots
The Ravens offense has looked flat this season, especially when compared to the success of last season’s campaign. Lamar Jackson has reported said that defenses are calling out their plays before they even run them, and he is throwing far more interceptions, along with far fewer touchdowns, in 2020. The bottom line: He is not following up an MVP season the way most people thought he would.
If we are talking about significant drops from last year to this season, however, we need look no further than the Ravens’ opponent this weekend: the New England Patriots. With the loss of Tom Brady in the offseason and a record number of COVID-19 opt outs, the Patriots are 3-5 and could miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
The Ravens are currently 6-2, putting them a game and a head-to-head loss behind the Kansas City Chiefs. With some rough matchups on the horizon for the Chiefs, getting a little bit of space from the third and fourth seeds would be optimal, meaning that the Chiefs want the Patriots to finally take a game from Lamar Jackson.