Jaguars vs. Ravens Matchup Preview

Jaguars Face A True Playoff Opponent In The Baltimore Ravens

The Jacksonville Jaguars will once again face an extremely talented opponent when they take the field this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Although the Ravens have also struggled to finish some games, they have only accumulated three losses on the season and have been dominant in all three of those games. It would be unwise for the Duval Faithful to expect an easy game on Sunday, but I don't believe that anyone holds that opinion. The Ravens have been arguably one of the best teams in the NFL, and perhaps underrated, which only adds bulletin board material for this team on a weekly basis.

Lamar Jackson's Ability To Run Looms As Major Factor

The young defense will be tasked with the challenge of stopping Lamar Jackson's ability to run on Sunday, something they've struggled to do against mobile quarterbacks. The most notable game would be against the New York Giants where Daniel Jones was able to eclipse 100 yards rushing en route to their first ever victory in Jacksonville. This team has also given up a rushing touchdown and nearly 80 yards to Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes in their games combined. There's a good chance that we could see some designed run plays by the Ravens and some crucial scrambles to convert on drives. The defense will need to stay disciplined in order to force Jackson to beat them as a passer, something they have struggled to do in recent games.

Ravens Defense Features An Improved Front Seven With Addition of Roquan Smith

Early this season there were many fans to jump on the Ravens poor defensive play late in games, but those critiques have been very limited over the past month and with the addition of former Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith is a do-it-all linebacker who is excellent at stopping the run, can creature pressure that translates to sacks, and even get interceptions. This Ravens defense will likely follow a similar plan to what the Chiefs deployed in the Jaguars last matchup, shut down Travis Etienne and force Lawrence to beat them through the air. The story is yet to be written, but I believe that Lawrence is ready to step up once again and lead this Jaguars offense through a game without creating turnovers. It'll be interesting to see if Lawrence can do that or if we see the return of his early season woes.

The Ravens defense will also feature a familiar name to Jaguars fans in Calais Campbell. The former 'Mayor of Sacksonville' has seemingly been immune to aging, putting together arguably his best season this year as a Baltimore Raven with four and a half sacks over ten games. Although these aren't world beater numbers, he'll surely factor in as an important part of Baltimore's game plan against this renewed Jaguars offense.

Week 12 Could Hinge Almost Entirely Upon Trevor Lawrence

The only reason why the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to stay relatively competitive with the Kansas City Chiefs was because of Lawrence's ability to play clutch and make key throws. Drops by receivers, penalties, and blown coverages on defense ultimately sealed the loss for the Jaguars. I expect the Baltimore Ravens to bring in a very similar strategy to defeat the Jaguars and once again our team's ability to compete will rest squarely on Trevor Lawrence. If the surrounding cast is able to eliminate the mistakes and the defense can fix their communication issues, there's very little reason to believe that a great performance from Jacksonville's young star wouldn't be enough to upset the Ravens.

Final Prediction

I'm going to prelude this by saying that I could imagine nearly any outcome to this game being possible. This team could end up getting in its own way like it has much of the season or fire on all cylinders towards a win. It could be a bit of both even. The Jaguars have proven week in and week out that they can win or lose against any team in the league. However, I think that the Jaguars are going to come out swinging, make some early mistakes, but pull off a classic win over the Baltimore Ravens. I expect Trevor Lawrence to throw for nearly 300 yards and multiple touchdowns while the rushing game stays limited due to Baltimore's heavy focus on Travis Etienne. The Jaguars defense will struggle against Lamar Jackson but put together some critical turnovers similar to what they did in Kansas City. The Jaguars hold on against the Ravens after taking a late lead and win 27-24.

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