(Photo: Clutchpoints)
Intriguing Game- NFL, Week 14
Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens
Rams: After such a down year last season, I truly didn’t know what to expect from them. Shockingly, they’ve played much better than I anticipated from them in 2023. I remember when I recorded the first episode of Monday Evening Quarterback for the season, my co-host said after eight games and if they had a losing record, he could see them being a seller meaning they’d trade away some big names and begin to rebuild and I didn’t disagree with him and I also pointed out to him they had no type of draft capital because they traded it all away for a shot at a Super Bowl title and they did end up winning one. It’s a competitive NFC playoff race and they are in the thick of the race. The Rams have won their last three games in a row and have been getting quality play from Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua has also been quietly shredding secondaries with his productive play and they’ve been running the football with Kyren Williams. Stafford suffered that thumb injury weeks ago and since coming back, he’s completed 63 percent of his passes and has thrown eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions. Their defense underwent quite the haul during the off-season with releasing Bobby Wagner and trading Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins in an attempt to remodel things on that side of the ball. Despite the youth of this side of the ball, they have had success and one of the best defensive players ever is still there in Aaron Donald. This is the beautiful thing about the NFL, you just never know who will keep themselves relevant. They will look to keep winning in Baltimore this Sunday.
Ravens: The AFC North is theirs to lose at this point as far as I’m concerned and there’s no excuse for them not to win the division. The only way they’ll falter in the division is if a major injury occurs, but they’ve been relatively healthy throughout this season. At one point, I was calling them the best team in the AFC because of how dominant their defense was playing. When they lost Mark Andrews, I was devastated for him because their offense is built around him and this is Lamar Jackson’s go to guy and safety valve. When Lamar drops back to pass, this is his first read. After the injury, I remember saying it would take a collective effort to replace him and when I say that, I’m referring to Rashod Bateman, Odell, Zay Flowers and Isaiah Likely because it’s tough to replace such a productive guy of Mark’s caliber. There are certain football teams that you label with certain aspects of the game and when it comes to the Ravens, their bread and butter is running the football and playing good defense which they’ve done both consistently this year. I remember a few weeks ago when I was on the radio, one of my counterparts stated this team reminded me some of the 2019 group when Lamar won his first MVP and I disagreed with him and said this team they have here is much better than that particular team. The AFC this year has been such a dogfight with the Chiefs, Jaguars and Dolphins along with these Ravens. The million dollar question is who will end up getting that top seed in the AFC playoffs? The bye week is over and they return home to face a confident Rams team.
Rams X-Factor: Tutu Atwell– He reminds me so much of Doug Baldwin and I say that because of his ability to make those tough catches in traffic as a smaller receiver. Tutu is a quiet option for this offense and he can run the short routes along with stretching the field and going over the top. The Rams motion him and get him the ball on screen passes, jet sweeps and so much more. I can see him giving the Ravens secondary some problems on Sunday.
Ravens X-Factor: Patrick Queen– Along with Roquan Smith, they make up one, if not the best tandem of Linebackers in the National Football League. I followed Patrick closely during his college days at LSU and he’s been a nice piece for this defense in Baltimore. Patrick flies to the football and has an incredible ability to shed blockers to get to the ball carrier. He has that sixth sense about where a play is going and always follows through.
Final Thoughts: Odell Beckham Jr played for the Los Angeles Rams back in 2021 after being released by the Cleveland Browns and was on the team that won the Super Bowl that season. Now, he’s with the Ravens and this will be his first time facing the Rams since he left. Matthew Stafford must take care of this football here on Sunday because the last thing you want to do when playing the Ravens defense is turn the ball over and give them an opportunity to take the ball away because they will make you pay. When the Ravens start quickly, they have a tendency to settle and let the opponent get back into the game and the Cleveland game a few weeks back is a prime example of that. Can they put a team away early as they were when they were in that dominant stretch earlier in the year? I like the Ravens to get a win off the bye week here.
Prediction: Ravens 28, Rams 17
