Ravens at Rams
THE STORY: The coronation of the Baltimore Ravens was obviously premature. After looking like world-beaters in a Week 1 thrashing of bitter division rival Pittsburgh, the Ravens came crashing back to earth with a 26-13 loss at Tennessee last week. Baltimore’s proud defense was carved up through the air by the Titans, a tactic the winless St. Louis Rams will likely attempt to duplicate when they host the Ravens on Sunday. Mistake-prone St. Louis didn’t look ready for the bright lights of Monday Night Football in a 28-16 loss to the New York Giants last week.
TV: CBS, 4:05 p.m. ET. LINE: Ravens -4, O/U 41.5
ABOUT THE RAMS (0-2): Mistakes and an inability to finish off scoring drives doomed St. Louis to its fifth consecutive 0-2 start to a season. QB Sam Bradford has had a fumble and lateral pass returned for a touchdown in consecutive weeks to put the team in a hole. Bradford did throw for a career-high 331 yards against the Giants, but he couldn’t get the team in the end zone on three possessions inside the 10-yard line. RB Steven Jackson is still limited by a quadriceps injury that caused him to miss last week’s game and backup Cadillac Williams is dealing with a hamstring problem
ABOUT THE RAVENS (1-1): After a dominant performance in a 35-7
win over the Steelers, Baltimore fell flat in all areas last week. The
defense was torched for 358 passing yards and allowed the Titans to hold
the ball for nearly 36 minutes. The Ravens were equally inept on the
other side of the ball, managing only 229 yards of total offense. QB Joe
Flacco was intercepted twice and sacked three times while RB Ray Rice
was limited to 43 yards rushing. Rice did haul in five catches for 53
yards and a score, giving him three TDs and 245 yards from scrimmage in
his first two games.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Flacco has shown a remarkable ability to shake off a poor performance in defeat. He was 4-0 following a loss last season and never had a passer rating below 107.5 in those victories.
2. Baltimore’s defense ranks fourth against the run, allowing 70.0 yards per game, but sits 28th against the pass with an average of 302.0 yards surrendered.
3. St. Louis will be looking to avert an 0-3 start for the fourth time in five seasons. A brutal schedule featuring home games against Washington and New Orleans sandwiched around visits to Green Bay and Dallas awaits the Rams.