A look at what the Ravens can expect to see from the New England Patriots on both sides of the ball in Week 10
The New England Patriots are next up for the Ravens, with the two sides meeting in Week 10. The Ravens need a win to keep up their hunt for a playoff berth, while the Patriots need to build on their victory over the New York Jets on Monday to kickstart their season from their present 3-5 standing.
Bill Belichick is the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, and arguably one of the best of all time. But New England has not looked like their old selves so far this season. Tom Brady, the starting quarterback for most of the last two decades, is now sunning it in Florida with the Buccaneers, and the offense has struggled all season. Defensively, the Patriots have been several steps down from the dominant unit they were in 2019. Injuries, free-agent losses, and COVID-19 abstainers have hit them hard.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Ravens can expect to see from the Patriots this week.
We take a look back at the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots rivalry for some of the coolest little facts you might not have known.
In a game many would have expected to be a clash between playoff-bound teams at the start of the season, the Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots in Week 10. The Ravens are 6-2 and still firmly in the hunt for a postseason berth behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots are languishing at 3-5 and are looking up at both the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
Before the teams kick off this weekend, here are 10 fun little nuggets about this rivalry for you to take away and share with your friends and family. They will be impressed by the depth of your knowledge and will come to regard you as a font of information and someone whom can clearly be reckoned with. Or they may think you have too much time on your hands. Either way, you should read them.
Seven nuggets for you to impress your friends with regarding this matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in Week 9
Week 9 of the 2020 season features at least one game between two teams firmly in the AFC playoff picture. The 5-2 Baltimore Ravens take on the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, with the Ravens looking to bounce back after losing to the Steelers last week. The Colts meanwhile are coming off a comfortable victory over the Detroit Lions.
This matchup goes beyond the action on the field, both for the teams and the people of Baltimore. There are a host of connections between these two teams, some you may be aware of and others that may surprise you. Here are seven nuggets about this rivalry for you to drop into conversations leading up to the game, leaving your listeners blown away by the depth of your knowledge.
The battle for supremacy in the AFC North heats up in Week 8 when the 6-0 Pittsburgh Steelers take on the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are coming off a bye following their Week 6 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers retained their …
The battle for supremacy in the AFC North heats up in Week 8 when the 6-0 Pittsburgh Steelers take on the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are coming off a bye following their Week 6 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers retained their perfect start to the season with a closely fought victory over the Tennessee Titans, and currently own the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
We take a look back at the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry for some of the coolest little facts you might not have known.
The Ravens are back off their bye and welcome their bitterest rivals to Baltimore in Week 8. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-0, the last unbeaten team in the NFL, and currently sit atop the AFC North as well as holding the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
This has been one of the most fierce rivalries in the NFL for the best part of two decades, with the series producing a litany of tight, competitive matches both in the regular season and the playoffs. It’s fair to say that these two teams flat out don’t really get along.
The series has produced a whole heap of memorable moments and noteworthy occurrences. But there may be something about the Ravens vs. Steelers matches that you have forgotten, or maybe didn’t know to begin with. I can help you there. Here are seven fun little nuggets about this rivalry for you to take away and impress your friends, wow your families, and dominate the opposition with . . . Or you could just idly drop them into your group chat. The choice is yours, really.
If the season were to end today, the Pittsburgh Steelers would rule the roost in the AFC while the Baltimore Ravens would be a wild card.
Though history says the Baltimore Ravens’ impressive 5-1 record points to Super Bowl glory, the Ravens’ first task includes just getting into the postseason. But as Baltimore enters its Week 7 bye, it’s right in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.
With Week 6 formally concluded after a Monday night doubleheader, the playoff picture continues to take shape, especially in the AFC. This conference now boasts two of the last three unbeaten teams in 2020. With only one team earning a first-round bye in the playoffs landing that No. 1 seed is more important than ever before.
Let’s see how the AFC playoff picture looks following Week 6.
AFC playoff picture – Week 7
Seed
Team
Record
1
Pittsburgh Steelers
5-0
2
Tennessee Titans
5-0
3
Kansas City Chiefs
5-1
4
Buffalo Bills
4-2
5
Baltimore Ravens
5-1
6
Cleveland Browns
4-2
7
Indianapolis Colts
4-2
The Indianapolis Colts are now in the playoff picture after improving to 4-2 with their win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. This victory has knocked the Las Vegas Raiders out of their spot, although the Raiders were on a bye in Week 6.
Week 7 should have massive implications for the whole AFC with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Tennessee Titans. This battle of two 5-0 teams will see one extend their lead at the top of the conference, while the other must come down and join the dogfight with the rest of the playoff-caliber teams.
Despite boasting a 5-1 record, the Ravens would still go on the road in the first round of the playoffs, taking on the Buffalo Bills. The Bills may have lost their last two games, but they lead the AFC East with a 4-2 record due to the improved play of quarterback Josh Allen. The Ravens’ one defeat means they are looking up at the Steelers in the AFC North standings, and will therefore probably be hoping for a Titans win this weekend.
Things are undoubtedly going to continue jockeying around over the final few months of the regular season. But as it stands right now, the Ravens are firmly in the AFC playoff picture after Week 6.
The AFC playoff seeding is beginning to take shape. If the regular season ended today, here’s what the Baltimore Ravens would stand.
Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season is finally in the books after the schedule was stretched out to Tuesday night to accommodate the Tennessee Titans’ coronavirus outbreak. With most teams now at least a quarter of the way through their regular-season schedule, something approaching a true picture of the NFL’s playoff seeding is beginning to emerge.
Though there are still 12 more weeks of regular-season games scheduled, the AFC playoff picture is getting a little clearer. The good teams are beginning to rise to the top of the conference while the bad teams are creating lists of candidates for their vacant coaching and general manager positions. The Baltimore Ravens are right in the thick of the mix and if the season were to end today, they’d hold the No. 5 seed.
AFC playoff picture — Week 6
Seed
Team
Record
1
Tennessee Titans
4-0
2
Pittsburgh Steelers
4-0
3
Kansas City Chiefs
4-1
4
Buffalo Bills
4-1
5
Baltimore Ravens
4-1
6
Cleveland Browns
4-1
7
Las Vegas Raiders
3-2
The fact three AFC North teams are currently slated to be in the playoffs right now speaks to the quality of the division and Baltimore’s most frequent opponents.
Under the new playoff format, introduced this season, only the top-seeded team in each conference will receive a bye. So at present, the Tennessee Titans would get the extra rest while the other six teams faced off on Wild Card Weekend.
Under the current standings, the fifth-seed Ravens would go on the road in the first round of the playoffs to take on Josh Allen and the fourth-seed Buffalo Bills. While Baltimore has more playoff pedigree than Buffalo in their recent histories, both teams would be seeking a first career playoff victory for their starting quarterbacks. Allen lost his first postseason game last January, while Lamar Jackson has started 0-2 in the playoffs since 2018.
A look at the Cleveland Browns’ offense from a schematic point of view, examing their offensive and defensive tendencies ahead of Week 1.
The Cleveland Browns will be the first team the Baltimore Ravens will face in the 2020 NFL season. As has happened so often over the last two decades, the Browns endured an offseason rife with change off the field. A new head coach and general manager were hired, as the team looked to finally put an end to the mediocrity and ineptitude that has plagued the franchise since they returned to the NFL in 1999.
But just how much has actually changed and what will the Ravens need to do to beat the Browns’ offense? Let’s take a look at what Baltimore can expect from Cleveland on the field on Sunday.
Stefanski spent the last 14 years as a member of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff, rising from an assistant in 2006 to offensive coordinator in 2019. We should expect the Browns to adopt many of the schemes that Stefanski deployed last season, at least from a personnel standpoint. This will be quite different from the offense that Freddie Kitchens called during his sole season in charge of the Browns.
Under Kitchens, the Browns lined up in 11 personnel on 57% of their offensive snaps. By contrast, Stefanski’s Vikings had three wide receivers on the field just 25% of the time, the lowest rate in the entire NFL. The Vikings’ preferred offensive grouping was 12 personnel, with two tight ends on the field 34% of the time. Only the Philadelphia Eagles (52%) lined up in 12 more often than the Vikings. The Browns went with this grouping on 23% of their snaps.
When it comes to playcalling, Stefanski was more inclined to run the ball than Kitchens. In neutral game situations (with the score within seven points), the Vikings ran the ball 47% of the time. The Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, and Oakland Raiders were the only teams with a higher run percentage than the Vikings. The Browns’ neutral score run rate of 41% was the 11th lowest.
With all of Stefanski’s tendencies and how Cleveland’s roster is built, we could see a little more smashmouth style of football from the Browns this season. That should help insulate quarterback Baker Mayfield some while allowing running back Nick Chubb — arguably the team’s best offensive player — to take the brunt of the workload with the hopes of hitting on big plays without the big mistakes they were known for last year.
But with the addition of tight end Austin Hooper to a receiving group that includes Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., don’t sleep on this passing attack. They’ve got more talent than most of the teams in the NFL and it’s now a matter of getting it all to flow together properly to take advantage of those mismatches, something previous coaches and coordinators struggled to do.
We’ll see if a new coach and potentially a new scheme will change things for the Browns. But they remain a ridiculously talented team that can’t be underestimated, no matter what their final record has been.
