Are the Baltimore Ravens on the brink of ushering in the Lamar Jackson era? It’s hard to tell for now, but another great showing from the rookie this coming weekend will provide a clearer answer. But that’s if he even gets the nod to start, as Joe Flacco may be ready to return. As for the Atlanta Falcons, they seem to be on their way to missing the boat to the playoffs (+100,000 odds to take the Super Bowl), but that doesn’t mean they’ll just let teams embarrass them for the rest of the regular season.
Despite not having Joe Flacco under center in their last two games, the Ravens are having success, thanks in large part to rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, who stepped in Flacco’s place and has performed admirably well. How well? Let’s just say that he set a new NFL record in the Super Bowl era for most rushing yards for a quarterback in his first two starts in the league. After rushing for 119 yards in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, he had 71 rushing yards more to go with a touchdown in last Sunday’s 34-17 thumping of the Oakland Raiders at home. Now comes the hard part for the Ravens: Will they revert back to Flacco or continue to ride the hot hand in Jackson? Flacco has yet to practice due to a hip injury, but is reportedly close to being 100 percent healthy again. Another rookie has emerged for Baltimore in running back Gus Edwards, who had 118 rushing yards on 23 carries against the Raiders. Edwards may have just won wrestled the starting job from Alex Collins. In any case, Baltimore’s ground game should play well against Atlanta’s defense that allows 123.7 rushing yards per game.
The under is 3-1 in Baltimore’s last four road games.
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
Turnovers and a total lack of sense of urgency especially on defense doomed the Falcons in last week’s 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on the road. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan went 35-of-47 for 377 passing yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He also repeatedly kissed the turf with six sacks received for a loss of 37 yards. The Falcons’ backfield didn’t do any better, coming up with a pathetic total of 26 rushing yards on 16 carries. Wide receiver Julio Jones continued to be downfield problem, with 147 receiving yards on 11 catches and 14 targets, but he needs help, and he’s probably going to benefit from a bolder playcalling that asks Ryan to target the wideout in the end zone. The Falcons need to cut down on their turnovers. They had four against Baltimore, with three coming from lost fumbles. The Falcons are seventh in the league in giveaways with 1,1 per game, outnumbering their takeaways per game (0.9).
The Falcons are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 home games.
