Broncos vs. Ravens: Five things about Baltimore

While not a rivalry, the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens have quite a history, especially when it comes to playoffs. The Broncos have struggled in Baltimore. What do the Ravens need to do to secure a win?

The Mile High Miracle, was about as good as it gets. I will say that was the best football game I have ever seen. When the Ravens won the game I knew they would win it all. Okay, down to business.

The best way to beat the Ravens is to bully their offensive line. Attack the right tackle and attack the center. Denver is very capable of doing that. Stop the run, hit Flacco and repeat. Here’s the thing though, the Ravens are going to be motivated after a bad loss and a long week to get right. Good things happen to the Ravens in M&T Bank Stadium when the Ravens are good, and this is a playoff worthy roster. 

The Ravens need to own the line of scrimmage on defense. The Ravens defensively have to stuff the run and make the Broncos one dimensional. They have to get after Case Keenum and force the issue defensively.

An aggressive Ravens defense at home usually leads to sacks and turnovers. Look for blitzes to come from everywhere and for Terrell Suggs and company to dominate in the backfield. Watching the Broncos last game, they showed weaknesses that Baltimore can exploit.

The Broncos offense had a hard time going against the Raiders, and the Ravens defense is much more talented. The Ravens need to let the defense steal the show, and I think they will. 

Offensively, this is a game where the Ravens can’t have Joe Flacco lose the game for them. They need to move the pocket and get him rolling out for high completion percentage passes. They need to use tempo, screens and draws to knock the timing off Von Miller and company. They need to run the ball just good enough. This game has ugly written all over it, but ugly is the Ravens’ specialty.