Ravens Near Unanimous in Ravens vs. Eagles Picks
It’ll be a battle of second-place teams when the Ravens and Eagles meet in Philadelphia on Sunday, but only one of those squads has multiple wins thus far.
Despite their spot in the NFC East standings, the Eagles are 1-3-1, which includes an 0-1-1 record at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia is a 7.5-point underdog against the Ravens (4-1), who have won eight straight road games, the longest current streak in the NFL.
The Eagles have played better the past couple weeks. They beat the San Francisco 49ers, 25-20, on Oct. 4, and gave the undefeated Steelers a scare in Pittsburgh in a 38-29 loss last week. The overwhelming majority of pundits don’t see the Eagles upsetting the Ravens, but some think it’ll be a competitive game.
Forty-six of the 47 pundits we looked at picked the Ravens (Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Brandt was the exception). Of the 25 who predicted the score, seven believe the Ravens will win by seven points or less, and four have the Ravens winning by five points or less.
Here’s a sample of what the pundits are predicting for the game:
The Ravens defense is primed for a big day.
The Baltimore Sun’s Jonas Shaffer: “The Eagles have an error-prone quarterback, a leaky offensive line and a depleted receiving corps. The Ravens couldn’t ask for anything more on defense.”
The Baltimore Sun’s Daniel Oyefusi: “Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has already thrown nine interceptions this season and he’s facing a Ravens defense that has taken the ball away 10 times, second-most in the NFL. If the Ravens can force Wentz into some mistakes early, they should run away with this game easily.”
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal: “The Ravens’ lack of a one-on-one pass rusher could haunt them against a great offense, but their blitz-happy scheme is a nightmare for vulnerable offensive lines like the Eagles’ unit, especially if Lane Johnson is out.”
Just because the Eagles had some success against a stout Steelers defense last week doesn’t mean they will duplicate that success against the Ravens defense.
Pro Football Talk’s Chris Simms: “There’s going to be less easy throws for Carson Wentz this week than there was last week. They’re a little bit more sound with what they do in Baltimore, and I don’t see them getting gashed in the run game for a big play or doing something like that. The fact is they can blitz and really lock you up man to man; Pittsburgh can’t do those types of things. Pittsburgh doesn’t have good man-to-man corners.”
Ravens DB Jimmy Smith isan‘anideal option’ to contain Eagles TE Zach Ertz.
Penn Live’s Aaron Kasinitz: “Sure, Eagles star Zach Ertz has struggled to match his production from previous seasons so far this year, but he’s still a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the most respected tight ends in the NFL. Smith, a [10-year] veteran, is likely to be at the heart of the Ravens’ plan to combat him. Smith played a variety of roles in the secondary this season and his size and cover skills make him an ideal option to line up across from tight ends with pass-catching prowess, like Ertz.”
