Week 3 NFL Picks: Ravens Set To Trounce Lions
The Ravens will visit the Lions in a game that could get very ugly
Matthew Horner - Sep 25, 2021, 9:39am EDT
- The Baltimore Ravens will travel to the motor city to take on the Detroit Lions this weekend, in a game that could get very ugly, very quickly.
- The Ravens are -7.5 favorites on the road in Detroit at DraftKings and should have no problem covering.
Mismatches Everywhere Make Ravens -7.5 Smart Bet
The Lions defense is awful. I cannot overstate that enough. They are the definition of terrible, with young, inexperienced players all over the field. That makes them easy pickings for a Ravens team that has the second-best rushing attack in the NFL yet again, and has even cracked the top-20 so far in passing. It will be interesting to see just how many points the Ravens can run up in Week 3.
The Lions have the worst passing defense in football through two weeks. The Ravens aren’t going to throw for 300-plus yards and five touchdowns against the Lions like Aaron Rodgers did because they’re just not that kind of offense. However, given how much the Lions have struggled to defend the pass at any point on the field this season, it seems likely that whenever they actually do need to pass the ball, they will get what they want.
They may not need to pass the ball that often anyways, as they prefer to run the football. And, boy, do they do a great job running. Lamar Jackson is a special talent. We’re in Year 4 of Jackson’s career and no one has found a way to slow him down on the ground. He’s going to get his yards regardless of what the defense schemes up for him.
Ravens-Lions Will Get Out Of Hand
The Ravens offense looks like they will crush Detroit’s defense. The Lions' defense could find some success and keep the game close early, but I just don’t see how they’re going to get stops on defense unless the defensive front takes a huge step this week.
I don’t see that happening. If the Lions get down early, the Ravens are going to send pressure the rest of the game and give Jared Goff some real trouble in the pocket. I think this one has a chance of getting ugly quickly. I'll take the Ravens -7.5.
