The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets face off on Sunday in a Week 1 NFL showdown at MetLife Stadium.
The New York Jets are a young team and there were some growing pains last season, but the hope is this will be a step forward. Zach Wilson showed some flashes last season and there was a lot of hope for him with this season, but he is out until at least Week 4 because of injury. The Jets will start Joe Flacco this season who showed during the preseason that he still has what it takes to play in the NFL. In the last preseason game, he completed 7 of his 12 passes for 76 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. The offensive line is banged up and Duane Lane won’t be available to go in this game.
On the other side of this matchup is the Baltimore Ravens who started off last season strong, but they didn’t finish well, and they need to play a more complete season. Heading into the season the talk was about the Lamar Jackson contract but an extension wasn’t signed and he’s said he won’t negotiate during the season. Last season Jackson completed 246 of his 382 passes for 2,882 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Ronnie Stanley and Travis Jones are out for this game. JK Dobbins is also dealing with a knee injury and it’s unclear if he will be able to go in this game.
The Ravens are 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games against the AFC. The Jets are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games in Week 1. The Ravens are 4-1 against the spread in the last five meetings. The favorite is 4-0 against the spread in the last four meetings between the two teams.
Joe Flacco gets to face off with his old team, but I don’t think he’s going to be finding a whole lot of success. This is a Ravens defense that is good, and the turnovers are again going to be an issue for Flacco. The Jets defense is going to have issues slowing down Lamar Jackson and that will be the difference here as the Ravens get the job done. Back the Ravens against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
