BOLD PREDICTIONS: The Broncos are Coming!

The Baltimore Ravens (5-3) and Denver Broncos (5-3), who have each won five of their past six games after starting the season 0-2, face off from M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 3) at 1 p.m. Denver is 3-1 on the road in 2024, while Baltimore is 2-1 at home.

The Ravens have a 26-7 record, including three playoff wins, against rookie quarterbacks during the Head Coach John Harbaugh era (since 2008). In the last nine games started by rookie quarterbacks, they have combined for just one touchdown.

Since 2008, Baltimore is 18-2 against rookie quarterbacks at M&T Bank Stadium. The two losses were to the Bears’ Mitch Trubisky (2017) and Steelers’ Kenny Pickett (2022).

Guess what?

Broncos QB Bo Nix is a rookie.

LINE: Ravens -8 ½; Over/Under at 46 1/2
GAMETIME FORECAST: Temperature at 61 degrees; mix of clouds and sun; winds ESE 5 mph; 3% chance of precipitation.
ON THE CALL: Jim Nantz (PBP), Tony Romo (analyst), Tracy Wolfson (sideline)
OFFICIATING CREW: Adrian Hill

Tony Lombardi

The Ravens offense had a bad game against a formidable Browns defense last week and still should have scored over 30 points. But Colonel and Captain Clank (Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor) prevented that from happening. And now, here come the Broncos, another solid defense currently ranked 3rd overall in the NFL, yielding a stingy 282.6 YPG. Well, that number is about to go up!

• Lamar Jackson will throw for 235 yards and run for another 40. He’ll have 2 scores by air, one to Bateman who has a redemption game, and another to Isaiah Likely. Lamar will also scamper in for a score from 13 yards out.

• Derrick Henry will be bottled up early. By halftime he’ll have 9 carries for 27 yards but after the break, he’ll have two carries of 25+ yards and finish the day with 110 yards rushing on 20 carries. He’ll add a score.

• Bateman leads all Ravens receivers with 80 yards and a score, in part because Patrick Surtain will focus his attention on Zay Flowers. Diontae Johnson posts 2 catches for 28 yards.

• Defensively the Ravens will post 4 sacks, one each by Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Hamilton and a pair by Yannick Ngakoue.

• Nate Wiggins steals one from fellow rookie Nix, his first in the NFL to set up a Tucker field goal just before halftime. It will NOT be from beyond 50 yards.

The game will be a frustrating one at times and the buzzkill will be none other than referee Adrian Hill who will toss flags around like he’s handing out treats for Halloween. Hill, a DC native and a Johns Hopkins graduate is a rocket scientist who apparently overthinks officiating. Flags fly in the air on average, 19 times when Hill’s crew is on the scene, fourteen of which are accepted. On Sunday, Hill’s crew will throw flags 22 times. The line judge will leave the game after it’s determined that he needs Tommy John surgery.

The Ravens win and cover!

Ravens 31, Broncos 20

Tanner George

After their 5-game win streak came to a screeching halt in Cleveland, the Ravens will look to get back on track as Sean Payton’s Broncos visit the Bank this Sunday. With Kansas City seemingly running away with the #1 seed and Pittsburgh continuing their scorching start to the season, Baltimore really needs to take care of a beatable opponent here in Week 9.

Offensively, Lamar Jackson continues his MVP-level campaign, tossing a trio of touchdowns and rushing for 50 yards. Derrick Henry will again find himself in the end zone for his twelfth score of 2024 and will slam the door shut on a long run in the fourth quarter. Zay Flowers continues to roll, notching 75+ receiving yards, and the newly-acquired Diontae Johnson gets involved with three grabs. The resurgence of Mark Andrews will rage on, and he’ll rack up over 50 yards to go along with a touchdown. Todd Monken cuts out some of the cute playcalling, and Justice Hill will see more work than he did against the Browns.

Zach Orr’s defense will continue to struggle, but I see his unit experiencing some success against a rookie passer in Bo Nix. Nate Wiggins comes away with his first interception of 2024, ending Baltimore’s streak of dropped picks. Marcus Williams appears to still be in the doghouse, meaning Eddie Jackson will once again be thrust into the spotlight… where he’ll continue to have issues, allowing a long touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. The pass rush will still struggle but the impending return of Travis Jones helps significantly as the Ravens will rack up three sacks on the day, including one from Kyle Hamilton.

Baltimore will cruise into the final period holding a 10-point lead, but Ravens fans will still be sweating things out in the end due to defensive deficiencies. Yet, The King will continue to do King things and will simply dominate the period, closing the door on Denver’s comeback hopes.

It won’t be pretty, particularly on defense, but the Ravens will move to 6-3 as they head into another AFC North contest in Week 10.

Ravens 31 Broncos 24

Nick Polinsky

After a messy Week 8 loss the Ravens get a fellow 5-3 opponent as the Broncos come into town. Denver has grinded down the bottom-feeding teams of the league, but Sean Payton’s Broncos are yet to come up with a real quality win other than maybe Tampa Bay. They’ll get their shot against Baltimore.

Bo Nix has really cleaned up his act since the first two weeks of the season where he began throwing 4 interceptions before throwing a single touchdown. Since then it’s been 8 touchdowns to 1 interception and the Broncos have scored 33 and 28 over their last two games.

There’s no point in previewing anything Ravens offense related at this point, we all know what we’re getting. However, Henry needs to be more established than the 11 carries he received last week against Cleveland. He makes game changing plays and needs to tote the rock.

The Ravens defense is yet to find a single answer for even one of their many problems. The pass rush has been lackluster, and when an opposing quarterback decides to make a generous deposit of the football into the hands of a defender, more often than not it slips right through. Kyle Hamilton had the game and his hands and dropped it last week and Eddie Jackson dropped 2 other interceptions.

The Broncos don’t necessarily have a dynamic offense, so maybe this is another chance for Zach Orr and the Ravens defense to find their stride.

• Marcus Williams will return to the field and start at safety after Eddie Jackson’s atrocious display, and will intercept his first pass since Christmas 2023
• Courtland Sutton will have success downfield, surpassing 80 receiving yards on the day
• Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLauglin will combine for under 60 yards against a stout Ravens defense with Denver trailing the majority of the game
• Derrick Henry will get at least 25 carries

Ravens 31 Broncos 20

Kevin McNelis

The fact that Baltimore can come back home does the heart some good after back-to-back road games. What doesn’t do the heart any good is the specter of their current injuries to pass-rushers combined with the struggles on the back end of the defense.

-The main event for this one is going to be Baltimore’s offense facing off against Denver’s defense. Pat Surtain and the Denver secondary have clamped down on a lot of opponents this season, but I think you’ll see the Ravens use their tight ends to move the ball through the air. Once the Broncos begin shifting back to the sticks to prevent the mid-range game, it’ll be all Derrick Henry. Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews will be your top receivers on the day.

-Bo Nix has steadily gained confidence in an offense that struggled to start the season. That’s unfortunate timing for Baltimore, since they’ve seemed to struggle more and more defending the pass as the season’s gone on. With the attention on Courtland Sutton, I think you see Troy Franklin show out in this game and flash some of the chemistry he had with Nix at Oregon. Franklin hauls in six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

-This prediction seems like it’s never that bold nowadays, but Lamar Jackson is going to be the difference in this one. With blanket coverage confounding the Ravens early, Lamar will break out with the legs and become the indefensible X-factor that breaks so many defensive game plans. LJ is the leading rusher for Baltimore in the first half and runs for a TD of 25+ yards.

It’ll be tight. I hope I’m wrong, but the defensive struggles worry me that this’ll be closer than it should.

Ravens 24 Broncos 20

Rob Shields

For the second straight day, Lamar Jackson missed practice. While I would guess he plays in the game, not practicing isn’t ideal.

The Ravens also don’t have 3 of their d-linemen starting and Michael Pierce just went on the IR.

With the quick turnaround against Cincinnati ahead, the Ravens are facing some tough injury decisions.

On top of that, they are playing good Denver team that comes in with a very good defense and the same 5-3 record the Ravens have.  Bo Nix is coming along well and poses some problems, as does any QB right now when the Ravens defense is on the field.

The Broncos defense is very good against the run and Pat Surtain is arguably the best corner in the league.  It won’t be easy to move the ball, especially with Lamar not practicing this week so far.

I would feel worse about this game if the Ravens won last week but I think they will play with a little more desperation although they need to avoid looking ahead to Thursday.

It does sound like the secondary will be back in tact, so that’s at least a good sign.

I’ll take the Ravens in a close ugly game.

Ravens 20 Broncos 16

Chad Racine

Coming off a very disappointing loss last week I have to remind myself it’s a week-to-week league and we shouldn’t let one game determine how we feel about the team. However, the defense has been struggling all season and there’s good reason to still have doubt about them getting it turned around come Sunday. The offense will have a challenge with a stout Broncos defense but I have much more faith in them.

– Lamar Jackson will have a day passing the ball for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns.

– Rashod Bateman will remind everyone that he’s here to stay as the #2 wide receiver with a touchdown and just under 100 yards.

– Justice Hill will stand out in the run and pass game with a receiving touchdown on a screen pass.

– Mark Andrews continues his streak with another touchdown reception.

– The Broncos will find success in the running game with the loss of Pierce and a banged up Urban and Jones.

– The lack of pass rush will show up once again, giving Bo Nix way too much time to throw from the pocket.

– Kyle Hamilton will have a sack and a pass defensed – but no interceptions again for the entire defense.

Ravens 27 Broncos 23

Chris Schisler

The Ravens are going into an interesting test. Baltimore is at home and they should be the better team. The Ravens are the ones with an MVP candidate studded backfield. The Ravens are the team that was the number one seed a year ago. They were flying high after their Monday Night Football game against the Buccaneers. On paper, the Ravens should be fine. But Denver has five wins and a great defense. The narrative got a little complicated after the Ravens’ confidence took a hit against the Browns.

Denver shouldn’t be able to stop the Ravens but they can slow them down. I wouldn’t expect it to be Derrick Henry’s or Lamar Jackson’s best statistical game. Look for the Ravens to have some rough patches that could make the game close.

The key will be the Ravens’ defensive effort. Will Bo Nix look like a rookie quarterback or will he further humble the Ravens? I could see it being a bit of both. It’s going to be a slug fest between two teams that are almost exact opposites this season.

The Ravens should be able to put up enough points. Give me the Ravens.

Ravens 24 Broncos 17

Nikhil Mehta

Does Lamar Jackson play? That’s the biggest question facing the Ravens heading into the weekend, one that would dictate their offensive strategy and place a massive burden on their underperforming defense.

Even if Jackson suits up, the Broncos could spell trouble for the Ravens offense with solid cornerback play and a dangerous pass rush. The offensive line can’t have a repeat performance of last week, and they need to find a way to get some push up front in the run game.

The Broncos also have an exceptional offensive line, especially in pass protection, which could spell trouble for an undermanned Ravens defensive line as the game goes on. If the secondary can’t get it together, Sean Payton and Bo Nix could score 28+ points for the fourth time in their last five games.

Even at home, this feels like a sneaky-tough matchup for the Ravens, but Baltimore has historically been good after losses under John Harbaugh. Assuming Jackson plays, the Ravens will take this one in a squeaker featuring a late field goal by Justin Tucker to keep the game out of reach.

Ravens 27 Broncos 20

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