The Baltimore Ravens (3-2) are facing off against Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) Sunday at the Metrodome.  Ray Lewis and the Ravens are very hungry for a win after losing two close games in a row.  The Ravens gave up their first 100-yard rusher in 40 games last week, and they do not want to let that happen again.  I am expecting the Ravens to stack the line and try and shut down the explosive Adrian Peterson who has rushed for 489 yards on 99 carries (4.9 avg) and has seven touchdowns.  That means they are going to force the 40-year-old Brett Favre to beat them, but Favre has been playing very well lately so the Ravens D will have their work cut out for them.  Favre is completing 69% of his passes and has thrown for 1069 yards with nine touchdowns and only two interceptions.  The Ravens need to cut down on their penalties too, as late-game penalties have cost them two weeks in a row now.

The Ravens offense needs to bounce back from last weeks poor performance.  Flacco only threw for 186 yards and had two interceptions.  Flacco needs to step his play up this week, which I expect him to do.  If they can establish their running game Flacco will have an easy time making some plays.  With that two-headed running monster of Ray Rice (5.8 avg) and Willis McGahee (5.2 avg), I think the Ravens will be able to eat up some yards on the ground, especially since the Vikings give up an average of 96 rushing yards per game.  This is going to be a great match-up and it is tough to pick a winner, but I will always take a good defense over a good offense, so I am going with the Ravens in a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Baltimore Ravens 27, Minnesota Vikings 24

The Baltimore Ravens signed wide-receiver David Tyree today and dropped tight end Tony Curtis.  Tyree had been with the New York Giants the last six seasons but they released him before the season started.  He came into the spotlight after making that crazy late-game helmet catch in the Giants Super Bowl XLII win.  The 29-year-old receiver has been battling injuries over the past year but is seemingly healthy now and ready to go.  Tyree will add some depth to the Ravens receiving corps, but he will probably make more of an impact on special teams.  In his career as a receiver, Tyree has played in 73 games with five starts and has 54 receptions for 650 yards and four touchdowns.  Tyree has appeared in 73 career games on special teams and has made 71 tackles (62 solo).

Despite his age Ray Lewis is playing like a mad man.  He has 45 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and he has defensed 3 passes already this season.  Lewis has 19 more tackles than anyone on the Ravens as he is still making plays from sideline to sideline on both sides of the line of scrimmage.  The Ravens hope that Lewis can maintain this level of play the whole year long.

The Baltimore Ravens (3-2) had some very costly penalties for the second week in a row as they fell to the Cincinnati Bengals (4-1) Sunday.  With the Ravens up by seven with less than a minute to play, Frank Walker was called for pass interference and the Bengals got the ball on the twenty yard line.  The very next play, Bengals’ quarterback Carson Palmer hooked up with Andre Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown with only 22 seconds to play.  Earlier in the drive, Ray Lewis was called for unnecessary roughness and Chris Carr had an illegal contact penalty.  Penalties hurt the Ravens all day as they were called for 10 of them, amounting for 76 yards.

Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense looked nothing like the team that has been putting up 34 points per game.  The second year quarterback threw for only 186 yards on 22/31 (71%) attempts and had two interceptions and one touchdown.  They also only racked up 82 rushing yards as a team and their total offensive output Sunday was only 257 yards.

The Ravens defense was not its usual dominant self, giving up at least 100 yards to a rusher for the first time in 40 games.  The Bengals’ Cedric Benson rushed for 120 yards on 27 carries (4.4 avg).  They also let Palmer throw for 271 yards and a touchdown.  The Ravens’ Ed Reed did have a big interception off of Palmer in the 2nd quarter, as he returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.  The Ravens defense also recovered a fumble that Chad Ochocinco lost, so they were still forcing turnovers.  They gave up way too many yards and had way too many penalties though, and that’s why they lost this one.  They will try and bounce back next week on the road against the Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

The Baltimore Ravens (3-1) are facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at home this week.  The Ravens are upset they are not undefeated, as a pair of controversial penalties cost them the game against the New England Patriots last week.  The Ravens are eager to bounce back and I think they will not have a problem with the Cincinnati Bengals, even though they have the same record.  The Ravens defense is too strong for the Bengals.

The Bengals will be looking to establish Cedric Benson and the running game, as he is averaging 4.4 yards per carry.  The Ravens are only giving up 59 rushing yards per game, so I think they will be able to shut down Benson and the Bengals’ running game.  That means Bengals’ quarterback Carson Palmer will have to throw the ball more, and the Ravens are great at pressuring quarterbacks.  Palmer has a big arm and has led the Bengals to two late game victories, but he has not been very consistent this year and will force things at times.  The Ravens could get themselves some points from the defense, as they are great at forcing turnovers.  The Ravens offense should not have too much of a problem with the Bengals D.  The Bengals give up 103 rushing yards per game, so Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will be able to get a lot of yards on the ground. The two running backs have combined for six touchdowns and 496 yards on 86 carries (5.8 avg). Joe Flacco has also been playing well for the Ravens offense, as the quarterback has thrown eight touchdowns and 1,103 yards on 95/151 attempts (63%).  The Ravens are the much better football team and should not have a problem beating the Bengals.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Baltimore Ravens 31, Cincinnati Bengals 13