The Baltimore Ravens are supremely confident going into this game on Sunday afternoon.  They have a lot more playoff experience than the Chiefs do and it could play a big role in this game.  The Chiefs are 7-1 at Arrowhead Stadium this year but they are an offensive team with a so-so D which the Ravens expect to exploit both on the ground and through the air.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely come out running the ball in this game with Ray Rice & Willis McGahee attacking a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 110.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry so far this year.  The O-Line is going to have to keep Joe Flacco clean in this game to really excel on offense.  The Chiefs are giving up 219.9 yards passing per game so Flacco is likely going to make some plays down the field.  Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadek, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap are likely all to see quite a few targets in this game.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Ravens are going to key on stopping Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones in this game forcing the Chiefs to throw the ball.  That will be easier said than done as the Chiefs are averaging 164.2 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Ravens will likely double Dwayne Bowe and force Matt Cassel to beat them by throwing to some else.  Safety Ed Reed will be ballhawking in this game as he has been outstanding since missing the first few games of he year due to injury.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, CHIEFS 16

The Ravens have won three games in a row.  They can win the AFC North (earning a bye next weekend) if they can beat the Bengals and the Browns can beat the Steelers in Cleveland this Sunday.  The Ravens will be looking for revenge in this game as the Bengals beat them earlier this year, 15-10 in Cincy.  The Bengals are suddenly hot as they have won two games in a row so this isn’t going to be a cakewalk for the Ravens.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are likely going to be more conservative than usual due to the fact that the Bengals picked off Joe Flacco 4 times in the first game between these two teams.  That means that Ray Rice & Willis McGahee are going to get a lot of work against a Bengals’ D that is allowing 116.3 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  The Bengals don’t have much of a pass rush, so Flacco should have time to throw the ball.  He will likely spread  the ball around to Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals have nothing to lose so expect some trick plays this Sunday.  Also, look for Carson Palmer to throw the ball a lot to his young and talented WRs and TEs in this game.  The Ravens need to get to Palmer and force him into making some mistakes or he’s going to make some plays down the field as the Ravens are giving up 219.6 yards passing per game.  The Bengals will also challenge the Ravens’ D’s manhood with a pair of hard runners in Cedric Benson & Bernard Scott.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BENGALS 20

The Ravens are on a 2-game winning streak as they head to Cleveland in a “must win” game for them.  They can still win the AFC North despite the Steelers’ win against the Panthers last night.  The Browns have lost 2 games in a row in which they have scored a combined 23 points!  Cleveland still has quite a bit of hate reserved for the Ravens who are going into a snakepit.  The Ravens beat the Browns in a hard fought 23-17 earlier this year in Baltimore.  Here is a look  at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens got back to running the ball last weekend as Ray Rice had a big day.  I look for the Ravens to run the ball a lot against the Browns with Rice & Willis McGahee against a Browns’ D  that is allowing 129.2 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  Joe Flacco will likely have time to throw the ball against the Browns but he won’t have Eric Wright to pick on.  The last time the Browns played the Ravens, Flacco hit Boldin with 3 TD passes over Eric Wright…..but this time around Joe Haden (5 interceptions) will be covering Boldin making things quite a bit different.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Ravens are going to key on Peyton Hillis in this game.  He rushed for 144 yards against the Ravens in the first matchup and he also caught 7 passes.  If the Ravens can slow down Hillis, then they can come after rookie QB Colt McCoy.  McCoy has been solid for the Browns so far this year and his favorite target appears to be TE Ben Watson so Ed Reed better be ready for this game.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BROWNS 20

The Ravens have won three of their last four games as they are still 1 game behind the Steelers in the AFC North.  The Saints have won six games in a row since getting pulverized by the Cleveland Browns.  The Saints have scored at least 30 points in each of their last five games.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens don’t likely want to engage in a shootout with the Saints.  With that in mind, I think they are going to come out running the ball with Ray Rice & Willis McGahee this Sunday.  The Saints only have 9 interceptions so far this year so Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Flacco will likely take some shots down the field to Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Derrick Mason.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints have been throwing to get a lead before running the ball to grind out wins.  That means the Ravens are going to need to blitz a little more than usual.  Drew Brees spreads the ball around so much that it’s almost foolish to double anyone.  Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas & Reggie Bush will handle most of the running when the Saints decide to do it and they are all solid backs.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 27, RAVENS 23

The Ravens have won 4 of their last six games but they will be coming off a very tough loss to the Steelers (13-10) last Sunday Night.  The Texans have lost 5 of their last six games but they are still only 2 games behind the Jaguars in the AFC South.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are likely going to try to throw the ball to get  the lead and then grind it out on the ground.  The O-Line will have to keep DE Mario Williams away from Joe Flacco.  If Flacco has time to throw the ball, he’s going to do major damage against a Texans’ secondary that is allowing 287.4 yards passing per game.  That means that Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Ray Rice could have big games catching the ball.  Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will also likely get some decent yards on the ground this Monday Night.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are going to try to run the ball with Arian Foster and throw short passes to him to help control the clock and keep the Texans’ D off the field.  If Matt Schaub has time to throw the ball, he’s going to do some damage to the Ravens because they don’t have a corner good enough to deal with Andre Johnson.  The Ravens will have to tighten up the chinstraps because the Texans have a solid offense.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 24, TEXANS 23

The Ravens have won their last two games by a combined score of 54-23!  They are 5-0 at home where they have outscored their opponents 135-88.  They also beat the Steelers earlier this year in Pittsburgh 17-14.  The Steelers are 5-1 on the road so something has to give this Sunday Night.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens don’t care what the stats say (Steelers allow 64.0 yards rushing per game and 3.0 ypc), they are going to give the ball to Ray Rice and Willis McGahee both running the ball and catching passes out of the backfield.  The Steelers will be blitzing like crazy in this game because their secondary has been giving up a lot of yards this season (240.5 per game).  I look for Flacco to spread out his receivers and attack the Steelers both down the field and on the short stuff to the backs and Todd Heap.

When the Steelers have the ball:  I think the Steelers are going to come out running the ball with Rashard Mendenhall so Ray Lewis will likely be meeting up a lot with him on Sunday Night.  Ben Roethlisberger is playing with a fractured right foot so look for him to operate a lot of the shotgun.  OLB Terrell Suggs and DT/DE Haloti Ngata are likely going to be in “Big Ben’s” face early and often in this game.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, STEELERS 20

The Ravens have won three of their last four games while the Buccaneers have won 4 of their last 5 games.  The Buccaneers have not beaten a team with a winning record so far this year.  They are o-3 in those games and they have been outscored 96-40!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens have been itching to get the running game going and this could be the week.  The Buccaneers are allowing 136.5 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  That means Ray Rice and Willis McGahee might get their rocks off in this contest.  Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to throw the ball but he has to be careful because the Bucs have 15 interceptions so far this year.  Look for Flacco to shy away from CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber meaning that T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Todd Heap and Ray Rice will be heavily involved in the passing game just like last weekend.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Ravens will likely key on LeGarrette Blount early in this game as he has been a jackhammer for the Bucs since taking over as the starting RB.  The Ravens will also likely slide safety Ed Reed to whichever side rookie WR Mike Williams is on as he is Josh Freeman’s favorite target.  The Ravens will likely also make sure that they contain Freeman in the pocket because he can make big plays with his legs.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 26, BUCCANEERS 17

The Ravens are going to be angry after losing to the Falcons in the last seconds last Thursday Night so they won’t be overlooking the Panthers.  That’s bad news for the Panthers who are 1-4 at home this season where they have been outscored 117-46!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely try to be balanced in this game.  Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will handle the running game against the Panthers who are allowing 131.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Panthers don’t have much of a pass rush so Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Look for him to spread the ball around to keep his receivers happy in this game.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Panthers are only averaging 11.6 points per game and 250.6 total yards on offense.  That is pretty darn bad.  But, this Sunday could be even worse with the Panthers starting Brian St. Pierre at QB.  The Panthers will likely turn to the running game but the Ravens D should be able to handle Mike Goodson.  This game is going to get ugly really quick!

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 37, PANTHERS 0

The Ravens are going to have a tough task later tonight in the Georgia Dome.  The Falcons are 17-3 under head coach Mike Smith at home and QB Matt Ryan is 17-1 in the Georgia Dome!  The Ravens are 2-2 on the road while the Falcons are 4-0 at home, so the best chance the Ravens have tonight is to get a quick lead and take the crowd out of the game.  Here is a look at the matchups in tonight’s game:

When the Ravens have the football:  The Ravens would be smart to mix things up against a Falcons’ D that has trouble against the passing game.  But, that doesn’t mean that the Ravens should neglect the running game as Ray Rice & Willis McGahee will likely find some running room against a Falcons’ D that is allowing 4.1 yards per carry.  The Ravens’ tackles need to pay special attention to Falcons’ DE John Abraham who has six sacks already this year.  If the Ravens O-Line give Joe Flacco time to throw the football he will have success against a Falcons’ D that is allowing 250.5 yards passing per game.  I think this is the game where Anquan Boldin has another breakout game.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons don’t change for anyone so expect a heavy dose of Michael Turner tonight.  Ray Lewis and the rest of the LBs better tighten up the chinstraps because Turner packs a punch.  With Ed Reed taking care of Tony Gonzalez tonight, I see Matt Ryan going to his other receivers in Michael Jenkins, Roddy White and Harry Douglas.  Ryan only has 5 interceptions this season so the Ravens are going to have to make sure they tackle well tonight.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, RAVENS 23

The Ravens are coming off a bye week so they have had two weeks to get rested and ready for the Dolphins.  The Ravens are 3-0 at home this year and they have outscored their opponents 92-68 in Baltimore.  The Dolphins are road warriors though as they are 4-0 away from South Beach and they have outscored the competition 74-54 away from home.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to try to be balanced against the Dolphins tomorrow.  That means that Ray Rice & Willis McGahee are going to get a lot of work against a Dolphins’ D that is allowing 101.6 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry so far this year.  The Ravens are going to have to keep OLB Cameron Wake of the Fins’ out of Joe Flacco’s face if they are going to have any success throwing the ball.  The Dolphins are giving up 207.9 yards passing per game this year and they only have 5 interceptions so Flacco should have success tomorrow.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Fins are going to also be balanced so the Ravens’ defensive players are going to have to tighten up the chinstraps.  The Fins like to run the ball and throw short passes, so the Ravens are going to have to be sure tacklers tomorrow.  Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams are a physical pair of RBs and Brandon Marshall is a very physical WR.  The defense will have to bring their A-game if they want to win tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 23, RAVENS 20