Ravens Look to Bounce Back After Tough Monday Night Loss
Two teams with Super Bowl aspirations clash Sunday night in Baltimore as the Ravens play host to the two-time defending AFC champs, Kansas City Chiefs. The two AFC heavyweights enter the game with mixed feelings. Kansas City trailed most of the game last week before rallying to defeat Cleveland, 33-29.
It was the complete opposite for Baltimore. The Ravens squandered an early 14-0 lead before falling in overtime to Las Vegas, 33-27.
Game Odds
Kansas City is a 4-point favorite according to sportsbooks, with both teams having -110 odds to cover the spread. There’s a lot of juice with KC on the Moneyline at -200 while the Ravens are +170 on the ML. Sportsbooks has also set the Over/Under at 54.5 points with -110 odds on either side of the number.
Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
Sunday’s win marked the ninth time Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a win after trailing by double-digits. The Chiefs trailed by 10-plus points twice in the game, 15-3 and 22-10, before taking its only lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Mahomes finished the game with 337 yards through the air on 27 of 36 attempts with three touchdowns. For his efforts, the KC superstar earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Must Win?
There’s still a lot of season left, and there is an extra game on the schedule this season, but starting out 0-2 on the year is not an ideal situation. That is what Baltimore is faced with after letting last week’s game slip through their hands. Since 1990 only 11.6 percent of the teams starting out 0-2 made the playoffs.
Only 12 of 258 teams won their division after an 0-2 start, while only three teams have won the Super Bowl after losing their first two games. On the flip side, 41.6 percent of teams starting out 1-1 have made the playoffs since 1990, while 59.1 percent of 1-1 teams have made the postseason since 2002.
Where’s the Help?
Last week Lamar Jackson completed 19 of 30 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. The dual-threat quarterback also led the team with 86 yards rushing, but he also made two costly fumbles in the second half. Jackson called his own numbers 12 times in the game, while Ty’Son Williams and newly signed Latavius Murray combined for 19 totes.
Williams added 65 yards, but 35 of those came on a first-half touchdown run. The Ravens’ banged-up backfield will need to do more on Sunday to have a chance at the upset.
Former Chiefs’ wide receiver Sammy Watkins hauled in four catches for 96 yards, while Hollywood Brown finished with six grabs, 69 yards, and a touchdown.
Other Chiefs Stats
Tyreek Hill did Tyreek Hill things with 11 receptions for 197 yards, including a 75-yard score. Travis Kelce added six catches for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner from eight yards out.
Clyde Edwards Helaire led a modest ground game with 43 yards on 14 totes.
Trends
Kansas City has won six of the 10 ten meetings, and it’s also 6-4 against the spread in its last ten contests with the Ravens. Although the Chiefs are just 1-5 in their last six games overall ATS, they have covered against the Ravens four of the last five meetings.
Baltimore is 7-2 in its last nine games ATS, while the Over has hit in four of the last five games at home.
Free Bet: Over 54.5
