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Your In-Depth Eagles at Ravens Week 15 Preview

Adrian Fedkiw|

With the Philadelphia Eagles essentially out of the playoff picture, it’s time to start evaluating the future when they visit Baltimore and take on the Ravens on Sunday afternoon.

That’s going to be the them for this preview as the Eagles attempt to snap a four-game losing streak.

EAGLES PASSING GAME VS. RAVENS PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 80.5 Passer Rating (25/32), 233 YPG (21/32)
BAL- 88.0 Passer Rating allowed (11/32), 236 YPG allowed (11/32)

Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins was arguably Carson Wentz’s best of his career, but it still wasn’t enough.

Wentz was 32-of-46 for 314 yards with a touchdown and interception in the Eagles’ 27-22 loss. His pocket awareness and ball placement was superb. He was 5-of-9 for 61 yards on the Eagles’ final drive prior to the strip-sack where Ryan Kerrigan blew right by the right tackle Matt Tobin, who was filling in for the injured Allen Barbre.

Now we just need to see some consistency for the rest of the season. Wentz struggled with his mechanics for nearly two months before his performance last week. He was staring receivers down, throwing into double and triple coverage, not setting his feet in the pocket and airmailing the seam routes.

With the Eagles basically out of the playoff race, it’s time for them to look towards the future and see what young undrafted rookies Paul Turner and Bryce Treggs can provide. I’d like to see them get a lot of playing time over the final three weeks.

Head coach Doug Pederson got the tight ends involved a lot more Sunday than over recent weeks. They caught 19 of Philadelphia’s 32 completions for 184 yards. Zach Ertz hauled in 10 balls for 112 yards, while Trey Burton added seven receptions for 65 yards. I don’t know why we haven’t seen more of the two to three tight end sets.

The Ravens might be without their best cornerback on Sunday Jimmy Smith, who suffered an ankle injury against the New England Patriots on Monday night.

Baltimore’s pass defense isn’t the same when he’s not out there. In the Ravens’ 27-23 loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 16, Smith held star wide receiver Odell Beckham to two catches for 11 yards in the first half before departing with a concussion. After leaving, Beckham went off for 211 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 66-yard with 1:24 left. It happened again on Monday night as Tom Brady accumulated 406 passing yards and three touchdowns.

 

EAGLES RUNNING GAME VS. RAVENS RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 4.2 YPC (17/32), 108.6 YPG (15/32)
BAL- 3.4 YPC allowed (1/32), 75.5 YPG allowed (1/32)

Ryan Mathews returned last Sunday after missing the last two games with a sprained MCL and carried the ball 15 times for 60 yards.

But going back to the point I made earlier about seeing what you have for the future, insert Kenjon Barner and Byron Marshall. Wendell Smallwood was placed on IR with a knee injury and Darren Sproles suffered a concussion Sunday following that vicious hit by Deshazor Everett.

Let’s see what Barner and Marshall can do. And it’ll be a tough test going up against, statistically, the best run defense in the NFL.

For the Ravens it starts up front with defensive ends Timmy Jernigan and Lawrence Guy and nose tackle Brandon Williams. The Pro Bowl hopeful Williams uses his incredible power to push linemen back in the run game, while Jernigan uses his strength to bull rush and get into the backfield.

It also helps having inside linebacker C.J. Mosley. His tackling is among the best out of all the inside linebackers. He plays with great anticipation and has a high football IQ. He stacks up blockers, sheds them and finds the ball

RAVENS PASSING GAME VS. EAGLES PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 91.7 Passer Rating allowed (15/32), 243 YPG allowed (13/32)
BAL- 84.5 Passer Rating (23/32), 262 YPG (7/32)

Joe Flacco struggled during the first half of the season, but has picked up his play since, throwing for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions over his last five games.

Flacco possesses exceptional arm talent, there may not be another quarterback that throws the deep out with as much ease as Flacco does. He also puts a lot of arc on his deep ball and drops it into the bucket beautifully. He’s athletic and mobile enough to escape the pocket and throw on the move and makes good decisions for the most part.

The Ravens took a flyer in the offseason on Mike Wallace and he’s rewarded them by leading the team in yards with 903 and touchdowns with four. The 37-year-old Steve Smith is still producing although his explosiveness is dwindling and Breshad Perriman has been inconsistent.

Going back to the theme of seeing what you have for the future, maybe it’s time to get undrafted rookie and Wentz’s former teammate C.J. Smith some snaps. He showcased good ball skills in the preseason.

After not registering a sack for eight games, Fletcher Cox put up two last week. He continually gets double and triple-teamed most of the time, but it was nice to see him get off the schneid.

RAVENS RUNNING GAME VS. EAGLES RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 4.1 YPC allowed (15/32), 101.4 YPG allowed (15/32)
BAL- 3.7 YPC (27/32), 86.0 YPG (28/32)

Baltimore hasn’t been able to run the ball consistently all season with either Terrance West or Kenneth Dixon, but the offensive line has played musical chairs all season long due to injury. The Ravens have, however, improved since averaging a measly 2.78 yards per carry midway through the season.

Marshal Yanda missed three games earlier this season due to a shoulder injury and he’s a devastating mauler in the running game. It goes through him.

The Eagles run defense, meanwhile, has allowed 475 yards total over their last six games after having their struggles earlier in the season.

PREDICTION: Going up against a desperate team that is a game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North and in a must-win situation, I’m going with the Ravens. I do believe Wentz will have another big afternoon going up against a suspect Ravens secondary.

Baltimore 24-16

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