NFL Pre-Season Football – Detroit vs Baltimore Preview
The Detroit Lions arrive in Baltimore on Friday looking for a much different outcome than last week’s preseason opener, as they take on a Ravens team that started slow but flew past the Falcons in their preseason opener at Atlanta last week.
When: Friday, August 17, 2012 at 8:15 PM EST
Where: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD.
TV: FOX
LINE: -3 (Ravens), O/U 37.5
After leading comfortably most of the way, Detroit dropped their preseason opener to the Cleveland Browns.
Both the Lions backups and starters played well, but when the team dug down past the first two layers of the depth chart, it all came undone, especially on the defensive side of the football.
Detroit gave up 120 rushing yards and 309 passing yards, numbers they will need to improve on, no matter who is on the field. There were some flashes of promise though, as Dean Jones, Carmen Messina and Doug Hogue each had decent outings.
However, that was against Cleveland, and they are sure to be put to the test when they face a Ravens offense that received a surprising performance from back up quarterback Curtis Painter, who tossed for three touchdowns in last week’s win over the Falcons. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Ravens got off to a slow start, despite starter Joe Flacco going 9-for-12 with a touchdown, including one to Deonte Thompson, who hauled in a total of three passes.
The running game was not overly impressive though, as Ray Rice was played expectedly sparingly.
Defensively, the Ravens appeared as deep as ever, allowing just 71 rushing yards and 273 passing yards, with the bulk of those coming early in the contest as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones were having their way with the Baltimore D.
That will not bode well for a Detroit offense that is clearly still in need of a big time running back.
With Jahvid Best still on the sideline, Joique Bell averaged 5.6 yards per carry and Keiland Williams averaged 7.9, but neither really appears to be a back that can go the distance.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Ravens 28, Lions 21 — Both teams still have plenty of work do. I expect the Lions starters to see more playing time, as well as Baltimore, making this a decent preseason matchup. Nevertheless, I see the Ravens taking this one, as their first defensive unit is just warming up.
