After a full week of the English breakfast, we're nearly to the main course for the Ravens' trip abroad – Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Here are my thoughts going into the game, all in 50 words or less:
This game has high stakes. The Ravens want to atone for their 2017 London disaster. But most of all, they want to avoid dropping two straight after a frustrating loss last week in Pittsburgh. After spending a week here, they need a rewarding flight home to Baltimore.
A subplot is the different travel approaches each team took. The Ravens left Monday morning, arriving at midnight that day. The Titans took the red eye Thursday night, arriving Friday morning. After personally experiencing both strategies, my body feels way better now than I recall it feeling six years ago.
Ultimately, however, I think the whole travel schedule, and the turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that has gotten plenty of negative ink, are just ancillary storylines. At the end of the day, I think the normal football rules that govern who wins and loses will mostly dictate Sunday's victor.
A fast start for the Ravens is critical. That would flush the bad taste from Pittsburgh and put the Titans, who rely heavily on Derrick Henry and their rushing attack, into a bind. That's especially the case for holding onto the football. No fumbles, no drops – especially early.
I'm not concerned at all about the Ravens' ability to catch the ball. They had no issues the first four weeks. In my opinion, drops are mostly mental. They can linger and spread. The best solution: put them out of mind. Some big grabs early on would do just that.
You're not going to eliminate all your mistakes in football. They happen to everyone. But if the Ravens can even cut theirs in half, they will be extremely difficult to topple. The Ravens should've beaten the Colts and the Steelers, two tough teams, despite a deluge of errors. That says something.
524: Roquan Smith on Bringing Real Football to London, Ray Lewis Comparisons, Bears Trade, Leadership
Ravens LB Roquan Smith joins our insiders, Mink and Garrett, to talk about moving on from the Steelers loss, playing in London, his trash talk and leadership, comparisons to Ray Lewis, the Bears trading him, and much more.
Roquan Smith vs. Henry has the potential to take on some Ray Lewis-Eddie George vibes. It's two physical warriors going at it in the next chapter of a non-divisional rivalry. I'm not sure there will be the same vitriol, but the pads will be popping just the same.
I can't get over the horrible timing of losing Morgan Moses, who had played in 134 straight games, and his backup when facing arguably the NFL's best pass rusher off the right tackle in T.J. Watt. The Ravens' health continues to improve, and getting Moses back would be huge.
Step inside the Ravens' practices at the Tottenham Hotspur training ground.
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Huddle
From left: DB Daryl Worley, DB Brandon Stephens
From left: G Ben Cleveland, FB Pat Ricard
Warm ups
Warm ups
UK fans
From left: Head Coach John Harbaugh, Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach Ange Postecoglou
From left: Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach Ange Postecoglou, Head Coach John Harbaugh
From left: Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach Ange Postecoglou, Head Coach John Harbaugh
From left: Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach Ange Postecoglou, Head Coach John Harbaugh
From left: Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach Ange Postecoglou, Head Coach John Harbaugh
CB Marlon Humphrey
ILB Trenton Simpson
ILB Patrick Queen
DE Brent Urban
From left: DT Travis Jones, OLB Jadeveon Clowney
CB Rock Ya-Sin
Defense
ILB Roquan Smith
DE Brent Urban
OLB Jadeveon Clowney
P Jordan Stout
K Justin Tucker
DT Travis Jones
Getting ready for a drill.
QB Lamar Jackson
RB Gus Edwards
Line of scrimmage
QB Lamar Jackson
S Geno Stone
From front: WR Zay Flowers, CB Kevon Seymour
QB Tyler Huntley
WR Zay Flowers
TE Mark Andrews
S Geno Stone
QB Lamar Jackson
T Morgan Moses
QB Tyler Huntley
From left: WR Nelson Agholor, CB Rock Ya-Sin
ILB Patrick Queen
From left: DC Mike Macdonald, ILB Roquan Smith
RB Keaton Mitchell
QB Lamar Jackson
RB Gus Edwards
QB Lamar Jackson
T Morgan Moses
Running backs
OLB Jadeveon Clowney
Huddle before a drill.
QB Lamar Jackson
TE Mark Andrews
From left: OLB DeAndre Houston-Carson, RB Gus Edwards
From left: OLB Kyle Van Noy, DT Justin Madubuike
CB Ronald Darby
QB Tyler Huntley
TE Charlie Kolar
CB Rock Ya-Sin
WR Sean Ryan
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Nelson Agholor
DT Justin Madubuike
From left: WR Laquon Treadwell, S Kyle Hamilton
S Kyle Hamilton
OLB DeAndre Houston-Carson
QB Lamar Jackson
From left: CB Arthur Maulet, WR Sean Ryan
From left: S Marcus Williams, S Kyle Hamilton
TE Mark Andrews
Huddle
DT Broderick Washington
Huddle
Huddle
S Kyle Hamilton
Huddle
ILB Roquan Smith
Huddle
P Jordan Stout
P Jordan Stout
P Jordan Stout
From left: G Kevin Zeitler, G/T Sala Aumuvae-Laulu
G Ben Cleveland
RB Owen Wright
P Jordan Stout
From left: CB Jeremy Lucien, T Daniel Faalele
Defense
T Ronnie Stanley
Offensive line
WR Rashod Bateman
UK fans
C Sam Mustipher
From left: ILB Patrick Queen, WR Odell Beckham Jr.
CB Marlon Humphrey
TE Mark Andrews
QB Lamar Jackson
UK fans
From left: QB Josh Johnson, QB Tyler Huntley, QB Lamar Jackson
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Offense
S Marcus Williams
T Morgan Moses
RB Justice Hill
CB Marlon Humphrey
Defense
CB Ronald Darby
From left: QB Tyler Huntley, QB Lamar Jackson
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Rashod Bateman
S Kyle Hamilton
QB Tyler Huntley
From left: T Daniel Faalele, OLB Jeremiah Moon
CB Tre Swilling
CB Ronald Darby
OLB DeAndre Houston-Carson
RB Gus Edwards
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Nelson Agholor
WR Zay Flowers
CB Arthur Maulet
From left: DT Broderick Washington, G/T Sala Aumauvae-Laulu
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Devin Duvernay
T Morgan Moses
CB Marlon Humphrey
UK fans
TE Mark Andrews
T Ronnie Stanley
WR Zay Flowers
ILB Patrick Queen
CB Marlon Humphrey
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Rashod Bateman
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
QB Tyler Huntley
WR Nelson Agholor
P Jordan Stout
UK fans
Scrum
CB Ronald Darby
QB Lamar Jackson
C Sam Mustipher
RB Justice Hill
WR Zay Flowers
QB Lamar Jackson
WR Zay Flowers
From left: P Jordan Stout, LS Tyler Ott, K Justin Tucker
WR Rashod Bateman
WR Rashod Bateman
From left: QB Lamar Jackson, TE Mark Andrews, TE Isaiah Likely
Huddle
Huddle
From left: OL Patrick Mekari, T Ronnie Stanley
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
QB Lamar Jackson
CB Marlon Humphrey
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
S Kyle Hamilton
UK fans
I found Odell Beckham Jr.'s comments about "failing the test" when faced with his first adversity of the season to be refreshingly candid. When he started going down the wrong path in Cleveland, it was a messy ending. Beckham seems to be nipping that in the bud in Baltimore.
It's great to see the NFL's footprint abroad continue to grow. The onslaught of fans at our live taping of "The Lounge" episode Friday in London was truly breathtaking. With the league emphasizing global expansion, it probably won't be another six years before the Ravens break out their passports again.
