Ravens Are Unanimous Pick to Beat Giants
Fresh off their bye week, the Ravens begin their final playoff push Sunday at MetLife Stadium against a banged-up New York Giants team that hasn't won a game since the first week of October.
The Ravens (8-5) are 16.5-point favorites over the Giants (2-11), who have lost eight straight, are 0-7 at home, and are starting backup quarterback Tommy DeVito. It's the largest point spread this season.
Unsurprisingly, all 54 pundits we sampled picked Baltimore.
Ravens players and coaches have made it clear they're not taking the Giants lightly.
"We understand how good every single team is," Head Coach John Harbaugh said this week. "The New York Giants are a very talented, very tough [and] very well-coached football team. They're very capable, and we're going to have to play our best football to win the game."
The Ravens know firsthand that it's "any given Sunday in the NFL." They have been a unanimous pick in our sample of pundits two other times this season: against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 and the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. They lost both games.
Here's what pundits are saying about Sunday's game:
The Ravens win in a blowout.
The Baltimore Sun’s C.J. Doon: "Even if New York had a fully healthy roster, this would be a lopsided affair, but the Giants are dealing with a laundry list of injuries that includes linebacker Bobby Okereke, rookie cornerback Dru Phillips and nearly the entire offensive line. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence would at least have been a good test for the interior of the Ravens' offensive line, but he's out, too."
The Athletic's Vic Tafur: "I probably would have talked myself into taking the 16 points if Daniel Jones was still here, but the Ravens are coming off a loss and a bye, and will not hesitate to put their foot — Derrick Henry's — on the Giants' throats."
USA Today’s Lorenzo Reyes: "I wouldn't feel comfortable backing Baltimore with a line this big. That said, I don't see the Giants coming close to keeping pace with the Ravens."
NFL.com’s Dan Parr: "I enjoy the Tommy DeVito career arc as much as anyone, but if New York manages to stay within striking distance on Sunday, something has gone terribly wrong for the Ravens."
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio: "I think the Ravens will blow them off the field. The Giants just aren't equipped to compete with the Ravens right now."
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: "The Giants don't do a lot on offense, which is a problem against the Ravens. Lamar Jackson and his offensive group will score a bunch here against a depleted Giants defense. Ravens big."
Expect the Ravens' run game to be dominant against a vulnerable Giants run defense.
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker: "Henry and Jackson represent a severe mismatch for a New York defense that ranks 29th in yards allowed per game and 30th in yards allowed per attempt. Top running teams such as the Eagles and Washington Commanders have unleashed devastation on the Giants, who have a decent pair of linebackers in Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden but will badly miss Dexter Lawrence on the interior."
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: "This has the makings of a huge day for running back Derrick Henry and the Ravens' rushing attack. The Giants are giving up 4.9 yards per carry this season, which is tied for the franchise's second-worst performance over the past two decades. Baltimore is averaging 5.72 yards per rush attempt, which is the second best in NFL history behind the 1963 Browns."
Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema: "Unless something crazy happens, I think it's just going to be a Derrick Henry-heavy game. They're going to be very content handing the ball off to him saying, 'You better tackle this guy a lot more than you have other backs throughout the season or we're just going to march down the field every time.'"
The Giants will look to make big plays in the passing game.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan: "With Tommy DeVito starting at quarterback, the Giants will try to get the ball downfield, especially against the Ravens' 32nd-ranked pass defense. Baltimore has allowed 264.9 passing yards per game this season. In the three games since moving on from Daniel Jones, they have attempted 13 passes of 20-plus yards with DeVito and Drew Lock, who is out with a heel injury, at quarterback, seventh most in the NFL."
| Source | Prediction | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN | 11 of 11 panelists pick Ravens | |
| Baltimore Sun | 5 of 5 panelists pick Ravens | “The Giants simply aren’t equipped to keep up with a Ravens team that will be fresh coming off its bye and eager to wash away the sour taste from a loss to the Eagles. The Giants have a few good pass rushers, but they’re without their best defender in Lawrence, and they don’t stop the run. That’s not the formula you want against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. On the other side of the ball, New York doesn’t have the playmakers to match touchdowns with the league’s most efficient offense.” — Childs Walker |
| USA Today | 6 of 6 panelists pick Ravens | |
| NFL.com | 5 of 5 panelists pick Ravens | “I could drop a bunch of fancy metrics to explain my prediction here, but is that really necessary? The Giants, losers of eight games in a row, average a league-low 14.9 points per game and now are asked to compete against the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens, who, despite losing two of their last three, still rank third in the league with 29.5 points per game. For those of you keeping score at home, Baltimore is scoring almost twice as many points as the Giants put up on a weekly basis. I'm also taking into account that the Ravens had a chance to get right during a long-awaited bye in Week 14. They are 13-3 under John Harbaugh coming off a regular-season bye, and Jackson is 11-0 in his career as a starter in Week 15 or later, which is the best record of any QB in Week 15 or later in the last 40 seasons.” — Dan Parr |
| NFL Network | 10 of 10 panelists pick Ravens | |
| Sporting News | Ravens 34, Giants 17 | “The Ravens have a terrific matchup after their bye, as a rested Derrick Henry can run all over this New York defense and Lamar Jackson will find plenty of downfield holes to exploit in the passing game. Look for Baltimore's defense to improve with some adjustments.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| CBS Sports | 8 of 8 panelists pick Ravens | “The Ravens are coming off a bye, while the Giants are playing out the string. The Giants don't do a lot on offense, which is a problem against the Ravens. Lamar Jackson and his offensive group will score a bunch here against a depleted Giants defense. Ravens big.” — Pete Prisco |
| Pro Football Talk | 2 of 2 panelists pick Ravens | “The Ravens are in a different class. The Giants feel like they’ve given up.” —Chris Simms |
| Sports Illustrated | 6 of 6 panelists pick Ravens |
Odell Beckham Jr., Dolphins Reportedly Parting Ways; Ravens Floated As Potential Landing Spot
The Miami Dolphins and former Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. have agreed to part ways, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
"Beckham is hoping for more opportunities elsewhere and the team is granting his release," Pelissero wrote. "He'll be on waivers until Monday."
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra named the Ravens as a potential landing spot for the three-time Pro Bowler.
"One of his former clubs – Rams, Ravens – could take a flier on the receiver as they gear up for potential playoff runs," Patra wrote.
Beckham, 32, began the season on the physically unable to perform list and missed the Dolphins' first four games. He had nine catches for 55 yards and no touchdowns in nine games with Miami.
In his lone season with the Ravens in 2023, Beckham had 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns.
DVOA Creator Says Ravens Are AFC's Best Team When They Play at Their Best
Despite the Ravens' 8-5 record, Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) creator Aaron Schatz still believes they are an elite team.
"To me, there's a big three, and I still think of Baltimore as being in it. When they play at their best, they are the best team in the AFC," Schatz told Baltimore Beatdown’s Joshua Reed. "Baltimore has the underlying stats; Kansas City has the win-loss record; and Buffalo has them both. To me, that's the big three, and I mean no disrespect to Pittsburgh, which does have an impressive win-loss record and Mike Tomlin is a Coach of the Year candidate, but to me, those are the Super Bowl contenders in the AFC."
The Ravens are second overall in DVOA, and No. 1 in offense "by leaps and bounds."
"I'm very high on the Ravens and my numbers are very high on the Ravens," Schatz said. "We still have the Ravens second behind Detroit. I know that sounds weird because they've lost some close games. This is the second straight year of this, where the Ravens have just been inconsistent, which means that they have these big big wins, like the win over Buffalo, and then they have these very close losses.
"But the penalties problem is not necessarily predictive of the future. I mean look at the last game where they lost despite the fact that they didn't commit a lot of penalties against the Eagles. At its core, this is still a really good team. The other thing is that offense is more predictive than defense, and the fact that this team has been so stellar on offense this year, that's more predictive than their defense will continue to struggle against the pass. It's more likely that the defense improves than that the offense declines."
Jackson Falls to No. 3 in QB Rankings
A strong case can be made that Jackson is having the best season of any quarterback this year, but he dropped to No. 3 in NFL.com’s Nick Shook’s weekly quarterback rankings.
The Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen knocked Jackson down to No. 2 a few weeks ago and remains in the top spot. This week, the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow moved ahead of Jackson.
"Jackson has still been excellent and is one of the handful of elite quarterbacks currently commanding the NFL spotlight," Shook wrote.
It's worth noting that Jackson is 3-0 against Allen and Burrow this season.
