Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Week 6 Game Preview

The Baltimore Ravens will hit the road in Week 6 to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Ravens, sitting at 3-2, will look to avoid a two-game losing streak after falling to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.

As for the 1-4 Bucs, they too are coming off a loss. They lost in overtime to the Saints in New Orleans. 

Baltimore is in the midst of four road games in five contests after it began its road trip last week in Indy. It'll host the Atlanta Falcons next week then hit the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9.  

Needless to say, this Bucs game will probably be the easiest game Baltimore gets for a while. While Tampa has played better football the past two weeks, it did start the year 0-3, including a 59-14 thrashing at the hands of the Falcons. 

Here is my preview of the game for Baltimore. 

Week 5 Recap

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The Ravens hit the road to face the Colts in Week 5 and came away with a frustrating loss. 

Joe Flacco had a terrible game, but it was mainly due to the horrible play of his offensive line. It gave up four sacks and six quarterback hits.

On the other side, Andrew Luck did manage to get his team into scoring position on two occasions in the first half. However, those only resulted two field goals by Adam Vinatieri.

Flacco led Baltimore's offense on a scoring drive just before the first half ended, and Justin Tucker hit a 52-yard field goal as the half expired with Indy leading 6-3. 

Flacco then threw an interception on the Ravens' first offensive series of the second half.

After that, Luck led the Colts on a 33-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dwayne Allen.

The Colts took a 13-3 lead, and the defense held Baltimore in check the rest of the way to win the game, 20-13.

News and Notes

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

C.J. Mosley Draws Ray Lewis Comparison

The Ravens scored big when they got C.J. Mosley in the 2014 NFL draft. Needing to add another inside linebacker to their 3-4 defense, Baltimore snagged Mosley with the 17th pick in this year's draft.

So far, Mosley has been everything the Ravens hoped for and then some. He's the only NFL player to have at least 40 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble entering Week 6.

Mosley is now drawing comparisons to one of the greatest inside linebackers of all time who happened to play for Baltimore in Ray Lewis. 

Per BaltimoreRavens.com, Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb said Mosley reminds him of Lewis, who Webb played with for four seasons. "Some of the plays he made on the field today, it’s unbelievable,” Webb said after Sunday's game. “Reminds you of Ray [Lewis]—to me."

There's still a ways to go before Mosley reaches his full potential, but so far, he's looking like a future star and a long-term anchor in the middle of Baltimore's defense. 

Asa Jackson Placed on Injured Reserve

Baltimore is already dangerously thin at cornerback, and it's only getting worse. Just as Lardarius Webb is starting to return to form after missing time with a back injury, Asa Jackson was just placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, per the team's official website.

Jackson suffered a severe sprained toe in the Week 5 loss to the Colts. He can now return to practice in six weeks but can't play in a game for eight weeks. 

Ravens Work Out 12-Time Pro Bowl CB Bailey but Sign Dominique Franks

To add to their corner depth, the Ravens signed Dominique Franks this past week. The real news though was that they worked out 12-time Pro Bowler Champ Bailey, as reported on the team's website. 

After playing last year with the Denver Broncos, Bailey was let go this offseason before signing with the New Orleans Saints, who cut him during the preseason. 

Regardless, Baltimore opted instead to sign Franks, a 6'0", 197-pounder. He has 30 tackles, three interceptions and nine passes defended in four NFL seasons.

Franks played in 15 games last season as a reserve corner for the Atlanta Falcons, and he has just four career starts in four seasons. He was signed by Baltimore this offseason but was cut prior to the start of the regular season. 

Injury Report

David Richard/Associated Press

NAME	POSITION	INJURY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
Brown, Marlon	WR	Pelvis	DNP	DNP	-
Canty, Chris	DL	Wrist	DNP	DNP	-
Elam, Matt	S	Shoulder	DNP	LP	-
Jernigan, Timmy	DT	Knee	DNP	DNP	-
Monroe, Eugene	T	Knee	DNP	DNP	-
Osemele, Kelechi	G/T	Knee	DNP	DNP	-
Smith, Daryl	LB	Knee	DNP	LP	-
Zuttah, Jeremy	G/C	Ankle	DNP	LP	-

Practice Status

DNP = Did not participate in practice

LP = Limited participation in practice—less than 100 percent of a player's normal repetitions

FP = Full participation—100 percent of a player's normal repetitions

*Injury report courtesy of BaltimoreRavens.com.

The Ravens continue to await the return of left tackle Eugene Monroe. The protector of quarterback Joe Flacco's blind side, Monroe was lost to a knee injury that's held him out of action for the past two games.

He's expected to miss this week and potentially several games thereafter. With divisional games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers coming up, Baltimore needs Monroe back as soon as possible. 

Matchups and X-Factors to Watch

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DE Michael Johnson vs. LT James Hurst 

The Ravens are very familiar with Michael Johnson. The veteran defensive end spent his first five NFL seasons within the AFC North in Cincinnati.

With the Bengals, Johnson registered 5.5 career sacks versus Baltimore to go with his 28.5 over his 83 career games. 

Needless to say, he's done a good job at sacking Flacco at least once in most of his games versus Baltimore. He gets to go against a rookie undrafted free agent in James Hurst. 

Filling in for the injured Eugene Monroe, Hurst will be making his third start this week, and this will be his biggest test to date. If he can block Johnson one-on-one consistently, that will be big for the offense. 

However, if he gets beat a lot or Baltimore has to use another blocker to help block Johnson, that could slow the offense and make life hard for quarterback Joe Flacco. 

CB Jimmy Smith vs. WR Vincent Jackson

With so many injuries at cornerback, Jimmy Smith has taken over as the No. 1 corner who often shadows opposing teams' No. 1 receiver. 

If that holds true this week, that means he will be matched up with Vincent Jackson. Though he's dealing with injured ribs, Jackson has caught 11 passes for 172 yards and one score over the past two games.

As for Smith, he's been thrown at 24 times over fives games but has allowed just 12 catches for 67 yards and no touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). 

Whoever Smith is covering Sunday, that receiver figures to get held in check for much of the contest.  

X-Factor: CB Lardarius Webb

As mentioned before, Baltimore is dealing with a depleted cornerback unit with Asa Jackson going down. Jackson played in 43 snaps last week versus the Colts before leaving the game, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Jackson's injury meant more snaps for Lardarius Webb, who played a season-high 45 snaps. Webb played a total of four snaps in one game prior to that while missing three other games as he recovered from a back injury. 

With Jackson now out, Webb will likely ascend back into a starting role versus the Buccaneers. How well Webb plays the majority of the game for the first time makes him an X-factor this week. 

Prediction

David Richard/Associated Press

The Ravens badly need this win with a tough stretch of games coming up. Though Baltimore is playing on the road, this will be one of the easier games it gets this year. 

Baltimore's front seven will contain the Bucs offense that ranks 26th in total offense. The Ravens will also expose the Bucs' horrendous pass defense, which ranks 30th in the NFL. 

Joe Flacco will have a big passing day while spreading the ball around to Torrey Smith, Steve Smith and Owen Daniels. The Bucs simply cannot contain all of those options. 

Baltimore gets a much-needed win to improve to 4-2 and possibly ascend into first place in the AFC North if the Cincinnati Bengals lose to the Carolina Panthers. 

Prediction: Ravens win, 24-20