Ravens vs. Saints: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

The New Orleans Saints may be at the top of the NFC South, but at 4-6 and with the Baltimore Ravens in town in Week 12 for a Monday Night Football showdown, a slap of the panic button may be inbound.

November was supposed to be the month things got sorted out for the Saints. After all, Monday's affair is the team's third-straight home game, and no team wins in the Superdome. Except for the first two teams in that stretch, San Francisco and Cincinnati.

Things have not been as dire for the Ravens. Joe Flacco and Co. rest at 6-4 and picked up a win over Tennessee in Week 10 before a bye. Thanks to what is a very balanced roster, the Ravens are right in the thick of a convoluted AFC North race.

One team is due a crushing blow Monday, though. If a note by Yahoo Sports' Rand Getlin is any indication, things will not come easy for either side:

In a quarterback battle complemented by plenty of talent and intrigue, the final game of Week 12 promises to be one of the best Monday showcases of the season.

Role Reversal

Drew Brees and the Saints are known for their prolific aerial assault. This year the team has lived up to that billing and then some, with a third-ranked passing attack and eighth-ranked ground game. 

Yet, a week removed from scoring just 10 points, it is the Ravens that may put on an offensive showcase Monday.

Flacco is in the midst of a great season once again, this time completing 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,521 yards and 17 touchdowns to eight interceptions. It helps that he is complemented by a new lead back in Justin Forsett, who rushed for 112 yards and a pair of scores in the team's last game alone.

Much of the offense's explosiveness comes from the offseason addition of veteran wideout Steve Smith. The former Carolina Panthers star has 49 grabs for 728 yards and four scores this season. Sprinkle in the fact that his 10 career touchdowns against the Saints are his most against any team, and he is sure to put on a show come Monday night.

Part of this positive environment for the Ravens has to do with the Saints, too. Rob Ryan's defense ranks 19th against the rush and 24th against the pass this year. As Nick Mensio of Rotoworld points out, Flacco is at his best against such a unit:

It is easy to fall into the train of thought that the Saints will be the team doing all the scoring in any given encounter, especially at home. But just last week the Cincinnati Bengals, an AFC North foe of Baltimore's and very similar roster, held the Saints to 10 points and posted 27 in the Superdome.

Flacco and the Ravens were surely watching intently while getting healthy on a bye week.

Righting the Ship

The words of Saints coach Sean Payton says it all at this point in the season, with his team at two games below .500 and still only in contention by way of the ineptitude of a pathetic division, per STATS LLC (via ESPN.com):

"

There have been a number of tough losses, close losses, and what that means is at this point in the season, that margin for error becomes that much more slight. We're playing a six-game season right now. The emphasis will shift very quickly to Baltimore and our preparations. We have to find a way to get a win this week.

"

The aforementioned struggling defense is only more hurt by the fact No. 1 corner Keenan Lewis continues to battle nagging injuries. Safety Rafael Bush just hit injured reserve. Over the course of the unit's past three games, opposing teams have averaged 146.3 rushing yards and a per-carry average of 4.8. 

It will be Brees who has to dig his team out of this hole. He has been predictably great this season, throwing for 3,017 yards and 19 scores to 10 picks on a 69.5 completion percentage. But his job is only made harder with the loss of explosive rookie wideout Brandin Cooks, who also recently hit injured reserve.

In other words, more attention than ever can be thrown at tight end Jimmy Graham. The Ravens struggle against the pass this year, ranking 21st in that regard, but tout a top-five run defense. Considering Mark Ingram is coming off a week in which he only ran for 67 yards, the Saints run a very real risk of becoming entirely too one-dimensional Monday.

For the Saints, the biggest game of the season may come in front of a national audience.

When: Monday, November 24, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Watch: ESPN

Betting Info: (via Odds Shark)

• Over/Under: 50
• Spread: New Orleans (-3.5)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Pos.	Status
Michael Campanaro	WR	Questionable

Player	Pos.	Status
Mark Ingram	RB	Probable
Pierre Thomas	RB	Questionable
Khiry Robinson	RB	Questionable
Robert Meachem	WR	Questionable

Injury info will be updated once released, via ESPN.com.

Prediction

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Nobody should discredit Brees outright, but with his dwindling number of weapons and his inability to make a meaningful difference last week with his ground game shut down, Monday is going to be quite a disappointment. 

Baltimore is even better than Cincinnati defensively and is coming off a bye week with the playoffs in mind.

Flacco is not going to have a difficult time with a rough pass defense, and it seems a given that Smith is going to put on a show against one of his oldest adversaries that has allowed him his most success over the years.

Brees will keep it close, but the Superdome will be silent by the end of Monday night.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Saints 20

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).