Ravens vs. Eagles: Previewing Baltimore's Preseason Week 2 Matchup

The Baltimore Ravens will be back in action Saturday when they head to Pennsylvania to face the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Baltimore is coming off a good showing in its preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints. The Ravens starters looked very impressive as Joe Flacco and the offense drove right down the field to open the game with a balanced attack.

The drive ended with running back Lorenzo Taliaferro plunging into the end zone for a one-yard score to give Baltimore a 7-0 lead. The defense then went on to force consecutive three-and-outs while the backup offense scored two more times to take a 17-0 lead. 

The Saints backups would slowly rally over the next three quarters and take a 27-23 lead with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter. With one possession left, third-string quarterback Bryn Renner guided the Ravens offense down the field with several nice passes before running the ball in for a one-yard score with three seconds left to give his team a 30-27 victory.

This week, expect the Ravens to leave their starters in long when they take on the Eagles. In the second week of preseason action, teams tend to leave their starters in for at least one full quarter and sometimes as long as an entire half. 

With that said, here's all the info you need for Saturday night's game:

Location: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network

Mobile: NFL Game Pass

Radio: SiriusXM Radio

Betting Line (via Odds Shark): Eagles (-3)

News and Notes

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Ravens looking to have peaceful joint practices with Eagles

As mentioned in the previous slide, Week 2 of the preseason is when teams use their starters for more than a series or two like they do in Week 1. 

This offers a better measuring stick of just how good (or bad) teams are at this stage of the preseason. That will be the case even more for Baltimore and Philadelphia this week as they hold joint practices together before Saturday's preseason game.

Head coach John Harbaugh and his Ravens held joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers last year. Unfortunately, joint practices around the NFL as of late have been marred by fights. 

That's not what Harbaugh wants during his team's joint practices with the Eagles this week, as he told ESPN's Jamison Hensley:

"

I felt we did a great job last year with San Francisco in terms of keeping it about business, treating one another with respect. There was no extracurricular stuff right after the play. We're counting on the Eagles to do that, and we'll be emphasizing that to our guys as well.

"

Hopefully, the Eagles and Ravens can have peaceful practices together before going all out in Saturday's game. 

Marc Trestman to call plays from the sideline

New Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman is having to adjust from being an NFL head coach for the past two years to now being a coordinator.

Trestman was the Chicago Bears head coach for the past two years before being fired this offseason. Known as an offensive guru, Baltimore was quick to hire Trestman to replace Gary Kubiak after he became head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Many coordinators choose to call games from the press box so they can have a better view of the entire field. Trestman would rather call plays from the sideline, and that's apparently what he'll do in Baltimore this year. 

As he told ESPN's Hensley, Trestman thinks this is the best way to ensure he's effectively communicating with Flacco. 

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I think it allows me to have direct communication with Joe. We’ve got good expertise up in the box for things that we need, and to be with the guys for just immediate communication with adjustments and getting things done [is important]. There is a comfort level there.

"

If Week 1 of the preseason was any indicator, this should work fine. Trestman's play-calling helped the Ravens jump out to a 17-0 lead to start the game before winning 30-27.

Latest Injury News

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Breshad Perriman still out, but should return soon

The Ravens have been without their prized rookie for much of training camp as Breshad Perriman continues to sit on the sideline. 

A first-round pick out of Central Florida, Perriman suffered a bruised knee while making a diving catch early in camp. He has been out now for two weeks.

Perriman missed the preseason opener against the Saints and now appears likely to miss Saturday's game against the Eagles. The more practice time he misses, the more Perriman falls behind the other receivers and learning the offense. 

According to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, Perriman should be fine after undergoing an MRI and should return to practice in about a week. Perriman is really going to have to work his tail off for the next three weeks if he's going to be starting anytime soon for the receiver-needy Ravens.

Dennis Pitta opening year on PUP list

Ever since training camp began, tight end Dennis Pitta has been on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from last year's hip injury.

Pitta suffered a dislocated hip last year after tearing the rotator cuff in the same hip in 2013. Two straight major hips injuries will now likely cause Pitta to miss the start of the 2015 season. 

Harbaugh said this week the plan is for Pitta to remain on the PUP list when the regular season opens. That means Pitta would be ineligible to play in Baltimore's first six regular-season games this year. 

The good news is Baltimore spent its second-round pick on Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams in this year's draft. Williams has looked good in the preseason thus far and should be able to handle the starting role this season.

Still, it would be a nice boost to Baltimore's offense if Pitta is able to play this year. Having two big pass-catchers like Pitta and Williams playing together would present matchup nightmares for opposing defenses. 

Terrence Brooks completes speedy recovery

As Pitta is set to remain on the PUP list, safety Terrence Brooks just came off of it. 

The Ravens drafted the former Florida State All-American in last year's NFL draft (No. 79 overall). The team expected Brooks, a ball-hawking defender who can play both safety spots, to play significant snaps as a rookie.

Unfortunately, inconsistent play and injuries led to a disastrous first year for Brooks. He played just 245 snaps in 2014 and received a minus-2.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Things would only get worse as Brooks suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee last December against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That led to him spending much of the offseason rehabbing with the expectation he would open the regular season on the PUP list.

Surprisingly, Brooks was far enough in his rehab that the team took him off the PUP list this week, according to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. Brooks is now practicing and should be able to contribute to the defense much sooner than was originally expected. 

While it's unlikely Brooks will play a lot this year, it does give Baltimore added depth at one of its thinner positions. Matt Elam is already done for the year with a torn biceps muscle. 

That means Brooks could end up working his way to being the No. 4 or even No. 3 safety eventually behind starters Will Hill and Kendrick Lewis. 

Key Matchups and X-Factor to Watch

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Ravens RBs vs. Eagles run defense

Baltimore will likely look to win this game in the trenches, but their running backs will be going against a decent Eagles run defense.

Philadelphia has finished 15th and 10th in rushing defense over the past two years. Last year, Baltimore sported the league's No. 8 rushing offense. 

A big reason why was Justin Forsett rushing for 1,266 yards, the fifth most in the NFL, to go with his eight touchdowns. He, along with backups Buck Allen and Taliaferro, will be getting a good test against the Eagles defense. 

Ravens CBs vs. Eagles WRs

Last year, Baltimore's pass defense struggled mightily at times with so many injuries to defensive backs. Pro Bowl corner Jimmy Smith and key backup Asa Jackson missed much of last year with injuries, but both are back and healthy.

They'll join a revamped secondary that includes Lardarius Webb and newcomers Kyle Arrington, Lewis and Cassius Vaughn. They'll get a good test against an Eagles team with several talented receivers, the best of them being Jordan Matthews.

They'll also face the Eagles' first-round pick of this year's draft in former USC receiver Nelson Agholor. Riley Cooper, Josh Huff and Miles Austin are also quality receivers who will give the Ravens' upgraded secondary a good test run.

X-Factor: Matt Schaub 

With the starters getting more reps this week, so too will the primary backups. That means Matt Schaub will be getting a lot of playing time in this game as the backup quarterback.

For much of the offseason, Shaub had a rough showing in OTAs and early on in training camp. However, he bounced back nicely in the team's preseason opener against the Saints.

That game saw Schaub complete 11 of 18 passes for 134 yards with one score and one interception without taking a sack. It wasn't an earth-shattering performance, but it was decent enough that Baltimore can feel better about him being Flacco's backup this year.

Schaub will now get to face an Eagles passing defense that finished 31st in 2014. Assuming he gets a lot of reps in this game, Baltimore's best shot at winning is behind the arm of Schaub going against a porous pass defense. 

Prediction

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

As mentioned in the previous slides, this game will likely feature the starters playing for about a quarter or two.

That means the Ravens starters will be in this game a lot and should outplay the Eagles starters enough to take a 10-point lead into halftime. 

After all, the Eagles will be playing with starting quarterback Sam Bradford coming off a torn ACL and not having played a game in almost a year. 

That kind of rust will lead to the Eagles starting offense getting off to a slow start while the Ravens jump out to a quick lead behind a balanced offensive attack. 

Flacco throws a pair of first-half touchdowns and helps Baltimore take an early double-digit lead, and the backups hold on to keep Philly from coming back in the second half.

Prediction: Ravens 24, Eagles 23