Ravens vs. Raiders: What's the Game Plan for Baltimore?

The Baltimore Ravens will hit the road for a Week 2 matchup with the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Both teams are coming off losses in Week 1 and looking to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. NFL teams that lose their first two games of a season tend to rarely make it to the postseason, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out: 

"

3 NFL games Sunday feature two 0-1 teams (DET-MIN, TB-NO, BAL-OAK). Since 1990, 12% of teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 18, 2015"

Needless to say, this Sunday is a must-win for both squads, though Baltimore is the one facing the real pressure. After all, the Ravens have made it to the playoffs in six of the previous seven seasons, including a trip to the divisional round last season.

Not only have the Raiders not made it to the playoffs since the 2002 season, they've not even had a winning season over the past 12 seasons. 

Though both teams have the same record entering Week 2, there simply could not be a bigger gap between the two franchises than there already is. 

That, and the fact the Ravens are simply a better team is why Baltimore should absolutely win this game. Here's a look at how they can do so.

Offensive Game Plan 

The Raiders defense was all-around bad in 2014, and against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, they didn't look as though they'd improved at all. 

In 2014, the Raiders finished 16th in passing defense (241 yards allowed per game) and 22nd in rushing defense (119.4 yards allowed per game).

Against Cincinnati, Oakland allowed 269 passing yards and 127 rushing yards in a 33-13 loss that saw the Bengals lead 24-0 at halftime and 33-0 going into the fourth quarter. 

They attacked the Raiders with a balanced passing game in which seven players caught a pass while gashing Oakland consistently for good chunks of yardage on the ground. 

Baltimore should opt to gear its offense toward the ground this week with their passing game still a work-in-progress. Breshad Perriman is out again this week, leaving Baltimore without one of their projected top pass-catchers this season.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

That's why Baltimore should attack Oakland primarily on the ground, and it'll have three capable backs to do so with this week. Justin Forsett will look to rebound after a poor showing against Denver, though his offensive line getting dominated by Denver was a big reason why. 

Lorenzo Taliaferro should play this week after missing Week 1 with a knee injury. Taliaferro is a great short-yardage and goal-line back, and he was missed in several 3rd-and-short situations last week. 

Rookie Javorius Allen had a decent showing in his rookie debut, with 30 yards on nine carries. He's more of a versatile, speedier back who complements what Forsett and Taliaferro do better as a third-down option rather than getting as many carries as he was last week. 

Those three should combine to have a big game against a Raiders front seven that's not nearly as good as Denver's was. The offensive line should perform much better in this one as Baltimore controls this game with its ground game.

Defensive Game Plan

Baltimore's defense should have little trouble dealing with Oakland's porous offense. The Raiders finished dead last in total offense last season, and it was much of the same against the Bengals. 

Even with Baltimore losing Terrell Suggs for the year to a torn Achilles, they still have a strong defense that just held one of the NFL's best offenses to 19 points, seven of which came off Joe Flacco's pick-six to Aqib Talib. 

The key to stopping Oakland's offense is fairly simple: Stop the run and lock-up its receivers to prevent the quick passing game they like to use. 

Last week against the Bengals, Raiders quarterbacks were getting rid of the ball very fast to neutralize the Bengals' pass rush. According to Pro Football Focus, Derek Carr was getting rid of the ball in an average of 2.3 seconds, the seventh-fastest of any NFL QB in Week 1.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Carr only played 13 dropbacks before he was knocked out of the game with a hand injury. That led to backup Matt McGloin getting 33 dropbacks versus Cincinnati.  

McGloin also got the ball out fast in an average of 1.97 seconds, which was tied for the quickest of any QB in Week 1. That shows how quickly the Raiders like to get the ball out and to their receivers.

This means Baltimore must counter by playing close to the line of scrimmage and make sure it's in position to make a play on every pass. As long as Baltimore stops Oakland's passing game, it should not have much trouble shutting down the ground game as well.

The Ravens held Denver's high-powered ground game to a mere 69 yards last week, while Oakland rushed for just 63 yards against the Bengals.  

Baltimore's defensive line of Brandon Williams, Timmy Jernigan and Chris Canty should be able to maintain its gaps and allow Daryl Smith and CJ Mosley to routinely make stops at or close to the line of scrimmage.

Key Players

James Hurst

The Ravens lost starting left tackle Eugene Monroe to a concussion during their loss to the Denver Broncos. The team has since ruled Monroe out versus the Raiders, according to BaltimoreRavens.com. 

That means backup tackle James Hurst will start against the Raiders, which could be bad news. After signing as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina last year, Hurst would finish 2014 137th out of 142 offensive tackles in Pro Football Focus' offensive tackle rankings.

It didn't look as though Hurst improved this offseason with how he played against the Broncos. PFF gave Hurst a terrible minus-9.1 grade for his Week 1 performance.

That wasn't even the worst grade a Ravens lineman had last week. That distinction belonged to starting right tackle Ricky Wagner. He earned a minus-10.4 grade against the Broncos.

Through Week 1, Hurst is PFF's third-worst ranked tackle. That's how bad he played against a great Broncos front seven, and though Oakland is weaker there, it does have two studs in Justin Tuck and Khalil Mack who could make life miserable for Hurst. 

Those two can wreck an offensive game plan, especially Mack, who finished 2014 as PFF's No. 1 4-3 outside linebacker. He can play both linebacker and end, making him even harder for Hurst to defend. 

Tuck and Mack will rotate sides in which they rush on, and you can bet they'll be licking their chops whenever they see Hurst lined up in front of them. How well the second-year Hurst holds up will go a long way in how good Baltimore's offense is able to perform in this one. 

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Timmy Jernigan 

The Ravens will likely see the 2015 debut of Timmy Jernigan this week after he was listed as probable on the final injury report. The stud defensive lineman missed much of the preseason with a knee injury that also kept him out at Denver last week. 

With his return, Baltimore's already strong front seven will look even stronger now that Jernigan is back in the lineup. He can also help offset the loss of Terrell Suggs, though no one is replacing what Suggs brought to Baltimore's defense. 

Jernigan can certainly have a big game against a bad Raiders defensive line. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens ease Jernigan back into the lineup or simply give him a heavy dose of snaps right of the back.

Prediction

The Ravens dominate in the trenches to take control of this one early and often. Justin Forsett has a big game on the ground that helps open up the passing game for Joe Flacco to be able to find some rhythm with his receivers. 

Baltimore's defense suffocates Oakland's offense and forces it into several turnovers to help put this one away early as the Ravens pick up their first win of 2015. 

Final Score: Ravens 27, Raiders 10