Ravens vs. 49ers: Previewing Baltimore's Week 6 Matchup
The Baltimore Ravens will look to rebound from their latest setback when they head across the country for a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Both teams are sitting at 1-4 coming into this game after suffering devastating losses in Week 4. Baltimore blew a double-digit second-half lead at home in their 33-30 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
San Francisco also blew a late lead after it allowed the New York Giants to score the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds left en route to a 30-27 loss.
Needless to say, neither team is coming into this game without a lot of momentum, but there's still a lot of season left. However, whoever loses this game can effectively kiss any hope of the playoffs goodbye.
The winner, though, will be 2-4 with 10 games left in the regular season. While it's not ideal, rallying from a 2-4 start to earn a winning record and possible playoff berth isn't unheard of.
This is also a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII when the Ravens defeated the 49ers 34-31 to claim their second championship since the franchise's inception. Many of the same personnel who played in that game will take the field on Sunday, though some will be for different teams.
The same starting quarterbacks are back with Joe Flacco guiding Baltimore, while Colin Kaepernick leads San Francisco. Wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith played big roles for the Ravens in that win, but they'll be catching passes for the 49ers this time around.
Here is our preview of this matchup for Baltimore.
Game Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California
Date: Sunday, Oct. 18
TV: CBS
Week 5 Results and Recap
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Week 4 was an all-around disaster for Baltimore.
Not only did the Ravens suffer a brutal home loss to the Cleveland Browns, but they were the only AFC North team to fall that week. The Cincinnati Bengals padded their lead in the AFC North with a 27-24 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the San Diego Chargers on the final play of their Monday Night Football clash. All of this left the Ravens sitting at 1-4 and all alone in last place in their division.
It didn't look like it would end this bad for the Ravens after they took a 21-9 lead in the third quarter of their matchup with the Browns. However, Baltimore's defense would have another second-half collapse that saw the team blow its lead and ultimately lose in overtime, 33-30.
Here are the updated AFC North standings following last week's action.
AFC North | W | L | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati Bengals | 5 | 0 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 | W5 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | W1 |
Cleveland Browns | 2 | 3 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 2-3 | W1 |
Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 4 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-4 | L1 |
News and Notes
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Lorenzo Taliaferro to Injured Reserve
Another day, another Ravens player being placed on season-ending injured reserve.
This time, it's backup running back Lorenzo Taliaferro, who was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury, according to BaltimoreRavens.com. It's unclear if it's the same foot injury that ended Taliaferro's 2014 season after 13 games.
This is an odd situation after Taliaferro was listed as probable to play in Week 4 against Cleveland while dealing with a foot issue. However, the team declared him inactive before the game, and he is now on injured reserve.
It's never a good sign when a player ends both of his first two NFL seasons on injured reserve. The former fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina has shown flashes of being a solid power back, but he has just 339 yards and five scores through his first 16 career games.
Ravens Sign RB Raheem Mostert
In order to fill the roster spot vacated by Lorenzo Taliaferro, the Ravens signed running back Raheem Mostert. An undrafted free agent out of Purdue, Mostert signed with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2015 NFL draft.
From there, Mostert had a solid training camp and preseason with the Eagles. In four preseason games, he led the NFL in yards from the line of scrimmage with 351 total yards. He also had 14 catches for 194 yards and rushed for 157 yards on 39 carries.
However, the Eagles would waive Mostert during final roster cuts but eventually signed him to the practice squad. Then in Week 2, the Miami Dolphins signed Mostert to their 53-man roster to be one of their special teams returners that week.
The Dolphins would waive Mostert the following week and sign him to the practice squad before cutting him earlier this week. Baltimore thought enough of Mostert to sign him to its 53-man roster, so he's the third-string running back for now until Baltimore signs someone else.
Ravens Sign CB Shareece Wright; Lose Will Davis
The Ravens suffered another loss in their secondary this past week when cornerback Will Davis tore his ACL, which ended his season.
In order to replace him, the Ravens signed arguably the best free-agent defensive back on the market in Shareece Wright. After signing with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, Wright didn't feel he was being used correctly, so he asked for his release last week.
That's when the Ravens came calling, and now he'll help give them depth at cornerback. In his fifth NFL season, Wright has played in 44 games (27 starts) while notching 20 pass deflections and 137 total tackles.
Last year with the San Diego Chargers, Wright started 14 games and notched nine pass deflections and 60 total tackles. Corner is arguably the weakest position on this team right now, so adding a guy with starting experience never hurts.
Injury Report
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Name | Position | Injury | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brooks, Terrence | S | Thumb | DNP | - |
Canty, Chris | DL | Calf | DNP | - |
Dumervil, Elvis | OLB | Thigh | DNP | - |
Forsett, Justin | RB | Ankle | DNP | - |
Gillmore, Crockett | TE | Calf | LP | - |
Givens, Chris | WR | Ankle | DNP | - |
Perriman, Breshad | WR | Knee | DNP | - |
Smith Sr., Steve | WR | Back | LP | - |
Waller, Darren | WR | Concussion | DNP | - |
Webb, Lardarius | CB/RS | Thigh | DNP | - |
Yanda, Marshal | G/T | Ankle | DNP | - |
As has been the case every week this season, the Ravens are dealing with injuries to several critical players. The biggest is leading receiver Steve Smith Sr., who is dealing with a microfracture in his back.
Smith Sr. suffered the injury two weeks ago on Thursday Night Football and missed this past Sunday's loss to the Browns. However, he was able to practice Wednesday, which is a good sign he may return this week against the 49ers.
Tight end Crockett Gillmore was also able to practice after missing the past two games with a calf injury. Outside of Gillmore, the Ravens have gotten little production from the tight ends, so getting him back would be a huge boost.
It's not looking good with star pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil, though, with his groin injury suffered during Sunday's loss. He left the game and never returned and missed Wednesday's practice as well.
If Dumervil is unable to play this week, we'll see a lot more of Courtney Upshaw and Za'Darius Smith at outside linebacker.
Injury report courtesy of BaltimoreRavens.com.
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Key Matchups to Watch
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CJ Mosley and Daryl Smith vs. Carlos Hyde and Colin Kaepernick
The 49ers offense features a rushing attack in the form of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Carlos Hyde.
What makes this duo challenging to defend is that Kaepernick is a dual-threat quarterback who can run as fast as any running back you'll find. From 2012 to 2014, he rushed for 1,576 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In four games this season, he has rushed for 218 yards on 36 carries (6.1 yards per carry) and one score. The 49ers will often run read-option plays in which he can either keep it or hand it off to his running back.
That's where Hyde comes in. In his second full NFL season, Hyde has rushed for 375 yards and three scores on 83 carries (4.5 YPC).
Hyde is also one of the best in the NFL when it comes to picking up first downs. His 21 first-down conversions are tied for the third-most of any player.
Kaepernick has been more willing to hand it off to Hyde this year than he was in 2014. That's made this duo hard to stop, and the Ravens will rely on C.J. Mosley and Daryl Smith to slow them down.
Through five games, Smith ranks fifth in the NFL with 46 combined tackles. Mosley has chipped in 29 tackles, and those two have also combined for three sacks and three tackles for loss.
Despite Baltimore's struggles, the inside linebacker combo of Mosley and Smith is still one of the best in football. They're one of the lone bright spots on this team, and they'll need to shine to stop Kaepernick and Hyde.
Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb vs. Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith
In an ironic twist, the 49ers' starting receivers in this game will be the same duo that started for the Ravens in their Super Bowl XLVII win. The Ravens traded Boldin to the 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2013 offseason, while Smith signed with San Francisco this past offseason.
Those two have combined to catch 34 passes for 458 yards and three scores through five games. They also have five combined plays of 20-plus yards, as Kaepernick likes to go deep to them several times per game.
The unit is still finding its chemistry, but the Ravens secondary has been one of the worst in football when it comes to allowing big passing plays.
Baltimore is tied for the sixth-most 20-plus yard passing plays allowed this year (19). It will be up to cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb to keep Boldin and Torrey from becoming the latest receivers to have big games at the expense of Baltimore.
The good news is both Smith and Webb played with Boldin and Torrey Smith for several years in Baltimore. That could help them know how to defend Boldin and Torrey Smith better.
On the other hand, it could also help Torrey Smith and Boldin know how to best expose Webb and Smith in coverage. This matchup will go a long way in determining the winner of this game.
Prediction
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Both of these teams need this win in the worst way. Even though they have just two wins combined, this should be one of the more competitive matchups of Week 6.
The Ravens are getting healthy and could have two of their top offensive players back if Crockett Gillmore and Steve Smith Sr. are able to play. That would make this a far more balanced offense that could take advantage of a 49ers unit that ranks 31st in total defense.
On defense, this is a great matchup for the Ravens going against a run-heavy 49ets offense. San Francisco ranks 30th in passing offense and won't have enough to expose Baltimore's biggest weakness in its pass defense.
In the end, this will be a tight game that comes down to the wire, but the Ravens come away with a narrow win to get their season back on track.
Prediction: Ravens 23, 49ers 20
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