New Orleans Saints vs. Baltimore Ravens: Game Preview

The 10-3 New Orleans Saints, 31-13 winners over the St. Louis Rams at home this past Sunday, will travel to Baltimore Sunday to take on the Ravens.  The Ravens played the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football and beat the Texans in overtime, 34-28.  

New Orleans is in quite a spot.  It has to keep winning in order to make the playoffs, but what is most important is that it wins the last three games in order to have a shot at winning its division. 

Right now Atlanta is ahead of the Saints in the standings by a game and a half and these two teams will meet up for their second game of the season.  The winner of that game might win the NFC South.

So there is a lot of pressure on the Saints to win this game.  They go up against one of the best defenses in the NFL, outdoors and most likely in colder conditions, which has caused them problems in the past.  Can they overcome this adversity, get the win and keep pace with Atlanta?

Let’s find out in this extended preview of the Saints versus the Ravens.

When the Saints Have the Ball

New Orleans has been winning by throwing the ball this season and quarterback Drew Brees has this team going strong.  The Saints are averaging 284 yards passing per game, which is huge and part of the reason why they have been able to win so many games this season.  They will be facing a Baltimore defense that allows an average of 221 yards per game and boasts 24 sacks on the season.

The best thing that the Saints can do in this game is build an early lead through the air.  Right now, the Ravens are allowing teams to rush for an average of 98 yards per game.  The Ravens make it difficult for any team to run the ball effectively on the ground and with the return of running back Pierre Thomas, the Saints are going to run the ball often.

New Orleans is getting about 101 yards on the ground per game, but they have two strong runners in their backfield now with Thomas and Chris Ivory.  They also have the multi-faceted Reggie Bush available to help them move the ball down the field.  With this many weapons, the Saints should be able to overcome most of what the Ravens throw at them and move the ball down the field effectively.

When the Ravens Have the Ball

The Ravens have been doing less damage offensively than they have defensively.  They have a good running back in Ray Rice and he is complemented by short yardage back Willis McGahee.  Rice runs the ball well between the tackles while McGahee is the Ravens short yardage back and he runs for those tough inside yards.  

New Orleans is allowing teams to gain an average of 110 yards per game so the Ravens may try to run the ball and keep it out of the hands of Brees and the Saints' offense.  That would be their best bet to win this game.  And being that the game will be played outdoors and the weather may be cold, running the ball will be huge.

Running the ball also takes pressure off of quarterback Joe Flacco, who has struggled with his accuracy this season.  Through 13 games, the Ravens are getting 229 yards of passing per game, which isn’t bad.  They have been utilizing wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason effectively and they are both tough to cover.

The Saints are allowing teams to pass for an average of 219 yards per game but keep in mind, as teams have been consistently falling behind the Saints, they have been forced to pass the ball often to try to catch up, so the Saints are allowing a lot of passing yards due to that.  If it wasn’t for that, this number would be much lower.

New Orleans' pass defense has been pretty strong all season despite the fact they have suffered injuries in their secondary.  They should be able to match up with Baltimore’s receivers well and limit their catches.

Of course, no good pass defense is complete without a pass rush and the Saints have been rushing the passer effectively this season.  In their 13 games, the Saints have managed to get 26 sacks while the Ravens have allowed 32 sacks.  The Saints need to get to the quarterback and it looks like they will be able to in this game.

Analysis

The Saints have been on a hot streak since losing three games, and are appearing almost unstoppable at times.  They know that they need to win out and get a little help in order to grab the NFC South title and have a chance at getting home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Right now, they are chasing the Falcons for the division lead and the door to the lead in the division goes through the Falcons.

The Ravens are looking for a playoff spot as well so they will have plenty of motivation to win this game.  The Saints need to be ready for this team, which can surprise anyone in any game.

Baltimore’s defense is tough and gives opposing offenses fits. But it can be beat, and the way that it can be beat plays right into the Saints' hands.  New Orleans has good pass protection (through 13 games opponents have sacked Brees just 19 times) and it will be important that the Saints protect Brees in order to let him run the offense and for them to be able to win.

The running game appears to be on track and they have been running the ball well over the past few games.  They may choose to run it a lot against the Ravens to help keep their defense off balance and control the ball as well as the clock.  This would be an ideal scenario because, despite the numbers, the Ravens have a good offense and can keep pace with most teams.

The Saints defense has allowed some teams to catch up to them in the second half of games so they need to buckle down and not allow the Ravens to catch up to them and eventually beat them.  Their pass rush will be important as will keeping tight coverage on their wide receivers and tight ends.  The Saints really need to win this game, so look for them to play tough on both sides of the ball.

Prediction

The game will be outside and played in cooler weather and that can be a bit of an equalizer when it comes to playing against the Saints.  They haven’t performed as well in colder weather in the past so that may make things interesting.  Still, they are the more talented team and they know that they have to win this game in order to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot and defend their Super Bowl Championship title.

New Orleans 28 - Baltimore 20