As they board the plane for the “Frozen Tundra,” the Ravens have entered a win-or go-home mindset. A loss or a win by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday would eliminate the Ravens’ playoff chances, and could seal the most disappointing regular-season in franchise history. What must the Ravens do in order to win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday?
This is not a problem, even if Lamar Jackson doesn’t play. It’s not a criticism of Keaton or Rasheen, but a move to rely more on the future Hall of Famer running back. Henry has been a strong runner in December and is known to be a bruiser. Tyler Huntley will start against a Packers defense that is missing Micah Parsons. In cold Wisconsin, relying on the running game to win will be key.
Zach Orr’s defense is at its best when it puts the opposing offenses into obvious pass situations. This allows him to use blitzing players like Kyle Hamilton and Trenton Simpson as well as Ar’Darius Washington. The Ravens’ front line will be challenged to stop the Green Bay run game between Josh Jacobs and a potential starting quarterback Malik Willis. The Ravens will need to rely on Roquan and Travis Jones to close gaps and bring down ball carriers. This will help the defense to succeed in getting off the field. The Ravens do not want to be in a shootout with the Packers without Jackson as the quarterback.
Sharp Football Analysis reports that the Ravens rank near the bottom in the NFL for play-action pass rate. They only run it 13.8% percent of the time. According to Next Gen Stats, the Ravens are the NFL’s sixth best team when they run play-action. Green Bay is 20th best in the NFL at defending play-action. The Ravens, without Parsons should force the Packers’ front-seven to think and react. Rashod Bateman, Isaiah Likely and other intermediate players could be a feast for the Ravens in play-action looks with a run-heavy look.