Two teams that believe they have unfinished business clashed in week 1 of the NFL Preseason when the Philadelphia Eagles met the Baltimore Ravens Friday night inside M&T Stadium in Baltimore, MD. They kick it off at 7:30 pm.
Bookmaker has installed the Eagles - 1 1/2 on the ML.
The Eagles raced out of the gate in 2024 before fading down the stretch as they lost five of six after a 10-1 start. Their season came to a crashing halt when they no-showed in a horrible and pathetic offensive display during a 32-9 road wildcard playoff loss to Tampa Bay.
They still believe they have one of the most dynamic offenses in the league, led by young single-caller Jalen Hurts, who will most likely be on the field for the club's first couple of offensive series.
In the past, the Eagles rarely played their starters early during the preseason until the last Game or so, and even then, they have been very cautious when sending out their starters. Hurts passed for close to 4000 yards last season, and he tossed 23 touchdowns, but he also threw a career-high 15 picks.
But this season might be different. HC Nick Sirianni hinted that the starters might get some valuable reps, and if that is the case, the Eagles could push the tempo, pass, and score early in the Game. The offense needs to hit the ground running, and this could be a good test early on.
If Sirianni was bluffing, then get used to seeing a heavy dose of backups on Friday, including quarterback Kenny Pickett, who is struggling to grasp the offense during practice. Right now, Tanner McKee is pushing him to No. 2 on the depth chart. If Picket gets most of the reps, look for him to air it out and try to impress the coaching staff, but he is also prone to bad interceptions.
This will likely be a low-scoring affair. Last preseason, the Eagles scored 19, 18, and 13 points but went 0-2-1. They lost the Ravens 20-19 last preseason. They do not play them during the regular season but will not show their hand on either side of the ball.
The Ravens went 13-4 last season before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10, in the AFC Title Game. They are led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was brilliant last season, throwing 24 touchdowns while throwing just seven interceptions.
He added another 821 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns and should be very motivated coming into the regular season. The revamped offensive line will be the key to the Ravens' success, and we might get a quick glimpse of it against the Eagles. Jackson was sacked 37 times last season and needs to be upright for this team to be a threat coming out of the AFC.
Look for rookie offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten to get a ton of snaps in this one. By all accounts, he has looked very impressive in camp, and HC John Harbaugh has liked what he has seen from the young player.
Baltimore would love to get their ground game going and might work on that in this one. This might be one of those rare preseason games where we see points early and starters pulled.
The Game opened at Eagles +10 in June and now sits at Philadelphia + 3. The totals have gone over in none of the Ravens' last two games, and they have gone over in none of their last two games at home. Philadelphia was 7-9-2 against the spread in 2023, while the Ravens went a very solid 12-7 overall.
