The Eagles and Ravens are two of the top teams in the league, so this should be an excellent game for all football fans. This could be a Super Bowl Preview between the two best rushing teams in the league. Both front offices signed big-name running backs in free agency, and it’s paid off big time for both teams. Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are the only two players in the league with over 1,000 rushing yards and 1,300+ each, and both have 10+ touchdowns. They’re also the only two players to have 10+ rushes of 20 or more yards, having 12 and 14, while no other player has over eight. Since 2022, Lamar Jackson has been 11-1 against NFC opponents, while Jalen Hurts has been 12-1 against AFC opponents. The two teams met in the pre-season, with the Eagles winning 16-13; not that it matters at all in this game, but it’s fun to bring up.
Game Info
Date: December 1st, 2024
Start Time: 4:25 PM ET
Location: Baltimore, MD
Stadium: M&T Bank Stadium
TV Info: CBS (Jim Nantz and Tony Romo and on the call)
Eagles Uniform Info: Green helmet, white jerseys, green pants
Ravens Statistical Rankings
Points Per Game: 30.3 (2nd)
Points Allowed Per Game: 24.5 (23rd)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 426.7 (2nd)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 246.5 (3rd) | 180.2 (2nd)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 355.6 (23rd)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 277.7 (31st) | 77.9 (2nd)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 46.9% (3rd) | 43.6% (25th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 78.7% (1st) | 55.2% (15th)
Penalties: 101 (32nd)
Penalty Yardage: 865 (32nd)
Players Already Ruled Out
Ravens: CB Arthur Maulet, DT Michael Pierce, TE Charlie Kolar,
Eagles: CB James Bradberry, DE Bryce Huff, DE Brandon Graham, CB Darius Slay Jr, LB Ben VanSumeren, WR Johnny Wilson
Baltimore Ravens
Defense
The defense is the weaker side of the ball for Baltimore, giving up 24 points and over 350 yards of offense per game. However, most of that is due to the weak secondary play; the Ravens' run defense has been more than good this season, which will be a considerable advantage against the number-one rushing team in the league. They rank in the top three in opponent rush play percentage, opponent yards per rush, opponent rusher per game, and opponent rush yards per me. Saquon and the Eagles' ground game will give this run defense a real test as they rank number one in rush play percentage, rushes per game, rush yards per game, and rush TDs per game. Philly ranks second in yards per rush, the first being Baltimore.
Now, let’s get to that Ravens secondary. They allow 65% of opponents' passes to be caught, 15th best in the league. They face the most passing attempts per game and give up the second most yards per game. They rank sixth worst in yards per pass given up. Philadelphia is a run-heavy team, but their pass game can’t be overlooked, especially if Baltimore can neutralize Saquon Barkley; Jalen Hurts could show out. He hasn’t been asked to do much in the passing game lately. He’s thrown just one interception in the past eight weeks and has completed 69% of his pases. The Ravens' defense has just seven interceptions, five of them coming from Marlon Humphrey.
Offense
The Ravens' run game ranks top five in every statistical category. They are the best team in the league in terms of yards per rush; they rush for the second-most yards per game while having the fourth-most rush attempts per game. They rank fifth in rush yards per game, and Derrick Henry leads the league in rushing touchdowns with 13. Henry is second in rushing yards, just 67 yards behind Saquon Barkley. He’s tied with Josh Jacobs in rushing attempts with 221, averaging 6 YPC. Of course, Lamar contributes on the ground, totaling 599 yards and three to-downs, averaging 5.8 YPC.
Lamar has been more of a threat through the air this season; he currently leads the league in passing yards with 3 053. He has 27 passing to downs to only three interceptions! Lamar has 30 total touchdowns and six total turnovers. Jackson passes for 254.4 yards per game, and he’s been doing a great job spreading the ball out. Zay Flowers leads the team in receiving yards with 789, the Ravens have four other players over 300 yards, Rashad Bateman putting up 574, Mark Andrews at 423, and Isaiah Likely and Justice Hill round out the list. 10 different players have a receiving touchdown; Flowers, Bateman, Andrews, and Likely are the only ones with three or more.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense
The Eagles' secondary has been one of the more impressive parts of this defense all season. They allow a 62% completion percentage, fifth best in the league, and give up the third-fewest pass yards per game of any team on the fewest yards per completion. Quinyon Mitchell leads the team in pass deflections with nine, Darius Slay has eight, CJ Gardner Johnson has seven, the “Exciting Whites” Reed Blakenship and Cooper DeJean have five each. The LB core has been solid all year, and Zach Baun is an absolute steal in the off-season. He leads the team in tackles with 105; no other player has over 85. He has two sacks, five TFLs, three pass deflections, and one interception. Nakobe Dean is finally breaking out after a lackluster few years in the league after being drafted with high expectations. He’s second on the team in tackles, has three sacks, a team-high nine TFLs, four pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and an interception.
The d line has also been solid for the Birds, especially against the run, giving up the seventh fewest rush yards per game at 9.2! Josh Sweat has 33 sacks on the year, leading the team with seven. DT3 Milton Williams has five, 1.5 more than Jalen Carter. Carter is third on the team in TFLs with seven; only Josh Sweat (8) and Nakobe Dean (9) have more. The defense as a whole has the 8th highest sack percentage at 8.55%
Offense
Another high-powered running offense in this game, the Eagles rank first in almost every rushing category, including rush play percentage, rushing attempts per game, rushing yards per game, and rushing touchdowns. Saquon Barkley leads the league with 1,392 yards, a career-high for Barkley. He also leads the league in carries and yards per carry. He also has SIX rushes of 40+ yards; no other player has more than three. The fun part about this matchup is that both teams have elite backs and dual-threat quarterbacks, with Philly being Jalen Hurts. Hurts has 456 yards on the ground, averaging 4 yards per carry. He has 11 rushing touchdowns, tied with Lions RB David Montgomery for second most in the league; only Derrick Henry has more with 13.
Hurts hasn’t had to do much in the air since Saquon Barkley is doing what he’s doing, but Hurts is very efficient when he does ass. He’s completing 69% of his passes, a career-high if he keeps it up. Jalen is 23rd in pass attempts but ranks fourth in yards per attempt. Despite his lack of attempts, Hurts has the sixth most 20+ yard completions and the third most from 40+ yards. Hurts’ performances will be overlooked due to the box score not being flashy, but being the QB for a team that ranks first in rush play percentage and LAST in pass play percentage while putting up these numbers is nothing short of impressive. Having one of the league's best receiving duos certainly helps; AJ Brown has 727 yards on the season, twelfth most in the league, despite missing three games and being the only player in the top 20 receiving leaders to have under 40 receptons. That makes the Eagles pass game so scary; they don’t pass it much, but when they do, they do it in a big way.
Betting Info
Points Spread: PHI +2.5 (-122) | BAL -2.5 (-102)
Moneyline: PHI (+120) | BAL (-142)
Over/Under: O 50.5 (-112) | U 50.5 (-108)
Lines Via Draft Kings as of 11/30/24
Prediction
This game is very interesting because these two teams are so similar. The Ravens have a slight edge offensively, and the Eagles have a slight edge defensively. Both teams match up well against each other. The main difference between these teams now is that the Eagles win games convincingly, while the Ravens have their struggles occasionally. They have losses to the 2-10 Raiders, 3-8 Browns, and the 8-2 Steelers; two of those losses are to division rivals, but the Eagles haven’t lost a divisional game all year. The Steelers defense held Baltimore to 16 points, keeping Henry under 70 yards, and Philly’s defense is on par with, if not better, Pittsburgh’s. It is in Baltimore, but the Birds should be able to carry their momentum into this game and win their eighth straight in what should be a close game.
Final Score: Eagles 27, Ravens 23
Main Image via
Comentários