The winner of Thursday night’s blockbuster encounter between the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens will have the best record in the NFL–at least for about 65 hours.
Both teams are 6-2, tied for the top mark in the league along with New England, Pittsburgh, and the two New York teams. If Atlanta has done it the hard way–surviving a flurry of close games–so, too, has Baltimore.
The Ravens earned a pair of routine wins over Denver and Miami (26-10 last Sunday), but their four other victories were hard-fought. They went on the road to edge the Jets 10-9, came back from a 17-14 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Cleveland 24-17 home, pulled out a 17-14 thriller at Pittsburgh, and held off Buffalo 37-34 in a surprisingly close overtime game.
Baltimore once again relies on its staple recipe of running the football and playing great defense. The defense has not been as dominant as it sometimes is (like in the Super Bowl-winning season of 2000), but it is unquestionably the strength of the team. The Ravens are ninth in the NFL in total defense (310.8 yards per game) and sixth in scoring defense (17.4 points per game).
“They are very multiple and I think they have one of the premier safeties in the league in Ed Reed,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said after Tuesday’s practice. “Ray (Lewis) is the heart and soul of that defense. He may be the smartest defensive player to ever play the game. He’s going to know your splits, and he’s going to share that information with the rest of the team. They can create some problems because of the things that they do with the different multiple packages that they have.”
The offense features a steady diet of Ray Rice (606 yards, two touchdowns), flashes of Willis McGahee (231 yards, four touchdowns) and a solid Joe Flacco (160 for 263, 1917 yards, 12 touchdowns, six interceptions). Anquan Boldin (546 yards, five touchdowns) and Todd Heap give Flacco dangerous weapons down the field and Rice is also a pass-catching force out of the backfield.
Injuries: Baltimore, despite having just three days of rest like Atlanta during this short week, is in great shape for Thursday. Only safety Tom Zbikowski, who will miss the game with a foot issue, is on the injury report.
The news is not quite as good for the Falcons, although it could be worse. Roddy White, who sustained a minor knee injury on Sunday, is questionable but expected to play. Sean Weatherspoon, also questionable, could return from a knee injury. Center Todd McClure (knee) rounds out the list of questionables, while Curtis Lofton, Jason Snelling, Brian Finneran, and Brian Williams are probable.
Recent meetings: The Ravens and Falcons are familiar foes…but only in the preseason. Dating back to 2002, they have scheduled each other in the preseason every single year in which they have not met in the regular season. As for the real thing, Atlanta prevailed 20-17 at home in 2002 before Baltimore took care of business 24-10 at home in 2006.
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