Season opener Ravens vs. Chiefs “sets the tone” and “is followed by everyone”

Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun

Thursday night’s rematch between the Chiefs and Ravens will mark the first time two quarterbacks who have won multiple NFL Most Valuable Player Awards have met in a season opener. Lamar Jackson, 27, won the award in 2019 and again last season after leading Baltimore to the league’s best regular season record while setting career highs in passing yards and completion percentage. Patrick Mahomes, 28, was the league’s MVP in 2018 and 2022 and has been the Super Bowl MVP in each of the Chiefs’ victories.

“There’s always an excess, absolutely,” coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday. “There’s an excess for both teams; there’s a strategic excess; there’s an excess for the individual battles that the guys who are still on the team are going to have.”

“I’m not going to try to downplay it, but I don’t want you to think it’s any different. It’s always like this. It’s not fear; the word we use is tension. There’s always tension because you want to go out there and do well.”

And there will be a lot more if the Ravens come up short again.

One of Baltimore’s biggest concerns will likely be containing Kansas City’s blitzing attack, which continually disrupted Jackson’s rhythm in the teams’ last game.

NFL season 2024, Week 1: Four things to watch for in the Ravens’ kickoff game against the Chiefs on Thursday night

Eric Edholm, NFL.com

Debut at King Henry’s Ravens. Henry, the NFL’s best active runner, is starting over in Baltimore, where he signed this offseason after eight brilliant seasons in Tennessee. His 68.6 yards per game rushing average last season was Henry’s lowest since 2018, when he shared the Titans’ running duties. At 30 years old and with more than 2,000 career carries, could Henry be slowing down? After all, he had seven games with 43 or fewer rushing yards in 2023. But he also averaged 5.7 yards per carry in the final three games of last season and closed the season in style with a 153-yard rush against the Jaguars in Week 18.

Henry has also been successful against the Chiefs, posting 672 rushing yards and eight TDs in six meetings, including the postseason. He has even thrown three of his five career TD passes against the Chiefs and has not lost a single fumble against them in 128 career touchdowns. The Ravens have some concerns on the offensive line, which is struggling with two first-year starters, but the hope is that Henry and Jackson can be a dangerous pair on the ground that can make up for any lack of blocking cohesion. This can also help open up the play-action game for the Ravens, which is where Jackson typically thrives — and an element the Chiefs struggled to stop a year ago. According to NGS, Jackson led all qualified QBs in total EPA (+67.4) and success rate (63.3%) on play-action dropbacks in 2023, averaging 10.6 yards per attempt on play-action compared to 7.1 on non-play-action dropbacks. In the AFC Championship Game, Jackson averaged 11.2 yards per attempt on play-action compared to 5.7 yards per attempt without play-action. One of the Chiefs’ few defensive weaknesses last year came on play action, ranking them 31st in defensive success rate.

How well does Derrick Henry fit in Baltimore?

Zoltan Buday, PFF

He was particularly efficient on two running concepts the Titans have relied heavily on: Duo and Outside Zone. The former is a downhill running scheme that allows Henry to reach his full speed until he reaches the line of scrimmage, and a running scheme that, when blocked properly, isolates the running back to the opponent’s cornerback, which is an advantageous matchup when your running back is as strong as Derrick Henry. On the other hand, Outside Zone is more of a horizontal running scheme that requires the running back to make a cut after reading the blocks. And then he could be gone.

Henry didn’t see much counter or power in Tennessee, and he didn’t put up great numbers on those running schemes, either. Among 39 running backs with at least 100 such runs since 2016, he ranks just 27th in yards per run (4.3) on such plays. He gained at least 10 yards on just 8.8% of power and counter runs, compared to his 12.5% ​​10-yard-plus rate on duo and outside zone runs. It will be interesting to see if Monken adjusts his offense’s running philosophy and uses fewer running plays with pulling linemen – or if Henry can quickly adapt to that blocking scheme in 2024.

The read option may not be Henry’s strength in the run game, as it prevents him from reaching his full speed and causes him to hesitate at the mesh point. Since 2016, 61 running backs have carried the ball at least 50 times after a read option, and Henry ranks just 29th on those runs at 4.2 yards per carry. He has gained at least 10 yards on just eight of those 107 runs, a rate of just 7.5%.

NFL tips for week 1: Packers with Jordan Love destroy Eagles defense, Jaguars win shootout in Miami

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs (-3)

This rematch of the AFC Championship game pits two of the NFL’s best players against each other. Lamar Jackson is playing behind a rebuilt offensive line, which could be a problem early in the season against a team that likes to blitz. The Chiefs will be better on offense this year than last year, and that will show here. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs defense are both off to a good start. The Chiefs win.

Choose: Chiefs 24, Ravens 18

Prediction for the Ravens 2024 season: A last-minute deal, a shooting star and a tough ending

Shaffer & Han, The Baltimore Banner

You won’t see as many two-TE sets as expected

After Isaiah Likely stepped into the spotlight last season and Mark Andrews got healthy again this offseason, the excitement was palpable. The Ravens have not one, but two stars at the tight end position. Oh, the things they could do with those weapons lined up.

But before Andrews’ injury last season, Monken showed no inclination to play with two tight end sets. And when the Ravens played hard, they usually paired Andrews or Likely with a blocking presence like tight end Charlie Kolar or fullback Patrick Ricard. Throughout training camp, the Ravens didn’t show that they were really committed to using Andrews and Likely at the same time. Maybe they’re keeping their cards close to their vest. Maybe they’re also not willing to sacrifice their in-line blocking in a year when they have so many questions up front.

The Ravens will play 1:1 (again) in the playoffs

However, securing first place in the AFC for a second consecutive year will be difficult. If the Ravens get a game in the wild card round, they should be able to advance. But with no off week until early December and then three games in 11 days, the Ravens’ depth will be tested late in the season. They have a lot of talent, but this roster is not as deep as last year. The Ravens may lack the strength to get past the divisional round.