The biggest game of Week 13, perhaps even the biggest game of the 2024 season, will see the Philadelphia Eagles travel to take on the Baltimore Ravens. The Eagles are currently 9-2 and in first place in the NFC East. The Ravens are 8-4 coming off a convincing road win against the Los Angeles Chargers, sitting a close second in the AFC North. This game will come down to how several key positions perform.
The Battle of the Quarterbacks
Both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens have elite quarterbacks. Thus far this season, Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts has completed 197 passes in 285 attempts for 2,376 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, and only five interceptions. In addition, Hurts has carried the ball 115 times for 456 yards, and 11 rushing touchdowns.
In his last five games, Hurts has 81 completions in 114 attempts, for 1068 passing yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. He also carried the ball 52 times for 238 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
During this season, the Ravens’ quarterback, Lamar Jackson, has 231 completions on 343 attempts for 3,053 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and only three interceptions. Jackson has also rushed 103 times for 599 yards, and three additional touchdowns.
In his last five games, Jackson has 96 completions in 145 attempts for 1,243 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and one interception. During these past five games, Jackson has also carried the ball 30 times for 140 rushing yards and a touchdown.
From the quarterback standpoint, given the last five game performances, both quarterbacks have been exceptional. But Lamar Jackson has been phenomenal. As the season has progressed, Jackson has excelled. He runs the Baltimore Ravens like a field general and has confidence in both his own and his team’s ability to succeed. While there is no question Hurts is good, Jackson has been great and should continue to impress this week against the Philadelphia Eagles…Quarterback advantage goes to the Ravens.
The Battle of the Running Backs
Saquon Barkley is the Eagles All-Pro running back. This year he has amassed 1,392 yards in 223 carries scoring 10 touchdowns. He has averaged 6.2 yards per carry and fumbled once.
In the past five games, Barkley has carried the ball 115 times for 734 yards and five touchdowns, he has also caught 11 passes for 154 yards and one additional touchdown.
As impressive as Barkley has been for the Eagles, the Ravens featured running back, Derrick Henry, has been outstanding. Henry has 221 carries for 1,325 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He also has 10 receptions for 96 yards and two additional touchdowns.
In the past five games, Henry has scored five touchdowns in 87 carries for 452 yards. He also has three receptions for 34 yards. But Henry excels in the fourth quarter, which with his exceptional bulldozer power, literally grinds up the opponent’s defense while running the clock. Derrick Henry is “Mr fourth Quarter”. When he’s in the game, the Ravens always have a chance to win. The running back advantage goes to the Ravens. As Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni said at his Tuesday Press conference:
I have a lot of respect for Derrick Henry. Been able to see him a bunch when I was in the division….big, strong, fast, hard to tackle…he is as advertised when you see him in person….and obviously you all see it, we all see it, his play speaks for itself.
The Battle of the Receivers
The Philadelphia Eagles boast A.J. Brown and Devonte Smith as receivers. Their tight end is Dallas Goedert. For the 2024 season, Brown has been targeted 56 times hauling in 39 passes for 727 yards and four touchdowns. Smith has 41 receptions having been targeted 56 times for 516 yards, scoring four touchdowns. The Eagles tight end, Goedert, has caught35 out of 42 passes and scored one touchdown,
In the last five games, Brown has caught 23 of 32 for 403 yards but only one touchdown, Smith has caught 17 out of 24 balls thrown his way accumulating 213 yards and two touchdowns. In those same last five games, Goedert has hauled in 18 out of 22 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.
On the Ravens’ side of the ball, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman serve as the #1 and #2 receivers in 2024. The Baltimore Ravens’ tight end Mark Andrews has caught 37 out of 44 passes for six touchdowns and 423 yards. Flowers has grabbed 57 receptions out of 87 targets for four touchdowns and 789 yards while Bateman has 35 receptions out of 55 targets for 574 yards and five touchdowns.
In the past five games, Flowers caught 23 out of 38 for 377 yards, and three touchdowns while Bateman snagged 14 out of 25 for two touchdowns and 180 yards. In those last five games, Andrews gas hauled in 20 receptions out of 22 targets for 196 yards and three touchdowns
If you’ve seen both teams play, it’s easy to see both receiving corps are equally matched. As a result, neither team has a “receiver advantage”.
Battle at the Line of Scrimmage- Offense
Both teams have credible offensive lines. Barring injury this should be a well-fought offensive line campaign by both teams. As such, neither team has the advantage.
Battle of the Defenses
The defenses for both teams are equal in production. Both defenses have played well this year as the statistics bear out. A closer examination reveals that neither defense has shown much weakness.
Eagles Linebackers Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean lead the defense in combined tackles with 105 and 84 respectively. Baun has two sacks while Dean has three. But more impressive is the three Eagles that have 3.5 sacks each: defensive tackle, Jalen Carter, linebacker Nolan Smith, Jr, and defensive end Brandon Graham. Simply put, the Eagles have a good defense against the run.
Philadelphia’s safeties, Rodrigo Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson lead the team in interceptions with three and two respectively. Blankenship has 63 tackles while Gardner-Johnson has 48 solo tackles. Cornerbacks, Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay Jr. round out the secondary with 36 and 32 tackles respectively.
On the Ravens’ defense, linebacker Roquan Smith has 110 combined tackles, three pass deflections, and one interception, The Ravens’ other starting linebacker, Trenton Simpson has 68 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and four pass deflections.
The Ravens’ secondary features safety, Kyle Hamilton with 84 total tackles, two sacks, and seven pass deflections. Safety Ar’Darius Washington has 41 tackles, one sack, six pass defections, and one interception. The Ravens cornerbacks, Brandon Stephenson and Marlon Humphrey have 45 and 41 tackles respectively with Stevenson having 1.5 sacks. Humphrey has 12 pass deflections and five interceptions.
This will be a close battle, but the Ravens’ defense will have a slight edge over the Eagles primarily because the Ravens’ defense will give Philadelphia a tougher time.
Which team will Prevail?
The Ravens are favored by three points in the betting circles. This will be a hard-fought battle in the trenches with Derrick Henry dominating the Eagles’ defense in the fourth quarter. Certainly Hurts will get some throws and runs but look for Lamar Jackson to mix in pinpoint throws with a sprinkle of Henry. The Baltimore Ravens should prevail, 35-21.
