With the 2015-16 NFL Regular Season underway as the first game was played on Thursday night the 10th of September 2015 and Sunday we have the full format of games coming your way! Thus a game we will preview is the Ravens of Baltimore playing at the Broncos of Denver with the game played on Sunday the 13th of September 2015, with kick-off at 4:25 PM ET and played at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado and seen on CBS TV.
This is a game that brings us the reigning AFC West Champion Broncos playing the potential playoff team the Ravens. The opening odds at SBG have the Broncos favored at -4 ½ with the Over/under at 48 ½ and -220 on the ML, while the underdog Ravens are +4 ½ and +180 on the ML.
For you Raven fans of Baltimore you coach Harbaugh is coming into his 8th year at the head of the Ravens, and his team still is seeking a top ranking in their league. With Harbaugh at the helm the Ravens have not had a losing record in those 8 years. Their worst season was back in 2013 when the finished with 8 wins and 8 losses.
The Ravens new OC M. Trestman is seeking to help QB J. Flacco in becoming a complete elite NFL QB. In this game against the Broncos in this their 1st game; QB Flacco needs to be at his best, as the Bronco defense against the pass in 2014 ranked 9th in the league. QB Flacco actually had 1 of his best games against Denver back in the 2012 AFC Division game when the Ravens beat the Broncos 38-34, and QB Flacco passed for 3 TD’s on some 332 yards. Thus, this game will be another test for QB Flacco and 2 rookie receivers in M. Williams and B. Perriman.
For a win against the Broncos the Ravens defense has to be at it best in this game, and fans will remember that back in 2013 at this stadium in Denver, the Broncos rolled over Baltimore 49 -24 with Broncos QB P. Manning passing for 7 TD’s and some 446 yards in that game.
The Ravens secondary defense and the team ranked 23rd last season against the passing game. Needless to say the front 7 defensively for Baltimore will have to play at their best to stop the Broncos QB in his offensive endeavors. The Ravens did however rank 2nd in the league for sacks in 2014 with some 49 sacks.
The Bronco fans of Denver are aware their team has won 4 consecutive AFC West Championships, and without a Super Bowl victory, which was a principal reason for the coaching change at Denver. Thus, Denver is seeking new things from coach Kubiak, who last season was the Ravens OC.
The passing game is if little concern to coach Kubiak with QB P. Manning leading the way even as he turns 39 years of age. Yes, QB Manning last season for the 5th straight year had at least 4,500 yards in passing with at least 33 TD’s in each of those 5 seasons.
But Coach Kubiak is concentrating on their running game, as a result of his success with same at the Texans and then at the Ravens. The Broncos RB C. Anderson should see his 2014 stats of 8 TDs and 850 yards rushing increase under Kubiak’s system, which hope divert some attention to the running game, and give more time for QB Manning with his passing game.
Denver has a very big and tough defense against the running game as well as the passing game led by their star LB’s in D. Ware and V. Miller playing on each side of the Broncos midfield. Yes, the defense for Denver was 3rd in offensive yardage allowed opponents in 2014, 2nd for allowed rushing yards, and 5th in plays allowed in each series of downs, and finally they ranked 7th with some 16 intercepts in 2014.
The prediction for this game is that the Broncos of Denver who in the past 10 games have won 8 and lost 2 games, will play well both on offense and defense in this game, and will win in an impressive manner beat the Ravens on Baltimore 35-14.