What a great feeling it must be waking up on Monday morning holding first place in your division. After a weekend where seemingly every outcome went in their favor, that is exactly where the Baltimore Ravens see themselves. After a roller coaster first half of the season that saw three straight wins followed by four straight losses, the Ravens seem to have hit their stride and won two straight divisional match-ups. Now, Baltimore is still just 5-4 and have gone through stretches where they look abysmal, but first place is first place.
The upcoming schedule is very unforgiving however so the Ravens have to start stringing together some upsets in order to stay in this thing. What better way to prove they are for real than to go on the road and beat the best team in the NFL? That is the task at hand for Baltimore this week as they head to Texas to face the Dallas Cowboys. Here are the Baltimore Ravens week 11 keys to victory:
Baltimore Ravens Week 11 Keys to Victory
Stop Ezekiel Elliott At All Costs
Let’s start with the obvious. Ezekiel Elliott has been running over teams like a madman. Everything in Dallas starts with this man right here. Sure, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has been spectacular in his own right, and that offensive line is one of the best anyone has ever seen, but make no mistake about it, this young kid is something special. Elliott makes the offense go by putting his fellow rookie teammate in such favorable situations. The Cowboys lead the NFL in rushing with 161.0 yards per game. When teams have to stack the box and try to stop the run, that gives Prescott the favorable one-on-one coverage’s he needs to beat teams with his arm. Luckily for Baltimore, they have a great weapon up their sleeves, the number one rushing defense in the NFL.
Allowing just 71.3 yards per game on dismal 3.3 yards per carry, this defense could be the roadblock that foils the Cowboys strategy. This all begins with the big guys up front. Brandon Williams, Lawrence Guy, Michael Pierce, Brent Urban, and especially Timmy Jernigan have been as good of a defensive line as there is in the NFL this season. Each of these guys grades out as a plus run defender and has done an excellent job at taking up blocks. This allows linebackers like Zach Orr and C.J. Mosley to run wild and stop ball carriers in their tracks. If the Ravens are going to have any chance at pulling off this upset, they are going to have to put this offense in a bunch of third-and-long unfavorable situations. That starts by slowing down the bulldog that is Ezekiel Elliott.
Successfully Utilize the Hurry-Up Offense
As the first-half ended last Thursday night, the scoreboard read something disconcerting to Ravens fans. The score was 7-6 in favor of the winless Cleveland Browns. Something changed in the second half however and the Ravens scored 22 straight points to blow the game open. What changed? Well, a few things probably happened, but nothing more noticeable than a heavier dose of the hurry-up offense.
Wasting no time directly out of halftime, the Ravens went to the hurry-up offense and orchestrated a beautiful nine-play scoring drive that ignited the offense. Throughout the rest of the game, the Ravens unleashed this new weapon as much as possible. This led to the best half of offensive football thus far. Quarterback Joe Flacco has stated before that he likes the hurry-up which makes sense considering how streaky he is. More of an emphasis on the hurry-up offense will allow the Ravens to utilize the most speed they have had at the wide receiver position in a long time. It is no coincidence that Breshad Perriman had the best game of his young career catching three balls for 64 yards and his first touchdown. Assimilating more of a hurry-up offense simplifies the game and helps out the speedy receivers by putting the defensive backs on their heels.
That was against Cleveland at home, however. This Sunday a much bigger animal will be lining up across Flacco and company. Dallas is ranked 12th in the NFL in total defense, as opposed to Cleveland’s 31st ranking. In recent weeks, however, the Cowboys have lost both cornerback Morris Claiborne as well as safety Barry Church greatly diminishing this defense. Another big factor going against the Ravens is the away crowd. Dallas fans will certainly not be as generously quiet while the Ravens execute their offense. A few successful hurry-up drives will put pressure on the Cowboys offense to score big against the NFL’s top defense. That might just be enough to lead the Ravens to this upset victory.
Take the Training Wheels Off and Unleash Kenneth Dixon
Welcome to the NFL Kenneth Dixon. After four games of warming up and knocking off the rust from multiple injuries over the off-season, Dixon finally looked like the guy the Ravens envisioned when drafting him. While his numbers do not jump off the page, six carries for 38 yards and five catches for 42 yards, the way he looked putting up those stats did. Light on his feet, explosive, and breaking tackles left and right, Dixon looked healthy for the first time all season. He made a serious case for an increased workload as Terrance West yet again failed to produce. The rookie out of Louisiana Tech fits the mold of the successful running backs under coach John Harbaugh. Explosive, elusive, and a great pass catcher, Dixon reminds of Justin Forsett and Ray Rice before him.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, Dallas has the third best rush defense in the league. In terms of yards per carry, though, the Cowboys are ranked just outside of the top 10. This means that, while not necessarily easy to run on them, game flow and lack of opportunity has skewed the rankings a bit in Dallas’ favor. Dixon needs to have a true coming-out-party and keep Dallas’ electric offense off the field. If he does the Ravens will be in solid shape.
Prediction
Sunday might not seem like a must-win scenario facing an out of conference foe while still being in first place. But this game surely does feel like one. The Ravens have feasted against teams under .500 thus far (5-1) and have yet to beat a team over .500 (0-3). Plus, with the Pittsburgh Steelers facing the Cleveland Browns this week, a loss here might drop the Ravens into a tie for first place. In order for the Ravens to be taken seriously and maintain their division lead, an upset must be in the cards this Sunday.
With a healthy dose of Kenneth Dixon and some simple completions from Flacco to his speedy receivers, the Ravens just might control the ball enough to slow down the Dallas offense. A win here would be huge and the Ravens know that. Look for the Ravens to take advantage of their momentum and leave Dallas with an upset victory, 20-17.
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