Ravens vs. Chiefs season opener a ‘tone setter’ that ‘everyone will follow’

Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun

The Chiefs-Ravens rematch on Thursday night will mark the first time that two quarterbacks who have won multiple NFL Most Valuable Player Awards will meet to open a season. Lamar Jackson, 27, won the honor in 2019 and again last season after leading Baltimore to the league’s best regular-season record while also setting personal bests in passing yards and completion percentage. Patrick Mahomes, 28, was the league MVP in 2018 and 2022 and, for the record, has been the Super Bowl MVP in each of the Chiefs’ victories.

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

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

And there will be many more to come if the Ravens lose again.

One of Baltimore’s biggest concerns is managing Kansas City’s blitz, which continually disrupted Jackson’s rhythm the last time the teams played each other.

NFL 2024 Season, Week 1: Four Things to Watch for in Thursday Night’s Ravens-Chiefs Kickoff Game

Eric Edholm, NFL.com

King Henry’s debut for the Ravens. The NFL’s most active runner, Henry is starting over in Baltimore, where he signed this offseason after eight brilliant seasons at Tennessee. His 68.6 yards rushing per game last season was Henry’s lowest rate since 2018, when he shared the Titans’ rushing duties. At 30 years old and with more than 2,000 career carries, could Henry be slowing down? After all, he had seven games in 2023 with 43 or fewer rushing yards. 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 outing against the Jaguars in Week 18.

Henry has also had good results against the Chiefs, rushing for 672 yards and eight TDs in six career games, including the postseason. He’s even thrown three of his five career TD passes against the Chiefs and hasn’t lost a fumble against them on 128 career touches. The Ravens have some concerns up front on an offensive line that raises questions with two first-year starters, but the hope is that Henry and Jackson can be a dangerous pair on the ground who can make up for any lack of blocking cohesion. It could also help open up the play-action game for the Ravens, where Jackson typically thrives — and an element the Chiefs struggled to stop a year ago. According to NGS, Jackson led all qualifying 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 versus 5.7 YPA without it. One of the Chiefs’ few defensive weaknesses last year came against play action, ranking 31st in defensive success rate against play action.

How well suited is Derrick Henry for Baltimore?

Zoltan Buday, PFF

He was especially effective on two run concepts that the Titans have relied heavily on: duo and outside zone. The former is a downhill running scheme that allows Henry to be at full speed by the time he reaches the line of scrimmage and a running scheme, when blocked well, that isolates the running back on the opposing cornerback, a favorable matchup when your running back is as powerful as Derrick Henry. On the other hand, outside zone is more of a horizontal running scheme that requires the running back to make one cut after reading the blocks. And then he’s gone.

Henry didn’t see much counter or power in Tennessee, and he didn’t generate great numbers on those run concepts, either. Of the 39 running backs with at least 100 such carries since 2016, he ranks just 27th in yards per carry (4.3) on such plays. Compared to his 12.5% ​​10-plus-yard rate on duo and outside zone carries, he’s managed at least 10 yards on just 8.8% of power and counter carries. It will be interesting to see if Monken adjusts his offense’s running philosophy and uses fewer run plays with pulling linemen — or if Henry can quickly adapt to this blocking scheme in 2024.

The read-option may not suit Henry’s strengths in the run game, as it slows him down from getting up to full speed and makes him hesitate at the mesh point. Sixty-one running backs have carried the ball at least 50 times on a read-option since 2016, and Henry ranks just 29th with 4.2 yards per carry on those rushes. He’s picked up at least 10 yards on just eight of those 107 carries, which is just a 7.5% clip.

Week 1 NFL Picks: Jordan Love-led Packers crush Eagles defense, Jaguars win shootout in Miami

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

Baltimore Ravens bee Kansas City Chiefs (-3)

This rematch of the AFC Championship game will feature two of the best players in the NFL. Lamar Jackson is playing behind a rebuilt offensive line, which could be a problem early in the season against a team that loves to blitz. The Chiefs will be better on offense this year than they were a year ago, and that will show here. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs defense are both off to a good start. Chiefs take it.

Choice: Chiefs 24, Ravens 18

Ravens 2024 Season Prediction: Deadline Deal, Breakout Star, and Rough Ending

Shaffer & Han, The Baltimore Banner

You won’t see as many two-TE sets as you expect

After Isaiah Likely stepped into the spotlight last season and Mark Andrews returned to full health this offseason, the excitement was palpable. The Ravens have not one, but two stars at tight end. Oh, the things they could do with those weapons together.

But before Andrews’ injury last season, Monken showed no inclination to run a two-tight-end set. And when the Ravens struggled, they typically paired Andrews or Likely with a blocking presence like tight end Charlie Kolar or fullback Patrick Ricard. Throughout camp, the Ravens haven’t shown a huge commitment to using Andrews and Likely at the same time. They may be keeping their cards close to their chest. They also may not be willing to sacrifice their in-line blocking in a year when they have so many questions up front.

The Ravens will go 1-1 in the playoffs (again)

Claiming the AFC’s No. 1 seed for a second straight season will be tough, though. If the Ravens get a game in the wild-card round, they should be able to advance. But with no bye week until early December, and then a stretch of three games in 11 days, the Ravens’ depth will be tested late in the season. They have a lot of talent, but this roster isn’t as deep as last year’s. The Ravens may not have the muscle to advance past the divisional round.