Ravens Enter Week 2 Battle Against Injured Raiders
By Kevin McGuire
After opening the 2015 NFL season in Denver with a loss, the Baltimore Ravens look to even things up out on the West Coast against another AFC West opponent. The Ravens take on the Oakland Raiders this season, and they are also looking to shrug aside a loss in the opener. Oakland is also entering this one dealing with some key injuries on both sides of the football.
Series History
The Baltimore Ravens lead the all-time series with the Oakland Raiders, 7-1, since moving from Cleveland. The last time the Ravens lost to the West Coast franchise was on December 14, 2003. Traditionally, the games played between the two have been low scoring, with either team scoring at least 20 points just six times in the eight meetings.
Baltimore has won four straight meetings in the series dating back to 2006. That includes a 55-20 decision in Baltimore back in 2012. Baltimore has won two of the three games played in Oakland.
Raiders on Offense
The Raiders had a bit of a scare in its season-opening loss to Cincinnati on Sunday when quarterback Derek Carr was forced to leave the game. The team received some relatively good news on Monday when it learned Carr suffered a bruised hand. Oakland will have to monitor his status as the week goes, but it will hope to be able to get its franchise QB back on the field this week. If not, Matt McGloin will likely be the fill-in. McGloin stepped in to pass for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns off the bench.
The Raiders have a couple of talented wide receivers with Amari Cooper on one side and the veteran Michael Crabtree on the other. The two combined for just 84 yards on Sunday. Running back Latavius Murray rushed for 44 yards on 11 carries in the season opener.
Raiders on Defense
Things did not go well for the Oakland defense in the opener. Oakland gave up 22 first downs and nearly 400 yards of offense to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Raiders fell behind early as well, digging a 24-0 deficit by halftime while the offense struggled to get going. While falling back 33-0, the Raiders gave up four red zone touchdowns, and held Cincinnati to two additional field goal attempts.
Larry Asante had the busiest opener for the Raiders defense, leading the team with seven tackles. That was pretty much all there was to speak of, as Oakland did not record a sack or an interception in the game. Injuries were the story of the day for the Raiders defense with safeties Nate Allen and Charles Woodson getting banged up. Allen had a significant knee injury that should make him unavailable this week; Woodson suffered a shoulder injury, but his status is unknown.
Key Players
Matt McGloin, QB: The former Penn State quarterback has never been one lacking in confidence. He can be a scrappy player that gets on a roll and makes some good reads, but if Baltimore can get him to move around, that should be an advantage.
Taylor Mays, S: With the Raiders losing a pair of starting safeties, the team went out and signed Taylor Mays, who was cut from the team during the last round of preseason cuts. He should get a chance to contribute right away with Woodson and Allen out of action.
Outlook
This looks like a favorable match-up for the Ravens, with the Raiders likely to go with their back-up quarterback and losing some key starters at safety. Baltimore won't be as jet lagged as they could have been either as the team is staying in San Jose to work out this week after opening the year in Denver. History is on Baltimore's side in this series, but it was also on Baltimore's side in Denver. That said, the Raiders don't have the kind of defense Denver had, and they certainly do not have a Peyton Manning running the offense. This should be a win for Baltimore.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
