Ravens vs. Lions: Bold Predictions

Beatdown contributors share their bold predictions for Week 7.

The Baltimore Ravens will face their toughest test of the season to date when they host the Detroit Lions in Week 7. Here are a few bold predictions for this battle between familiar foes and bitter rivals from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.

The Ravens will bring the Lions’ four-game winning streak to a screeching halt with a statement win in their first home game in nearly a month. Justin Tucker will have one of his least memorable games against Detroit this time around because the offense will go a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone with three touchdowns coming through the air and two on the ground including one by Lamar Jackson and the other from undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell who will beat a whole pride of Lions’ defenders to the edge for the first of his career.

With franchise legend and all-time sack leader Terrell Suggs in attendance to get inducted in the Ravens Ring of Honor, the defense will play inspired and hold Detroit’s highly efficient offense to under 20 points for the first time this season. In a battle between two of the best and more brilliant young up-and-coming coaches, Mike Macdonald’s unit will get the better of Ben Johnson’s by forcing Jared Goff—who has been playing at an elite level—into committing multiple turnovers and being sacked a season-high five times including twice by Odafe Oweh in his first game back in action. — Joshua Reed

While nowhere near dominant or even comfortable, the Ravens have a steady easy win over the Lions. The offense continues from London, easily moving the ball up and down the field with improved results in the red zone. Zay Flowers starts a scoring streak hitting pay dirt again while Odell Beckham Jr. finds the end zone for the first time as well. Keaton Mitchell hits a big 15-plus yard run at some point as well.

The Ravens’ defense once again proves its quality by limiting a top offense and the defensive line in particular has a good day against a top-three offensive line. The defense tacks on another three sacks after six last week in London, one of which comes from Odafe Oweh in his return. The Ravens struggle again in the second half but not for long and come up with a big play in a home game against a top team late to fire up the crowd and reignite what has been a static home field the last couple of years. — Zach Canter

The Ravens will score 30 points for the first time in over a year. Pretty wild to think the last time they crossed that threshold was a 37-26 win in New England last season. For a team that had grown accustomed to hanging 30-40 a game on teams from 2019-2020, the last 2 seasons have been the opposite. A trend that started last year and has continued into the beginning of this season: the offense hasn’t been able to put together four quarters of great football. However, I think the team from Baltimore will get up for this game. This will be their hardest challenge yet and it’s up to the offense to give the defense some breathing room for once. — Stephen Bopst

The Lions’ explosive offense is held in check by the Ravens’ stingy defense. Quarterback Jared Goff throws an interception to safety Geno Stone and has another turnover on a sack-fumble. Odell Beckham Jr. has his first big game with Baltimore as he finds the endzone for the first time this season and crosses 75 receiving yards on the day. The Ravens convert in the red zone this week and win comfortably against one of the league’s best teams. — Dustin Cox