Garceau: Ravens Have A Chance To Pull An Upset
Frankly, on paper, the NFL's Week 11 schedule is weak. The Patriots at the 49ers and the Steelers at the Browns don't scream must-watch TV. The Ravens at Dallas are among the top three games on the schedule this weekend. Two first-place teams, one of them is America's team the other is Baltimore's team.
Here's a closer look...
BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-4) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (8-1) CBS 1:00
The Ravens have never lost to the Cowboys (4-0) but Dallas is red-hot and looking for their ninth straight win. It's strength versus strength with the Cowboys top ranked running game against the Ravens top ranked defense. The Dallas offense features the league's best O-line and two remarkable rookies. Rookie QB Dak Prescott passed for 319 yards & 2 TDs in last week's win at Pittsburgh, he ranks 3rd in the NFC with a 106.2 QB rating. Rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott had 209 scrimmage yards (114 rush, 95 rec.) & 3 TDs last week. Elliott Leads the NFL in rush yards (1,005) & scrimmage yards (1,255) and has 10 TDs, he's the 3rd player in NFL history with 1,000 rush yards in his first 9 games.
The Ravens' Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan help give Baltimore the best run defense in the NFL, if they can get a handle on Elliott, the Ravens have a chance to pull an upset and win their third straight game.
Steve Smith ranks 8th in NFL history with 14,349 rec. yards, he needs 3 catches Sunday to reach 1,000 in his career. Ravens WR Mike Wallace has 400 receiving yards and a touchdown in his last 4 games. Terrell Suggs has a sack in 3 of the past 4 games and leads the team with 6. He's the franchise leader with 112.5 sacks. Ravens LB C.J. Mosley leads NFL linebackers with 3 INTs. Justin Tucker hasn't missed a PAT or field goal. Tucker has hit all 22 field goal attempts with 14 coming from 40 yards or longer.
It's easy to look at the Dallas offense against the Ravens defense as the key to this match up but a struggling Ravens offense against an ordinary Dallas defense will have just as much to say about the outcome. The Ravens patched up O-line and Joe Flacco need to find their A-game to pull off this road upset.
Vegas Says: Cowboys by 7