The Baltimore Ravens didn't look great in Week 1, falling to the Denver Broncos in what was an ugly game all around, but on Sunday they have a chance to put up their first win of the season as they travel to take on the Oakland Raiders. That isn't to say Oakland is a pushover team by any stretch of the imagination, but the Ravens were competing in the toughest division in football a season ago, while the Raiders have been struggling to find consistency for years.
Ravens vs. Raiders 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Both the Ravens and Raiders lost their Week 1 matchups, but the former is favored to pick up its first win of the season in Week 2.
Oakland seems to be doing all the right things, at least as far as team-building is concerned. The Raiders are hoping Derek Carr can be a franchise quarterback (backed by offseason acquisitions Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper) and they're hoping Khalil Mack can lead their defense to new heights. There are a lot of players on that roster worth envying, but that hasn't yet translated to on-field success or even cohesiveness.
Carr had a decent rookie season, but his first game of Week 1 didn't go quite as planned when he injured his hand trying to stiff-arm Adam Jones on an 8-yard run. That's probably the last thing a quarterback should be doing, especially at a time when the game wasn't exactly on the line. Carr left the game and was replaced by Matt McGloin.
After initial fears suggested Carr could miss a decent chunk of time, he claims he's ready to go and that he'll play on Sunday against the Ravens. It remains to be seen if that's the case, but it will be interesting to see if his accuracy or power are affected by the hand injury. He'll be going up against a Ravens defense that held Peyton Manning to just 175 passing yards and no touchdowns, and limited the combination of Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson to just 70 yards rushing.
That defense also picked off Manning and returned it for a touchdown, but this also means that Joe Flacco didn't lead the offense to any points that didn't come off field goals. Flacco finished 18-of-32 for 117 yards with no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Justin Forsett only managed to put up 43 rushing yards and Javorius Allen had 30 behind him. There really wasn't a whole lot on offense that should worry the Raiders.
In fact, there's a lack of playmakers all around on Baltimore's offense, especially with rookie Breshad Perriman injured. Torrey Smith left for the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason, and on Sunday, Marlon Brown led the Ravens in receiving with two catches for 25 yards. Crockett Gillmore, Kyle Juszczyk and Maxx Williams were next with 23, 17 and 15 yards, respectively.
Oakland needs to play clean football, and it could walk away from this one with a win. If Carr can play and the team manages to run a game predicated on protecting the ball, Flacco might not have the firepower to put points on the board. Then again, the Ravens were in the playoffs last season and the Raiders haven’t been good in a long while. Most experts favor Baltimore to walk away from this one with a win.
How to watch
When: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Spero Dedes, Solomon Wilcots
Online: NFL Game Pass
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