Monday night is a measuring stick game for the Detroit Lions in Baltimore against the Ravens.
“Every year you’re talking about the Ravens in the championship contention,” Sheppard said Friday. “Every year, year in and year out. And over the last couple of years, you’ve talked about us in the same context.
“So, this is two teams, we know where this game stands. Now it’s early in the year, this isn’t a deciding factor of who’s going to the Super Bowl or anything, but it is a litmus test for us and let us know where do you really stand against the big boys in the league.”
It’s Detroit’s second road test of the season after not playing very well away from Ford Field Week 1 in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. Detroit’s players and coaches didn’t shy away from the fact that the last time the Lions played Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium in 2023, the Ravens defeated them, 38-6.
“I want to see us improve on the road against a really good opponent,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week. “There’s a lot of things I feel like are similar between us. It’s not a mirror image necessarily, but yet, the principals I feel like are very much alike. And so you want to see us go in there and really improve under that environment against that team. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Lions quarterback Jared Goff had a 68.4 passer rating with zero touchdowns and an interception in that loss in Baltimore. He said both he and the offense are eager to prove they’re one of the league’s best units.
“We’ve got to go in there and prove it and show them that we obviously can hang with them and we’re a great team,” Goff said. “And in that instance we didn’t, so certainly have a little bit to prove this week.”
It’s a matchup Campbell has been itching for all week.
“We know it’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “But I’m telling you, we’re looking forward to it. I mean, these are fun, man. These are as good as it gets.”