The New England Patriots have been a primetime team this year. They’ve played two primetime games so far, and they have won both.
Their third primetime game is a little different, though, as they face a truly tough Baltimore Ravens team coming off an excruciating game last week versus the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots lost to the Bills in a game where they made some vital errors, so we should expect them to tighten up for this matchup.
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They’ll be facing a Ravens team that just shut out a healthy Cincinnati Bengals team. So what happens when a team coming off a 10-game win streak faces a team that has to win? Let’s find out.
Paper Tigers
It’s not like the Ravens are the top of the defensive heap, but they’re close. Baltimore is allowing just 111 rushing yards per game, and the Patriots allowed 168 yards to the red-hot Bills.
The Ravens’ offense is in a similar situation. They’re middle of the pack across the board. Averaging 178.8 passing yards per game and 146.2 rushing yards may not make the Ravens look scary, but it’s their game play that makes them tough to beat.
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Oh yeah, not to mention they are led by a healthy Lamar Jackson.
Rebound on the way
The Patriots are coming off a tough loss. They looked like they were on their way to blowing out the Bills in the first half. Over 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns for TreVeyon Henderson and another 50 yards for Rhamondre Stevenson led to almost 200 rushing yards for the Patriots.
Then the coaches decided to abandon the ground game in the second half, leading to a total collapse. But you can believe that’s going to be talked about during this week.
The Patriots still just had a 10-game win streak. They have a great offensive line, and they know how to put up points. My real concern here is the Patriots’ defense. They rank 7th in rushing defense at 95.1 rushing yards allowed per game.
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They also rank in the top 20 (12) in passing defense, allowing 205.1 passing yards per game. Those stats align with what the Ravens put up per game, but if the Patriots’ defense can’t control Lamar Jackson, they will have serious problems.
I think this could be a low-scoring game with both teams grinding it out on the ground. Lamar is a runner, and the Patriots’ running backs look like they can do their job.
Best bets for this game include:
I like the Patriots +130 (opened +187) and the Under 49 -135 (bought one point). Buying a point has saved us in the past, so if the algorithm says we need that extra point, we buy it.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Best bets for Patriots-Ravens Week 16 game