NFL playoffs 2022: Which team will win the AFC North this season?
Baltimore Ravens WynnBet Line 9.5 (O-140 /U+125)
What I like about Ravens NFL Playoffs chances:
You may not remember how odd the Baltimore Ravens 2021 season was.
They Lost J.K. Dobbins, in the preseason, Gus Edwards Marcus Peters, and Ronnie Stanley to season-long injuries soon after. I don’t know any other team that has ever been hit so badly by the injury bug.
Yet they figured it out and kept on winning. In week 12 they had the best record in the AFC. Then the wheels came off when Lamar Jackson went down; they lost their last six games. That’s resilience.
The Ravens’ strength is in their defense. The Secondary is one of the best and got better adding Marcus Williams and Kyle Fuller in Free Agency and Kyle Hamilton in the draft.
Offensively, Baltimore addressed some glaring issues on the offensive line by drafting Tyler Linderbaum and signing Morgan Moses.
Getting key pieces healthy again and adding another sold draft of young talent should help shore up the depth issues and allow Baltimore to be competitive once again.
Areas of Concern:
With all the additions The Ravens made they did little to add to or improve their wide receiver room.
Rashod Bateman could be an excellent talent but is unproven in this league only playing in 12 games last season (another early season injury).
Losing Hollywood Brown isn’t such a huge loss if Devin Duvernay can be a deep threat, but that’s no sure thing. Having your top two backs coming off ACL injuries is concerning too.
I have faith in Dobbins talent and abilities and I believe he will be ready in week 1, but there is always a chance he may need more time. Better to bring him back into the fold right than fast.
Key Games:
The Ravens get a few big games at home early Cincinnati week 4 and Buffalo Week 5. They will need to win these to be top of the AFC. @ Tampa Bay week 8 on a Thursday night will be a tough matchup too.
With the exception of Denver (week 13) and Cincinnati (week 18) their second half of the schedule is very winnable and should allow them to rack up some late-season wins.
My Prediction: 11-6