My Joe Flacco Blog

Coming off 2 heartbreaking losses, the Ravens go into Sunday's game with a big chip on their shoulder as they face the 5-0 Vikings in Minnesota. Baltimore looks to snap its losing streak by handing the Vikings its first loss of the season. 

Ravens on Offense

In the first 3 games of the season, the Raven offense was explosive, piling over 34 points a game. The play-calling was effective; there was a good balance between run and pass plays and Baltimore generally controlled the tempo. The Ravens' last 2 games have been a different tale. Their offense averaged about half as many points and their pass-to-run ratio was lopsided- 84 to 35. A lot of that has to do with Willis McGahee's role (or lack thereof); McGahee had just 6 carries in the last 2 weeks.

Despite that, he has 7 touchdowns and is a solid complement for Ray Rice, who is also very productive with 5.8 yards per run. So it's a no-brainer that the Ravens need both guys when they take on a tenacious Vikings rush defense. Joe Flacco needs to put points on the board, and to do so he'll need his receiving corps present, including Derrick Mason, who was basically nonexistent against the Bengals last week. Flacco should also look for his biggest target in Todd Heap, who can exploit the smaller Viking secondary. But this is all irrelevant if Baltimore's O-line doesn't contain the one-man wrecking crew named Jared Allen. The pressure he brings can change the game entirely. Ask Aaron Rodgers.
 
Vikings on Offense

Favre said this is the best team he's been on. Most likely, it's because he doesn't feel like he has to do too much. He has an arsenal to work with, including arguably the league's best running back in Adrian Peterson. This means Favre doesn't have to take as many chances as he's taken in the past, resulting in few mistakes (only 2 INTs). Favre will keep looking for Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin against the Ravens. But he has to keep a lookout for playmaker Ed Reed, who had a 52 yard run back for a TD.

Baltimore will try to catch breaks like that by keeping Favre on his feet with various blitz packages. If the Viking pass protection doesn't account for guys like Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, the Ravens could shake up the 40 year-old. That's where Adrian Peterson comes in. The question is, can Peterson rush for 100 yards? Last week, Cedric Benson became the first back in 39 games to record over 100 yards against the Ravens. Regardless of whether he'll go the distance or not, Peterson will definitely be a factor running the ball and receiving. The Ravens can only hope to contain him.
 
The Ravens can make it interesting if they cut down on penalties and control the pace offensively by running the ball hard. Still, Favre and co. have too much firepower for Baltimore to keep up with in a shooting match.
 
Prediction
Minnesota 34
Baltimore 24

I am currently a senior at Fordham University and studying Economics. I am helping to work on a new sports prediction website called http://superpredictors.com I write articles and provide analysis for the site. I live in New York City.