New England Patriots
The Ravens are looking to keep up with the Steelers in the AFC North, sitting at 7-7.
A week after a tough loss to the Bills, the Patriots have another tough opponent lined up for Week 16.
The Patriots take on the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday, a game that was flexed into primetime as New England has surprisingly emerged as one of the NFL’s best teams. The Ravens enter the matchup at 7-7 and remain in the hunt for AFC North. They’re actually three-point favorites to win Sunday’s game.
So, let’s take a closer look at the Ravens, as here are five things to know about them ahead of Sunday night’s game.
Lamar Jackson isn’t playing at an MVP level this season.
After winning MVP in 2023 and finishing as a close runner-up in 2024, the 2025 season hasn’t been as good for Lamar Jackson. He actually had a good start to the year, leading the league in passer rating through the first four weeks of the season.
But Jackson missed three contests due to a hamstring injury in the middle of the season and his play hasn’t recovered yet. He’s completed just 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,341 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions with an 85.9 passer rating in seven games since returning from the injury, adding 167 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. If you looked at Jackson’s last six games, he has more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (four) as he has a 74.7 passer rating over that stretch. Jackson’s also thrown an interception in each of the Ravens’ last three games.
Over the course of the season, Jackson has been one of the league’s best deep passers. His 124.3 passer rating on deep throws (passes where the ball travels at least 20 yards down the field) is the fourth-best mark in the league, per Pro Football Focus. So, the Patriots will have to be cognizant there.
However, Jackson’s struggles as of late is welcomed news for a Patriots defense that might be depleted come Sunday. We already know that defensive tackle Milton Williams will be out as he’s still on injured reserve, while defensive tackle Christian Barmore and edge rusher Harold Landry are both questionable. Cornerbacks Marcus Jones and Carlton Davis are questionable, too.
Derrick Henry has rebounded after a slow and rough start.
Remember when people were wondering if Derrick Henry’s days as one of the game’s best running backs were behind him in September? Well, that talk has been put on hold for another season.
Henry is once again among the league’s top rushers. His 1,125 rushing yards are the fifth-most in the league, while his 4.8 yards per carry ranks 14th. That’s also a pretty strong number for the number of carries he’s had this year (233, seventh-most in the NFL). Henry is also tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns with 10.
Henry hasn’t fumbled since his three-game streak of lost fumbles to open the year. Since Week 6, Henry has rushed for 808 yards on 4.8 yards per carry as he’s averaged nearly 100 yards per game in the Ravens’ last nine contests (89.8).
Going up against Henry will certainly be a problem for the Patriots, especially with linebacker Robert Spillane sidelined for Saturday’s game. James Cook became the first player to rush for over 100 yards against the Patriots in the Bills’ win over them last week, with Spillane having to watch that game from the sideline.
The Ravens’ offensive line is one of the best in the league.
If the Patriots’ injuries up front on defense weren’t concerning enough as is, the Ravens’ play in the trenches should give them an edge, at least when Baltimore has the ball.
Right tackle Roger Rosenstein has the best pass block win rate among all offensive tackles in the league (96 percent), while left tackle Ronnie Stanley ranks sixth in the same stat (95 percent). Center Tyler Linderbaum ranks third among interior offensive linemen in pass block win rate (97 percent). The three of them have given up just three sacks between them this year, per Pro Football Focus.
If there are any concerns across the Ravens’ offensive line, it’s with their guards, Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele. Both guards grade out in the 40s out of 78 players at their position in the league, according to PFF.
Still, the Ravens’ offensive line is strongest at the positions that matter the most. And with the Patriots’ defensive line nursing some injuries, the Ravens are in a position to exploit that on Sunday.
Their run defense is relatively strong, thanks to having one of the league’s best linebackers and safeties.
Flipping things around, we might not see TreVeyon Henderson break out a pair of long runs again on Sunday. Instead of facing one of the league’s worst rush defenses this week, the Patriots take on a rush defense that’s allowed just 93.6 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry in their last eight games.
For reference, Baltimore’s rush yards per game allowed in that eight-game stretch would be the fourth-best mark in the league. That opposing yards per attempt mark would be tied for fifth.
The Ravens can thank linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton for that. Smith is tied for seventh in solo tackles this season (66), and his 46 run stops rank eighth among linebackers despite missing two games. Hamilton’s 27 run stops rank seventh among safeties.
Travis Jones has also contributed to the Ravens’ strong rush defense, ranking in the top 10 among defensive linemen in run stops and run stop percentage.
But their pass defense leaves a lot to be desired.
The Ravens’ pass defense isn’t as strong as their run defense. Yes, Baltimore has looked better at stopping the pass in recent weeks, with opposing quarterbacks holding a 70.2 passer rating in the Ravens’ last eight games. But the quarterbacks they’ve faced during that stretch were Caleb Williams, Tua Tagovailoa, J.J. McCarthy, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Tyrod Taylor, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers. Not exactly a murder row of quarterbacks.
They did have a better performance against Burrow last week in their shutout win over the Bengals, but Rodgers threw for 284 yards with a 103.1 passer rating in the game prior.
The Ravens have also struggled against some of the game’s other top quarterbacks this year. Josh Allen, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, and C.J. Stroud each posted a passer rating over 100 in their matchups against the Ravens this year, with two of them throwing for four touchdowns (Mahomes, Stroud).
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