Ravens – Eagles: Slowing down Saquon Barkley in all facets among 5 keys to victory

Mapping a out a blueprint to success in this interconference showdown.

The Baltimore Ravens will be back home in Week 13 where they host the Philadelphia Eagles in the Sunday late window. This interconference Battle of the Birds will pit two of the best and hottest teams in the league against each other in what very well could be a potential Super Bowl preview. While the Ravens will be looking to establish a winning streak heading into their long-awaited bye week, the Eagles will be trying to extend the second-longest active winning streak in the league to eight in a row.

A win would not only improve the Ravens’ record to 9-4 but potentially tie them with for the top spot in the AFC North standings depending on if the Pittsburgh Steelers fall to the Cincinnati Bengals in the early window of games on Sunday.

Here are five keys integral to the Ravens’ coming out on top in Week 13.

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Limit Saquon Barkley’s big-play ability

This matchup will feature two of the best and most prolific running backs in the league who are jockeying for the rushing title as well as Offensive Player of the Year and Darkhorse MVP honors. The Eagles workhorse has been the most dynamic offensive playmaker in the NFL this year in a similar seismic fashion as last year’s OPOY, Christian McCaffery, with how he can generate explosive plays as a runner and pass catcher out of the backfield.

Barkley leads the league in yards from scrimmage and all-purpose yards (1,649), rushing yards (1,392), yards per carry (6.2), rushing yards per game (126.5) and both carries (223) and total touches (250). The only NFC opponent to ever beat a Lamar Jackson-led Ravens team since he became a starter was a Barkley-led New York Giants team in Week 6 of the 2022 season in which the two-time Pro Bowler brought his team back from down 10 points in the fourth quarter to beat Baltimore with a game-winning touchdown from one-yard out.

The Ravens have the league’s second-best run defense heading into this game and have been especially proficient when it comes to slowing down opposing running backs, allowing a league-low 3.5 yards per carry. They are slated to have two-time All Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith back for this game after he missed the first game of his career as a Raven last week with a hamstring injury. Veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce could potentially be activated from injured reserve after missing the past four with a calf injury which will further bolster their defensive front as they take on an elite offensive line blocking for an elite running back.

Get the King rolling early and often

The Ravens’ approach for this game should be to rinse and repeat last week’s winning formula in which they shook off a sluggish start littered with penalties and self-inflicted wounds by feeding their elite running back Derrick Henry. He led the league in rushing through the first 11 games and still ranks a close second behind Barkley in rushing yards (1,325), yards per carry (6.0) and yards per game (110.4). The Ravens featured back does still lead the NFL in both rushing touchdowns (13) and total touchdowns from scrimmage (15).

While Henry saw his consecutive games with a score streak come to an end in last week’s big win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Ravens improved to 5-0 in games this season where he carried the ball 20-plus times and rushes for 100-plus yards. On the first of five straight scoring drives for the offense last week, Henry ignited the spark by ripping off a trio of chunk runs for 19, 14 and 11 yards and would’ve had the touchdown streak extended had his five-yard scoring run on that drive not been called back due to an illegal formation penalty.

Maintain rush-lane integrity and make Jalen Hurts hold the ball

While he is not as dangerous or elusive of a runner as Jackson, the two-time Pro Bowl signal caller is still a formidable dual threat with his legs on scrambles, designed runs and extended passing plays. Hurts leads all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with 11 which is tied for the second-most in the league among players at all positions. He’s nearly unstoppable in short-yardage when he goes under center for the tush push. Reducing the number of times he can be deployed on such plays by limiting his ability to escape the pocket and pick up positive yardage will be paramount.

Hurts’ rushing success rate of 56.5 is higher than Barkley’s career-high 56.1 and the Ravens will need to ensure he is not able to leave the pocket up the middle or roll out to his right when he can’t find an open target to limit the damage he can do as a scrambler. The more they can maintain their rush-lane integrity and force him to hold onto the ball, the more time the pass rush will have to collapse the pocket around him for sacks, throwaways or turnovers.

Heavily target Darius Slay’s replacement in passing attack

With the six-time Pro Bowler ruled out of this matchup with a concussion, the Eagles will be forced to start one of their reserve cornerbacks alongside standout rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Last week when Slay went down, the first man up was fifth-year veteran Isaiah Rogers. While he made some plays in coverage this year, he gave up several against the Los Angeles Rams including a touchdown in the red zone to former Ravens wide receiver Demarcus Robinson.

If refined and technically sound route runners who can make quick and clean breaks to create separation give him trouble, he’ll have difficulty keeping up with Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Diontae Johnson on Sunday. Whether Philadelphia decides to run it back with Rogers in place of Slay or trot out one of their second-year pros in Eli Ricks or Kelee Ringo, that side of the field should be the one Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Monken attempt to exploit in obvious passing situations.

Double AJ Brown as often as possible

The Ravens’ defense has struggled to limit the impact of opposing teams’ top targets in the passing game especially when those players have been elite No. 1 wide receivers this season. The Eagles’ three-time Pro Bowler is as dangerous as they come with his explosive big-play ability as a vertical field stretcher and yards-after-the-catch monster. Brown’s 18.6 yards per reception is the highest mark since his breakout rookie season and rank fourth in the league while his 90.9 receiving yards per game are a career-high and rank third in the NFL.

Brown is the exact kind of wide receiver from a playstyle physicality standpoint that has given the Ravens’ secondary and fourth-year pro Brandon Stephens, particularly, a lot of trouble this season. He can climb the ladder and make contested catches, locate the ball well downfield and make acrobatic grabs with little to no separation. This could lead to the playing time and rotation frequency of first-round rookie Nate Wiggins and two-time Pro Bowler Tre’Davius White increasing even more this week to ensure they don’t get consistently gashed through the air. Whoever lines up across from Brown on Sunday should have safety help on almost every play, otherwise, this game could turn into a track meet or shootout.