The Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders both have question marks surrounding their early-season performances, but they have winning records to show for it in the end. We should learn a lot more about these teams when the 2-1 Raiders take on the 3-0 Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The Ravens haven't made things easy on themselves with close victories, and they had to make another comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. Trailing 17-16 late in the fourth quarter, the Ravens got one more shot after blocking a Jaguars field goal attempt, giving Joe Flacco the ball at Jacksonville's 44-yard line with two minutes left. Four plays later, Justin Tucker sealed the win with a 54-yard field goal.
It's been those kinds of games for Baltimore, which also came back from a 20-0 deficit to beat the Cleveland Browns and held off the Buffalo Bills, 13-7. None of their games have been pretty, but they're sitting in first place in the AFC North and have a good leg up in the playoff race. That's a big improvement from last season, when the Ravens were ravaged by injuries and stumbled to 5-11.
Still, Baltimore has some things to sort out and would like to see more from its running game. Through three games, Justin Forsett has just 98 rushing yards on 31 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per attempt. Terrance West hasn't been much better with 33 carries for 119 yards (3.6 yards per carry). Neither man has scored a touchdown so far.
On the bright side, Steve Smith is back healthy after suffering a torn Achilles last year. He burned the Jaguars for eight catches and 87 yards. More importantly, he won the war of words with rookie Jalen Ramsey, who learned the hard way not to get into a trash talking battle with Steve Smith.
The Raiders spent a lot of money on their defense in free agency, but the early returns have not been promising. Through three games, Oakland is allowing 476 yards per game, by far the worst in the league. Khalil Mack has yet to get a sack and Sean Smith has been burnt to a crisp so far.
Fortunately, Derek Carr looks like he's heading to that next level as a franchise quarterback. Carr is completing 66.9 percent of his passes for 867 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception in the first three games, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt. He had a tough day against the Tennessee Titans' defense, but touchdowns from Latavius Murray and Seth Roberts were enough for the Raiders to get a hard-fought 17-10 win on the road, improving to 2-1.
Oakland's defense isn't getting the job done, but its offense is making up for it with strong performances. Baltimore's offense keeps sputtering, but the defense looks to be back in top form and doing just enough to win. Something's gotta give here in this matchup of talented but flawed teams. They'll have a better sense of their place in the AFC playoff picture when all is said and done.
How to watch
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Place: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
TV: CBS
Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Steve Tasker, Steve Beuerlein
Online: Sunday Ticket