OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have been asked multiple times throughout this week why they aren’t overconfident heading into Sunday’s game against the struggling New York Giants.
Ravens’ reaction: They learned their lesson.
“I mean, we lost to the Raiders, who are now 2-11, so you can’t go into the game thinking about that,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “You have to play every game. So I think we have that mindset, and we’re locked in with the Giants.”
According to ESPN BET, the Ravens are currently the biggest favorites to win the 2024 season with 16 points. That would be better than the game between the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11, when Detroit was a 14.5-point favorite — a game Detroit won 52-6. That would make the Ravens the sixth-biggest road championship favorite in the past 30 years and the Giants the NFL’s biggest home underdog since 1966, according to ESPN Research.
But 14 weeks into the season, the Ravens (8-5) have proven they can beat the best teams in the league and beat the worst. Baltimore lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-23 in Week 2 and lost 29-24 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 (3-10), two teams with double-digit losses. I’m upset.
Currently, Baltimore is facing the Giants, a powerful team competing for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft (2 wins, 11 losses). Sunday’s game (1 p.m. ET, CBS) is a classic trap game, as the Ravens face the AFC North No. 1 team, the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3), six days after the game in New York. You could call it a game.
“It’s not hard to prepare a team,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We know how good every team is. The New York Giants are very talented and very tough.” [and] A very well-coached football team. They are very talented and will have to play their best soccer to win the match. That’s what we focus on. ”
Baltimore knows there is little room for failure if it wants to repeat as district champions. A win would increase the team’s chance of winning the AFC North to 23%, while a loss would drop the odds to 6%, according to ESPN Analytics.
The Ravens’ history suggests they won’t overlook the Giants. Baltimore is a double-digit favorite, including the postseason, with an all-time record of 44-1 (.978). This was the best winning percentage in the NFL since the Ravens’ first season in 1996.
This team has had the advantage of scoring two or more touchdowns on the road for the second time in franchise history. Baltimore won both of those games, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 13-7 in 2000 and the Washington Football Team 31-17 in 2020.
Currently, Baltimore is preparing to face a Giants team that has lost eight straight and hasn’t won since October 6th.
“We don’t have to worry about outside noise,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “You don’t have to worry about the outside noise. Like I always say, no matter what our record is, we’re playing just another NFL team.”
Over the past 20 years, NFL teams have a 65-6 record (.915) when favored by 14 points or more. The last time a team favored by two or more touchdowns lost was at the end of the 2021 season, when the Indianapolis Colts lost 26-11 to the Jaguars with a 14-point advantage.
But the Ravens understand the pain that comes with an unexpected loss. They claim the losses to the Raiders and Browns are a reminder not to take Tommy DeVito and the Giants lightly.
“It helps us stay vigilant,” Hamilton said. “In this league you have to win every game. [It] It doesn’t matter what the situation is, it doesn’t matter what week it is today, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side. If you have 11 guys there and there’s football, you have to win the game. ”
