The NFL is back this Thursday with their opening kickoff game, which will feature last year’s AFC Championship rematch between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore was a surprising 4.5 point favorite in last year's contest, but they ultimately fell to the Chiefs one game short of the Super Bowl. As we know, the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens have had the entire offseason to prepare for this game in an effort to redeem themselves after that loss. They have watched the tape, studied the plays, and gone through training camp. Now, just a day before kickoff, they have their gameplan set and ready to go. We don’t know what it will be, but Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith may have hinted at what the team plans to do.
“Yea, I think first and foremost, just eliminating the run and making the guys one dimensional like any other game,” said Smith in an interview Sunday. “Once you make a team one dimensional and knowing exactly what they will do in a given situation, it gives you a chance as a defense to really pin our ears back and do exactly what we would like to do.”
So according to Smith, Mahomes is not the main threat in the game plan, but rather, stopping the run will be the highest priority on that side of the ball. While it is hard to disagree with him, Mahomes is a special player that may be able to rise above even that challenge.
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However, we did see what the Buccaneers did to him and that running game in the 2020 Super Bowl, so perhaps the Ravens are thinking of taking a page from that book. I have to think the Chiefs will be prepared for this game as well under head coach Andy Reid, so it could be a chess match between two great coaches.
Still, this could also just be complete misdirection by Smith. It is highly unlikely that any player would give away their gameplan to the media before the game, so I doubt the Chiefs will be paying much attention to this.
Then again, perhaps that is what he wants them to think. Either way, this is going to be a great game, and so far it looks like two way action each way at the books. I expect them to need Baltimore to cover by kickoff.
If you believe Smith, it makes sense to take a shot on over 258.5 passing yards for Mahomes, which is available at BetMGM.
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