Baltimore Ravens @ Arizona Cardinals

The Ravens will travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals in Week 8, and this matchup features two teams trending in opposite directions.

Baltimore got off to a bit of a shaky start this season, but they were dealing with massive injuries on both sides of the ball. The Ravens also had to adjust to a new offensive system with Todd Monken taking over at offensive coordinator, so there were some early growing pains.

Over the first five weeks of the season, the Ravens ranked just 20th in EPA per play. Lamar Jackson averaged just 7.1 adjusted yards per attempt over that span, putting him slightly below his career-average of 7.6 adjusted yards per attempt.

However, this Baltimore offense has flourished over their last two contests. They lead the league in EPA per play over that span, and Jackson was brilliant in last week’s win over the Lions. He racked up 357 yards and three TDs through the air while adding another 36 yards and a TD on the ground. Detroit also entered that contest as a top-10 defensive unit, so it wasn't just an impressive showing against a bad defense.

Oct 22, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up prior to the game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

With the Ravens’ offense now firing on all cylinders, they have the potential to be one of the best teams in football. The defense has been playing at a high level all season, ranking second in the league in EPA allowed per play. Baltimore's defense also currently leads the NFL in points allowed per game allowed, rank second in yardage allowed per game, and rank third in defensive grade per Pro Football Focus (PFF).

In short, this Ravens team has the potential to be a top-five unit on both sides of the ball, which is pretty scary.

On the other side, the Cardinals have started to show their true colors. They entered the year with lower expectations than almost any team in recent memory.

Arizona's win total was set at just 4.5 in the preseason, and people weren’t exactly lining up to bet the over. With two potential premium draft picks in the first round, their own and that of the Texans, and no Kyler Murray to open the year, the Cardinals seemed like a strong candidate to tank for Caleb Williams.

Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals injured quarterback Kyler Murray on the sidelines against the Cincinnati Bengals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

However, Arizona started the year much better than expected. They had two close losses in the first two weeks, and they managed to pull off a massive upset of the Cowboys in Week 3. All of a sudden, the Cardinals went from a team that was destined to be the worst in football to one that might actually be competitive.

In reality, none of those performances was all that impressive. Their first two games were against the Commanders and Giants, both of whom have massive issues of their own. And in Week 3, the Cowboys were playing without three starters on the offensive line and had become overvalued after having steamrolled the Giants and Jets. Dallas is still a good team, but they’re not quite as elite as they appeared to be early in the year.

Since then, the Cardinals have come crashing back to reality. They’ve lost four straight games and were 0-4 ATS in those contests. Arizona was also outscored by 70 total points in those four matchups, having lost each of those games by double digits.

With that in mind, how is this team going to survive against an ascending Baltimore squad? Outside of the 49ers, the Ravens are by far the best team that the Cardinals have faced during their recent stretch of ineptitude.

The only real concern for Baltimore is that they’ve done a lot of traveling of late. This will be their fourth road game in the past five weeks, with one of those contests having been in London. Still, the Ravens have been an elite road team with Jackson at QB with a 22-12 record ATS away from Baltimore.

Ultimately, I’m not overthinking this one. I’ve already locked in a play on Ravens -8.0 in our Bet Tracker, and I have no problem backing Baltimore even if the line goes up to 8.5 points.